Westlake Ruggers Beat Experienced Dallas Jesuit Squad in First Home Match
January 23, 2009
The Chaps’ first side played host on Friday night to a perennial Texas Rugby powerhouse, Dallas Jesuit, and the evening air was charged as a large home crowd gathered to watch the battle. During warm-ups, veteran players Markham Sayers and Connor McNally stole long glances toward the yellow jerseys across the field. Two years ago, this Dallas Jesuit team had easily handled an Austin area squad in the state championship tournament that featured the older brothers of both Sayers and McNally. Observers weren’t quite sure, but it certainly looked as if these two Chaps, at least, felt there was an old score to settle.
Conditions at kickoff were perfect: mild temperatures and only a hint of a crosswind. The Chaps wasted no time as fly half Markham “the leg” Sayers, who had received a pass at mid-field, executed a looping kick over the defenders, beat the opposing team to the ball as it rolled toward the try zone, and scored. Sayers added a conversion kick and the Chaps found themselves up 7-0 just a few minutes into the contest. But Dallas Jesuit showed its poise and recovered quickly, scoring after a series of short breakaways by their veteran backs.
Then, as if on queue, the Westlake scrum, led by Alex Putnam and Sam Wakefield, came to life and would not be denied. They kept the opponents on their heels and Westlake went on a scoring frenzy. For the second game in a row, scrum half Connor McNally scored twice after finding a loose ball and sneaking across the end line before being noticed by the Dallas Jesuit scrummies. Veteran full back James Robison added to the tally with a long breakaway up the middle and flanker Ari Shita closed out the period for Westlake by muscling into the try zone just before the half. At the break, the home team was ahead by a score of 29-10.
The second half only underscored Westlake’s dominance. Once again, Daniel Sharplin turned in a stellar performance at lock, controlling more than his share of the lineouts, and Rogan Lye continued to impress with his passionate play. Crisp passing allowed the backs to run through the Dallas Jesuit defense seemingly at will. Cameron “straight line” Stroup showcased his blinding speed early in the period when he scored after a long run straight down the left sideline. Evan Von Zureuehlen scored shortly thereafter (despite playing with a sore hamstring) and full back James Robison notched his second try of the match after he beat Dallas Jesuit defenders to a long kick by McNally and rambled in for the score. The period also featured a conversion kick by Pace Trip and, when it was over, the Westlake Chaps had stunned Dallas Jesuit by winning 46-22. As the players trooped off the field, fans were left wondering aloud just how good this new rugby team might prove to be.
The second match of the evening featured Westlake’s second side against a strong San Antonio club team’s first side. Westlake fans looked on anxiously as the squads lined up for the opening kick-off. It appeared that the Chap scrum gave up about 50 pounds per man to its counterpart on the opposite side of the field. But superior rucking technique and inspired play by the Westlake scrummies, especially Josh Womack, Evan Breeland, and Ari Shita, kept the San Antonio players off balance. The two teams battled for almost half a period before Westlake struck first when Shita bulled his way across the end line. San Antonio roared back and knotted the score at 5-5 with its own try almost immediately. But just before the half, scrum half Vince Costa continued his consecutive game scoring streak when he broke a tackle and raced through the heart of San Antonio’s defense to give the Chaps a 10-5 half-time lead.
Unfortunately, the opponent’s size advantage wore the Chaps down in the second half and the lads from the Alamo City ripped off four trys in the period. Westlake answered with a score by Paul Brown and a conversion kick by Costa, but Westlake found itself on the short end of a 31-17 score at the match’s end.
Charles Vermont