SOCORRO, N.M. – The New Mexico Tech men’s rugby club defeated southern rivals University of Texas at El Paso by a score of 20-10 on Saturday, Jan. 26.

In a matchup of Miners vs. Miners, the rivals kicked off their respective spring seasons in sunny conditions, with only a slight breeze and temperatures hovering around 50 degrees. The Texans appeared to have the edge in terms of physical stature, but what the locals may have lacked in size they appeared to make up in terms of teamwork. In the opening quarter of the 80-minute match the Techies looked more dangerous with ball in hand, yet handling errors after several promising breaks through UTEP’s first line of defense turned the ball over to the visitors.

UTEP was penalized at 22 minutes and captain and scrumhalf Logan Blake turned the ball over to Nigel Ruckhaus, whose 38-meter kick put Tech up 3-0. Just before halftime number eight forward Tadeo Herrera executed a brilliant steal of the ball near UTEP’s goalposts and fought off a tackler to touch down Tech’s first five-point try of the spring season. Ruckhaus’s two-point conversion kick went wide and the teams went to the five-minute intermission with Tech leading 8-0.

UTEP took the second-half initiative by mounting a sustained attack and Desmond Castillo finished with a short-range try after seven minutes. This conversion attempt also failed, and the scores stood at 8-5.

At 11 minutes some good running and passing by Tech’s back line moved the ball close to the (other) Miner line, and the home forwards consolidated possession for Logan Blake to alertly dive between a cluster of defenders for five points. Ruckhaus came good on the conversion and NMT led 15-5.

UTEP countered once more 17 minutes into the half, culminating with Juan Imhoff’s run for five points down the left touchline. The steeply-angled conversion kick was missed but Tech’s lead appeared insecure at 15-10 with 23 minutes to play.

Effective teamwork by all 15 players, which by now included a handful of developing players, got Tech into UTEP territory with spare minutes to play, and the pressure led to a UTEP penalty. Ruckhaus sailed the resulting free kick into touch (out of bounds) close to the try line, setting the stage for lock forward Jake Downey to crash over for the decisive five-point score as time ran down. Again the conversion kick was unsuccessful, but Tech’s 20 points overcame UTEP’s 10 as referee Clint Richardson’s whistle signaled full time.

The Tech Miners travel to Las Vegas, N.M., on February 9 to take on National Small College Rugby Association (NSCRO) rivals New Mexico Highlands University. Kickoff time and venue are to be determined.

– NMT –