Tech Ruggers Finish Season with Upset Win

SOCORRO, N.M., Nov. 13, 2006 -- Revenge was sweet Saturday for the New Mexico Tech Rugby Football Club.

Six weeks after suffering a 44-0 whitewashing in El Paso at the hands of the Scorpions, the Pygmies controlled play on their own field Saturday to record a memorable 12-7 win in their last autumn match. The impressive display of power and skill showed the progress of a talented but young rugby team beginning to flex its wings.

The eight Pygmy forwards picked up where they left off September 30 in El Paso, when they manhandled their counterparts in scrum restarts and inbounds throws (lineouts). In that match, their hard won ball possession had come to naught from poor attacking options and execution. This time around Tech’s seven backs did their part to seal the victory by maintaining ball possession when tackled and clamping down in defense. Flyhalf (first back in the line) Seth Daly made good use of the kicked ball to keep the Scorpions off balance and retreating much of the day, while fullback Tory Tadano and wings Matt Nelson and Justin Guthrie applied extreme follow-up pressure, and were denied more than one breakaway score only by unlucky bounces of the ball.

Unrelenting attacking pressure by Tech made the difference as the Scorpions were forced into three defensive penalties near their own goal posts and Daly made them pay with three-point goal kicks each time. The first came after 14 minutes of play, after which the Pygmies gathered the ensuing kickoff and marched back up the field to repeat the feat just two minutes later.

The Scorpions had no answer for an uncharacteristically physical Pygmy scrum anchored in the front row by Nick McCarthy, Britt Catron, and later Dylan Merrigan, and driven forward by Tom Dotson and Steve Graves. Meanwhile loose forwards Matt Majors, Matt Kretz, and Hunter Rieck, joined by hooker John Rundberg combined to bring Scorpion runners low and swipe up ball possession. Contrary to the usual Pygmy bill of fare, it was the opponents who were denied useful ball possession as they were driven backward throughout the 80-minute match.

Neither could the visitors manage relief through kicking the ball out of play. Rundberg’s lineout throws were dead on mark to a soaring Graves, and later Dotson after Graves retired late in the first half with bruised ribs. El Paso, reduced to running whatever scraps of possession they could manage, kept things interesting with some athletic runs but were collared each time by urgent Pygmy tackles.

As the first-half clock wound down with Tech leading 6-0, the teams packed down for a scrum 10 meters from the Scorpion line. Rundberg’s hook came to the back of the scrum to halfback Jay Herrera, who rifled a pass to Daly standing behind. In a called move, Daly’s drop kick sailed through the uprights for Tech’s first dropkick goal in several years. The Pygmies went to the intermission with a 9-0 lead.

NMT camped near El Paso’s line for most of the first 20 minutes of the second half, but handling errors prevented them from adding more points other than a third penalty kick by Daly to inch further ahead12-0.

Finally breaking out with stolen ball after 24 minutes, El Paso carried play near Tech’s line and after a passage of desperate defensive play by Tech, sent center Enrique Blanco crashing over for a try converted by Jeff Park’s kick. Now trailing 12-7, El Paso was within a try of drawing even, and a successful conversion would put them ahead by two.

Again Tech drove play into Scorpion territory, and again could not put the desperately-tackling Scorpions away. The final whistle blew as Nelson kicked the ball out of bounds, and the Pygmies had a well-earned victory to end their season.

Tech’s forwards, including reserve hooker Mike Anguti, were recognized by captain Seth Daly for their control of the match, while scrumhalf Jay Herrera was chosen for individual honors as NMT’s man of the match for his effective running and passing.

The spring segment of the New Mexico Tech Rugby schedule commences with the opening of practice Tuesday, January 16. For more information on the NMT Rugby program, call 835-5854 or e-mail dwheelock@admin.nmt.edu.