GREENVILLE, N.C. – Wheeling Jesuit Rugby battled hurricane-like conditions on Wednesday against the Pirates of East Carolina University in a mid-week clash with possible playoff implications. Winds gusting over 40 miles-per-hour and driving rain made conditions difficult for both teams, but the Cardinal forward pack lead the way to the 41-22 victory.
WJU has now won five matches in a row, and moves to 7-1-1 in their combined fall and spring season. With the win, WJU is in a favorable position amongst Independent teams to earn an at-large bid to the USA Rugby College Playoffs.
With even the simplest passes being blown off course or slipping through the hands of the intended receiver, both teams were forced to play a tight, forward oriented game. Jesuit’s loose forwards Peter Malcolm (Parkland, Fla.) and Dante Walters (Sacramento, Calif.) both had standout matches with ball in hand, constantly battling their way past the gain line, and into opposition territory.
“Our forwards did a lot of growing up tonight.” Said Wheeling Jesuit Head Coach Eric Jerpe “We are generally a young, backs-oriented team, but tonight our forward pack had to really work as a unit in tough conditions to produce this result. We’re extremely proud of their effort, and ability to show maturity and confidence under pressure.”
Having won the coin toss, WJU used the wind at their back to keep East Carolina pinned deep in their own territory throughout the first half. Luke Titus (Sydney, AUS) opened the scoring for the Cardinals finding a gap in the defense and diving over for a try five minutes into the game. Titus again found the try line just seven minutes later on a nearly carbon-copy move that put the Cardinals up 14-0 after twelve minutes.
The Jesuit forward pack began to find their rhythm, penetrating deep into ECU territory with strong pick-and-drives, and even stronger crash balls aimed at the Pirate’s backline. The Cardinals worked in pairs, finding opportunities to isolate the home team’s defenders and shake off would-be tacklers. The next three WJU tries all came from the WJU forward pack; one each coming from Shawn Wagner (South Bend, Ind.), Dante Walters, and Peter Malcolm. East Carolina also used their large and mobile forward pack to earn some well-deserved tries, but the Cardinals held on to a 31-17 lead mid-way through the second half.
Completing the score line for Wheeling Jesuit was Jamie Barlow (Columbus, Ohio) who finished off an impressive 30-meter try, dodging defenders left and right on his way to the end zone. Luke Titus also scored as time expired, giving the Cardinals the 41-22 win.
The win is also notable as Wheeling Jesuit was missing their Junior All-American Prop, Max Lum, who is currently in camp with the All-Americans preparing for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship Tournament in France.
Wheeling Jesuit will complete their spring break tour on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. where they will face off against Notre Dame College in the featured college match of the North Carolina High School Rugby Tournament. The match is scheduled for 7pm at Rocky River High School Football Stadium.
Wheeling Jesuit: 41
Tries: Titus (3), Wagner, Walters, Malcolm, Barlow
Cons: Titus (3)
East Carolina University: 22
WJU Roster
15 Michael Fitzpatrick
14 Lamont Ham-Gadson
13 Jamie Barlow
12 Allan Hanson
11 Brandon Stine
10 Luke Titus
9 Dennis Diza
1 Nic Chaufournier
2 Julian Santana
3 Corben McInnis
4 Zach Reichenbach
5 Ross Bernier
6 Shawn Wagner
7 Dante Walters
8 Peter Malcolm
Reserves
Adam Parsons
Christian Ghering
Clayton Smith
Garrett Kiedrowski
Ian Brooks
Jordan Saseen
Kevin Marshall
Tyler Menzler
Sam Leone
