The USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship returned to the Philadelphia region in 2012 for a weekend full of action on June 2nd & 3rd at PPL Park in Chester, PA.
Sixteen of the top collegiate rugby programs took part in Saturday’s action. Among them was Dartmouth who was looking to defend their 2011 title. They were divided into four groups (for round robin play) and awarded three points for a win, and one point for a draw. The groupings were as follows:
Arizona
Delaware
NC State
Temple
Army
Florida
Notre Dame
Texas
Cal
Maryland
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
Dartmouth
Navy
Penn State
Life University
The top eight teams after Saturday advanced to the Championship bracket on Sunday. Life University, Dartmouth, Arizona, and California all went 3-0 on Saturday to advance. Navy, Texas, and Delaware also advanced with 2-1 records on Saturday, and Wisconsin rounded out the top eight, going 1-1-1.
The final four consisted of Life University, Dartmouth, Arizona, and California, with Dartmouth defending its title against Arizona in the final match of the tournament. When all was said and done, Dartmouth had captured a second consecutive championship.
The tournament’s leading scorer was Derek Fish of Dartmouth with 60 points. Dartmouth also had two more players in the top seven scorers as Madison Hughes and Kevin Clark each finished with 30 points.
The weekend also featured a giant two day fan festival with concert performances highlighted by Yellowcard and Breathe Carolina.
The Rugby Sevens College Tournament was held at PPL Park in Chester over the weekend during a two day event which featured not only rugby but food, fun, and a concert by the Dropkick Murphy’s.
Rugby Sevens features seven players per side on the same size pitch as a traditional 15’s match. The high-scoring format provides for almost non-stop tournament play, as each match is split into two seven-minute halves, followed by a new game about every 20 minutes. Rugby Sevens kicks off as an Olympic sport in 2016.
Utah vs. ND
DAY ONE:
The powerhouse rugby programs of California, Utah, and Arizona showed up in near perfect form in front of the 10,000+ fans in attendance. Cal started the day crushing Ohio St 38-0, dominating every phase of the game, and suffocating the Buckeyes. Utah stumbled early with a loss against Dartmouth but rebounded with wins against Notre Damn and Boston College. Arizona went 3-0 on day one with impressive wins over Temple, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Wildcats did not let an opponent score on them on day one.
OK vs. PSUCal vs. Ohio St.
Local teams did not fare as well as their west coast counter parts. Penn State advanced with lackluster wins over Ohio St and LSU (they also got their clocks cleaned by Cal 26-7). Temple couldn’t muster a win despite having an entire section held down by Owls fans cheering for them. One of the best matches of day one was the Army vs Navy game; it was everything fans could have hoped for. Navy scored quickly early in the second half to take the lead before Army touched down a late try to steal the victory.
Army vs. Navy
ND vs. BC
DAY TWO:
Day two of the Collegiate Rugby Sevens Tournament started off with a major clash of rugby powerhouses. The defending champions of Utah took on Cal, the most dominate program in American history. Utah relied on its explosive speed and play making ability of Don Pati and the Lauti brothers to win 21-5. Central Washington University was the first team to put points on the board against a lighting fast Arizona squad. All it took was a single try for CWU to upset Arizona 5-0.
The semifinals kicked off with Army taking on Utah while the Dartmouth squad faced the Cinderella story of tourney, Central Washington. The major surprise of the semifinalists was that Utah stood alone with relative unknowns Army, CWU, and Dartmouth. Age, or better said, youth, was the major factor in the Utes loss to the boys from West Point. Tonata Lauti was sent off after a high late hit which gave Army a man advantage for two minutes. However, Army suffered the same fate and lost a player from a failure of releasing the ball in the ruck less than 5 meters from their own try line. Utah struck first but it was Army that struck often (surprisingly able to contain the fireworks of Don Pati and company).
Game two saw CWU face off against Dartmouth with impressive twins Chris and Nick Downer. The “Big Green” kept the pressure on from the first whistle with a fast Chris Downer try. CWU was able to answer with a try of their own but the joy was short lived as Dartmouth scored again and never let up, winning 24-12.
LSU vs. NDArmy Award
Dartmouth and Army faced of in what amounted to the Downer brother show. Nick provided big stops on defense and his twin brother showed his explosive footwork to stump the Black Knights. The normal seven minute halves are ramped up to ten in the finals and the extra time seemed to magnify the wear and tear on the Army squad. The first half ended with Dartmouth clearly in control of the match, up 22-5. Army would only make the trip across the line once more in the second half and fell short of The Big Green 32-10.
Champs
The Collegiate Rugby Sevens will make its return to PPL Park in 2012, just a year before the Sevens World Cup. A majority of the players on the fields this weekend will represent the USA in the World Cup and at the 2016 Olympics.
On a perfect day for a football game (70 degrees and sunny) the 2-0 Temple Owls of the Mid-American Conference took on the Connecticut Huskies (1-1) from the Big East Conference at Lincoln Financial Field. Saturday’s game was the 12th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1963. The teams last met in 2008 with UCONN winning 12-9 in overtime.
Chester Stewart
The game was exciting from start to finish with UCONN scoring first on a 36 yard field goal.
Jordan Todman (23) and the UCONN Big Boys
Temple then took the lead 7-3 in the second half on a 27 yard screen pass from Chester Stewart to Bernard Pierce but Connecticut connected on a second Dave Teggart field-goal to draw with in a point of Temple at the half.
Chester Stewart Hands Off to Bernard Pierce
As the second half began UCONN quickly recaptured the lead 13-7 on a 59 yard touchdown run by Jordan Todman. At the 5:21 mark in the same quarter, Bernard Pierce scored his second touchdown for the Owls and Temple regained the lead 14-13.
Chad Christen
The third quarter ended with UCONN up 16-14 on the strength of a 47 yard field-goal by Teggart with under a minute to play.
Bernard Pierce Carries the Rock
In the final quarter of play Jordan Todman who had gained 192 yards on 26 carries fumbled the ball and Temple’s Adrian Robinson recovered the ball and returned it 24 yards for a defensive touchdown.
Anthony Sherman
Temple’s Bernard Pierce again found the endzone for his third touchdown to give Temple a 27-16 lead. Pierce finished the day with 169 yards on 26 carries.
Adrian Robinson
With less than a minute to play, the Owl’s kicker Brandon McManus added a field-goal to give Temple a 30-16 win over the Huskies.
Zach Frazer Passing Down Field
After wins over 2009 FCS Champions Villanova, 2009 MAC Champions Central Michigan, and now UCONN, Temple is sitting pretty at 3-0. The Owl’s next game is in Happy Valley on Saturday as coach Al Golden leads Temple as they take on Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nitany Lions.
Baby Owls
To view the complete photo gallery from this game please follow this link:
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