CSU vs Texas A&M 4/7/06 Western Playoffs

Final Score CSU 17 A&M 10

Colorado State University won in the first round of the Western Regional Playoffs this Friday April 7^th.  Defeating the top seed out of the Texas league, Texas A&M 17-10 in an impressive performance.  

The wind played a huge factor in the game as all the points scored in the match were with the wind.

CSU had the wind at their back in the first half and after 10 minutes of feeling out the other team and the ref CSU started to dominate possession.  CSU ran a lineout from the attacking 22 meter line and the ball was spun to the backs and crashed in the centers.  Quick rucking saw the ball spun wide to senior captain and full back Mike Krayna who stretched the defense and set another quick ruck.  The ball was then popped to senior lock and emotional leader Ryan Chapman who ran the score in untouched.  Brett wolf was good on the conversion to put the score at 7-0. 

CSU continued to put pressure on A&M and was pounding at the goal line again.  After several phases Ryan Chapman was stopped at the goal line and turned to set another platform of attack.  Freshman 8-man Justin Mitchell stripped the ball off of Ryan and drove the ball over the line from 5 meters out carrying several defenders with him.  The conversion missed in the strong wind and the score was 12-0.  

Play continued in the A&M half, forced from good tactical kicking to place A&M under pressure in their own end.  At the 40 meter line CSU stole ball from A&M and put it through the hands going from Keith gross to Danny Bolling to Logan Collins and then center Matt Fishburn who drew both centers and popped a pass to outside center Nick Anderson who hit a gap and just as he was being tackled threw a beautiful spin pass over the last defender to the wing Tom Martin who caught the ball at full stride and carried it in for the score. 

At half time CSU led 17-0.

The second half was a different story as CSU now faced the increasing wind and dropping temperatures.  Texas A&M made multiple subs and came out firing at the half, sending multiple pop kicks at CSU.  Jake Silverman and Mike Krayna handled the kicks and pressure brilliantly countering the kicks with good penetrating runs.  CSU continued to hold but were being pressed defending at their own goal line but unable to kick out of trouble against the wind. 

A&M did receive a penalty for all their work and converted the penalty goal getting on the score board to make the game 17-3.  

A&M was threatening to score again and drove a crash ball into the CSU end zone but sophomore fly half Logan Collins and sophomore flanker Danny Bolling held the ball up. 

Later in the half from a CSU scrum 15 meters out from goal the A&M scrum half picked up the ball after it popped out the back of the scrum and side stepped in to score, moving the score line to 17-10. 

That would be the last score of the game as CSU would finish the last 15 minutes with tough defense and long phases of ball possession.  CSU was winning scrums and started to pick and drive from the scrums.  With excellent rucking the team would control possession crashing the ball in the forwards and the backs marching the ball down the field and sealing the CSU victory. 

CSU vs UNC 3/31/06

A-side Summary CSU 50 - UNC 39

Both teams were looking for positive high level rugby and a win to carry into the playoffs the following week.  Both teams and the fans received an exciting quality match but CSU came away with the win 50 – 39 over UNC. 

The teams came out firing under the lights in front of a good crowd at CSU.  The scoring was started off early as CSU’s scrum half Brett Wolf kicked a 30 meter penalty that started a good night of kicking where Wolf went 6 for 9 kicking for 15 points. 

The first try of seven on the night for CSU was scored by senior 8-man Jake Humphrey who ran the ball weak from the 40 yard line.  Jake followed that score up quickly 4 minutes later when freshman #7 Justin Mitchell set Jake up for the score putting CSU up 15-0.

UNC came back with a penalty kick from outside center Nate Yanacone and a try from the UNC #15.  Continuing the come back UNC again scored after pounding multiple phases of play into the CSU zone butting them on top 15-17.

CSU countered quickly when CSU drove a maul in from 10 meters out and lock Kyle Evans scored his first of two try’s on the day.  Another impressive attacking play followed for the next score when freshman wing Tom Martin received the ball spun wide attacking in space where he chipped a kick ahead recovered the kick but was tackled where a quick ruck was won by support and Nick Anderson picked the ball and ran in for the score.  These two quick scores were countered by UNC’s 8-man a good 20 meter run for a try to close out the half with the score 27-22 in favor of CSU. 

The second half saw the same see saw game with each team gaining periods of momentum.  The dangerous and speedy UNC backline pressured CSU and UNC produced 1 penalty and two tries in the second half keeping the result of the game within question for the duration of the match. 

CSU had to work hard to finish off the match with try’s from lock Kyle Evans, lock Ryan Chapman and hooker Ehren Samuelson.   

Both teams benefited from the competitive high level match and will carry valuable lessons into the playoffs.

The B-side match saw CSU beat UNC 24-5. 

