18 April 2011

Mustang Boys Finish Home Set Strong Before Hitting the Road for Three Straight

The Schenectady Chargers bolted into Fireman's Grove on Friday, April 10th, for a match-up with the Saratoga Mustang Boys U19 Rugby Club. The Chargers were poised for their first match of the season, while Saratoga was looking at its second match in six days. Both sides were lean for kick-off as spring break and early season injuries claimed several players from both sides. As such, the match kicked off for Saratoga with rookies at key positions in the pack as Shawn Whitaker (BHBL, 10th) stood in at front row and Nate Sawyer (BHBL, 10th) came in the back at eight-man. The rest of the starting line-up was filled out with veterans including this week's forwards captain and second row, Dylan Thompson (BHBL, 11th) and team captain and fly-half, Chris Heckman (Ballston Spa, 12th). This line-up was key in getting the Mustangs trotting to an early lead. In fact, in the second minute, it was early dominant forward play and shifty ball movement that allowed inside center Race Viedt (BHBL, 10th) to charge through traffic for the first score of the game. Much of the first half was played in the Saratoga offensive end as three more tries followed with aggressive pack play and good ball handling to the line. In the 19th minute, Sawyer bullied his way for five points, followed by Viedt at the 23rd minute, who, yes, Raced his way for 30 plus meters for his second score of the match. In the last minute of the half, flanker Shayne Briaddy (BHBL, 10th) squeezed his way in for a hard-earned try and put the Mustangs up 20-0 at the whistle. At half time, the Mustangs made personnel changes in the backs but kept things the same up front. The punishing runs from the forwards continued into the second half as Whitaker and Sawyer barreled into and through defenders and the spark-plug hooker Joe Russell (BHBL, 12th) got underneath defenders several times on his own for big gains. These runs allowed Sawyer to get his second try of the match at the 40th minute. Schenectady responded to the final Saratoga try as they began crafty and punishing runs of their own; however, this was not enough to overcome the Saratoga lead. Regardless, the Chargers neven showed an ounce of quit as they kept driving and pounding as hard as they could. They counter-rucked superbly in the second half and began gaining momentum. Schenectady exhibited significant character on the day and it was truly an honor to match up against them. In the end, though, it was Saratoga 25 - Schenectady 0. The man of the match, as elected by the Chargers, was hooker Joe Russell. Saratoga now hits the road for three straight before returning home May 22nd against Berkshire United.

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