NMT Rugby Club in Dramatic Win

SOCORRO, N.M., Sept. 9, 2003-- The San Juan Sanchos Rugby Club arrived in Socorro a few bricks short of a load Saturday. Playing with five seasoned veterans loaned them by host New Mexico Tech, they nearly managed to ruin the Pygmy’s home opener before falling, 41-39.

The first-season Sanchos, rising from the ashes of the moribund Three Rivers Diablos, had taken their lumps at the Santa Fe Tens tournament the week before. Fortunately for them the Pygmies were eager to bring four rookies into their starting mix during the early season, freeing up some very capable players to help the visitors: Katsuya Sugimoto, Josh Ulbricht, Duncan Langlois, Matt Majors, and Dave Yazzie.

Tech’s rookie gamble paid off early, as Socorro High School graduate Tory Tadano, just 18 years old and playing on the wing in his second weekend of rugby, followed up in support of teammate Ben Yeamans like a pro to score a five-point try eight minutes into the match. Patrick Simons, recently named backline captain for the club, couldn’t connect on the conversion kick and the score remained 5-0.

Within the next 12 minutes, the Pygmies’ tackling, so lethal the week before in Santa Fe, failed the test three times for Sancho scores, one of them by the mercenary-for-a-day Josh Ulbricht. All three two-point conversion kicks were missed, however, revealing Farmington’s Achilles heel. On the day, they would convert only two of seven tries, while Simons eked out three successful kicks for the margin of victory.

The young Pygmies trailed 15-12 at the half after getting another hustling try from T.J. Evans, back at Tech after a stint in the U.S. Navy. Soon after Tech took a brief lead on a try by the prolific Simons. But the Sanchos re-established their one-point edge at 20-19 when Tech “loaner” Matt Majors snatched a Pygmy lineout throw and steamed 40 yards to paydirt. As fate would have it, Tech had been playing one man short since halftime as the result of Ben Yeamans’s departure due to a wrist sprain.

At this point the Pygmies returned to their defensive funk, and San Juan tacked on two additional tries, one the product of Pygmy-on-loan Katsuya Sugimoto. Both scores were converted, for a seemingly insurmountable 34-19 lead with just 15 minutes remaining.

At a water break at the ¾ point, Tech reclaimed Sugimoto from the traveling team, NMT alumnus Ron Trueblood (recently enrolled in the petroleum graduate program) ran on for the Sanchos, and a wild fourth quarter ensued.

First Tadano touched down for NMT to mark his scoring debut with a brace, then scrumhalf and club president Paul Quintana showed his heart with a remarkable length-of-field effort in which he handled the ball three separate times. But once again San Juan had an answer, as big hooker Beau Vincent rumbled over in the grasp of two Pygmy tacklers, 39-29. Tech flyhalf Rob Harrison answered that with a slicing run as the clock wore down to narrow the gap to 39-34, and as the Pygmies were awarded a scrum restart in the middle of the pitch, referee Dr. Clint Richardson held up a finger to signal “one minute to go”.

Tech’s forwards gave ground slightly under a concerted San Juan shove, but Quintana made a clean pass to Harrison running a diagonal behind the scrum. The flyhalf passed to Simons, who made an initial break through the defense before unloading to a darting Sugimoto. As he was tackled 20 yards out, Sugimoto popped up a perfect pass to the following Quintana, who laid the ball down as he was buried just five yards from the line. It was Simons who arrived to the ruck first, dug the ball out of the pile of players, and sneaked over to tie the score, 39-all. Simons made no mistake on the conversion for the 41-39 final tally. Sugimoto was named Man of the Match for his stellar performances on behalf of each team, while sophomore lock Matt Majors also played inspired rugby for the visitors.

Tech’s ruggers have a home date with the Brujos Rugby Club on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Pygmies are gunning to avenge a 27-7 loss in Albuquerque last March. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.