In the game the CSU backs dominated UNC spinning the ball wide and running threatening attacks from all over the field. 

The UNC B-side was filled in by several CSU coaches and alumni where coach Garrett Overlee scored from center off a pass from coach Matt Hofmeister.  Alumni Sean Kelly also ran a half at center. 

For CSU the scoring was started by freshman fly half Tom Staab when he crashed the ball in off of a ruck.  Then C.J. Eims blocked a UNC kick and recovered the ball for a score in the UNC end zone. 

Man of the match Josh Relph “The American Dream” picked the ball from a ruck and ran weak, pinning the defender and putting Jake Silverman in for the score.  Then again at the end of the game Josh Relph “The American Dream” burst on to the ball from a pass from Tom Staab.  After breaking the defensive line The Dream threw an overhand pass 30 yards out wide from the dead run to hit wing Jonathan Cohen on stride where he turned the corner to finish off the game in style. 

CSU vs UNM 10/29/05

A couple of quotes from the team sum up the game well.  Head coach Matt Hofmeister stated after the game, “Playing a different style of Rugby than CSU is used to, we used kicking and smash mouth Rugby to win the game.”  Jake Humphrey, senior flanker, chimed in, “Good teams find ways to win.”

It was down to the final weekend with CSU needing a win to see themselves into a playoff spot.  The University of New Mexico was not going to just lay down.  As it turns out they also had a lot to play for.  A win, combined with a forfeit being overturned, could result in UNM squeaking into the playoffs.  In one of the toughest contests of the year the Rams fought tooth and nail to come from behind late in the game to beat the Lobos 22-15. 

When the two teams met earlier this year the Lobos were prone to conceding numerous penalties in their own half.  The Rams took advantage of this by going for posts, early and often, in the first fifteen minutes, it kept the Rams in the game and kept the Lobos honest.  At ten minutes CSU scored the games first try with what was becoming a signature play for the backs.  At midfield the Rams won their own lineout cleanly and got the ball to the backs where fly half Mike Krayna hit full back Weston Geigle at full pace and split the defense.  Geigle couldn’t do it all himself as the Lobos fullback drew a bead on him.  Geigle took on the defender but not before he found Brandon Schrieber to his outside who then ran it under the posts uncontested.  Wolf converted the try and the Rams led 10-3.  The Rams looked like they were about to repeat the shellacking they gave the Air Force Academy the week before.  However, the Lobos were not going to lay down and play dead. 

Ten minutes later UNM ran in their own score when a miscommunication on defense saw the Lobos easily run in a penalty from close range; tight head prop Mike Maday scored for the Lobos.  The conversion failed and the Rams kept the lead by 2, 10-8.  However the lead was soon lost as dodgy tackling saw the Lobos center Dan Wysong split the defense and touched down under the posts in the twenty-seventh minute.  It was a lead that the Lobos would take into halftime.  As for the next fifteen minutes, the forwards from both teams pounded away at each other. 

The second half continued the same the first half ended.  The backs had some adventurous runs into the Lobos half.  Mike Krayna and Weston Geigle also found plenty of space with their boots causing the Lobos backline to scramble on several occasions.  CSU finally broke through the defense when flanker Sam Doniach ran deep into Lobo territory off a long lineout.  The ensuing ruck was spun out to Jaret Ruscio who beat his man to touch down to the left of the posts at twenty seven minutes of the second half.  The conversion missed and the game was tied at fifteen a piece.  Once again the Lobo’s responded and kept the ball in the Rams half for most of the remaining thirteen minutes.  The Lobos had a try disallowed for an infringement in the scrum and on several occasions were turned away on the try line by a CSU defense that refused to be beat.  It was a combination of tough forwards play and pinpoint kicking that set up the Rams winning try.  While under pressure with the final whistle looming, CSU stole a UNM scrum deep in their own territory.  Jake Humphrey picked up the loose ball and passed it to Mike Krayna who launched a booming kick towards the Lobos try area.  Under pressure from outside center Ryan Ersland the Lobos fullback bobbled the ball, which Ersland picked up and then dove over the UNM fullback for the try.  From an angle, Brett Wolf converted and virtually put the game out of reach.  CSU controlled the remaining three minutes and looked to add a fourth try and get the bonus point but the final whistle blew and CSU celebrated a tough win.  They were bloodied and bruised but the Rams gave all they had and came out on top.  Honorable mentions go to the loose forwards for shutting down the Lobo’s #8 Fraser Lavasa and the tight five who controlled the Lobo’s pack. 

