El Paso Hammers NMT Rugby Club

Right: Manny Frias of the El Paso Rugby Club threatens the NMT try line Saturday in El Paso. Moving in for the tackle are Royce Beaudry (number 12), Seth Daly (10), and Cody McFarland (6).

by Dave Wheelock

SOCORRO, March 19, 2007 – Men’s club division El Paso Scorpions hammered an under-strength New Mexico Tech squad in El Paso Saturday, 55 points to 6. El Paso put across five tries in the first half and added four more in the second 40 minutes. Flyhalf Tim Park added two-point conversion kicks to five of the Scorpion touchdowns. Tech’s response was limited to two three-point conversion kicks by captain Seth Daly.

With temperatures soaring into the mid-80s, the home team had a feast against a Pygmy lineup missing five of eight regular forward players through injury and absences attributable to New Mexico Tech’s annual spring break. First-season forwards Max Crowning, Waylin Sieler, D.J. Santistevan, Joel Stanley, and Mike Brown strove but were unable to compensate for the absences of Britt Catron, Steve Graves, Tom Dotson, Hunter Riek, and John Rundberg. Loose forward Matt Nelson embodied the extra effort put forward by the remaining veterans and was recognized as Tech’s Man of the Match. Nelson commented on the steep learning curve for new players after the match. “I can’t complain; the effort was put forth.”

NMT will host Albuquerque’s Brujos, another club side, this Saturday, March 24, at 1:00 at the Tech Athletic Field in Socorro. The Pygmies have the following weekend open before venturing to Greeley, Colorado for the Western Rugby Union collegiate division two playoff tournament. New Mexico Tech is seeded seventh among eight regional champions competing for a spot in the national championships in Florida.

-NMT-