Written by Dafyd Jones

Scoring Summary

A-side Scoring Summary

3-0 2:00 CSU #9 Brett Wolf Penalty Kick

3-3 6:00 UNM #11 Phil Bolton Penalty Kick

10-3 9:00 CSU Brandon Schrieber converted Try

10-8 19:00 Mike Maday unconverted Try

10-15 27:00 Dan Wysong converted Try

Halftime

15-15 27:00 Jaret Ruscio converted Try

22-15 39:00 Ryan Ersland converted Try

A-Side Line Ups

CSU

1 David Richards

2 Jaret Ruscio

3 Greg Raubeson

4 Danny Bolling

5 Ryan Chapman

6 Sam Doniach

7 Jake Humphrey

8 Logan Collins

9 Brett Wolf

10 Michael Krayna

11 Tom Martin

12 Ian Oldham

13 Ryan Ersland

14 Brandon Schrieber

15 Weston Geigle

16 Kevin Teel (Blood Sub for #3 29:00 Second Half)

17 Nick Anderson (Sub for #6 30:00 Second Half)

18 Joel Wixson

19 Ehren Samuelson

20 Ryan Ross

21 Kevin Donahoe

22 Jake Silverman

University of New Mexico

1 Brandon Campbell

2 Mason Tietjen

3 Mike Maday

4 Kengang Nazali

5 Alex Walton

6 Kelcey Tieljen

7 Ben Bridges

8 Fraser Lavasa

9 Justin Wade

10 Mashashi Oshi

11 Phil Bolton

12 Dan Wysong

13 Andre Jackson

14 Mike Lopez

15 Dominic Rodriguez

16 Nach Brittelle

17 Tommy Barns

18 Robert Cupp

19 Z Reisz

20 Kyle Paffet

21 Ian Cody

22 Armand Wicolet

CSU vs Air Force 10/23/05

With the season winding down, and wins becoming a must the CSU Rams faced off against the #6 nationally ranked Air Force Academy.  A win is what they needed to keep their season alive, and a win is what they got, as the Rams pummeled the Zoomies 65-35. 

The Falcons big pack helped Air Force maintain procession early on and they used there size to set up the 1^st score of the game as Zoomie scrumie John Cordova ran weak off a ruck to touch down.  The Rams pulled even however two minutes later with an overthrown lineout from their own 25 meter line that was brought down by flanker Jake Humphrey and set up as a ruck. Scrum half Brett Wolf had to dig the ball out of the ruck and sent a floating pass to Fly half Mikey Krayna, with the defense bearing down Mikey sent a perfect skip pass wide to full back Weston Geigle who caught the pass at pace and sprinted 80 yards for the score.  Five minutes later from a quick tap penalty scrum half Brett Wolf passed to flanker Jake Humphrey where hooker Jaret Ruscio was there with quick support drove on Jake Humphrey and dove past the Air Force defense for the score.  The try went unconverted to give CSU a 12-7 lead.  10 minutes later Air Force retook the lead with a converted try through their work horse outside center Brice Collier.  At 34 minutes the Rams once again exposed the falcons back line defense when outside center Ryan Ersland took a pass from Mikey Krayna to run 80 yards under the posts, a conversion from Brett Wolf made it 19-14.  With half time looming the Rams added another score when flanker Sam Doniach hit the ball up off a short line out where he broke through the defense and popped a pass to Ryan Chapman who ran it in for the score, his first of four tries.  The whistle blew for halftime shortly after with the Rams leading 26-14.

Air Force started the second half similar the first as the Rams hardly saw the ball for the first 10 minutes.   With pounding forward runs and clean rucks the Zoomies scrumie John Cordova scored his second try of the day.  The sideline was restless as it seemed CSU had come out too flat in the second half.  But the Rams made sure Air Force never got any closer and ran off an offensive explosion rarely seen in 1^st XV rugby.  CSU ran in 4 tries in just over 15 minutes.  Scores came from Ryan Chapman, his second of the game, prop David Richards his first for CSU (did someone say Zulu?).  Jake Humphrey added another tally and Ryan Chapman touched down for his hat trick.  Kicking miscues however lessened the blow as the Rams led 48-21.  Air Force tried to mount a comeback and again went through outside center Brice Collier for the score. 

At 30 minutes into the second frame Jake ran in his second try when the ball was spun to him on the weak side, he had support but didn’t need it as Air Force’s poor defense continued and Jake was able to break tackles at will.  Bryce Collier ran in his third of the day for Air Force but it was all but over as the Rams ran in two more scored before the final whistle.  The forwards were now dominating the Air Force back and drove a lineout from 15 meters out, hooker Jaret Ruscio and flanker Sam Doniach rolled the ball of the maul and put the ball down.  Second row Ryan Chapman finished off the game when Brett Wolf quick tapped and the ball went through several hands before Chapman pushed through and dove over a defender for the score.  His second row partner Danny Bolling finished off the game with a long conversion kick. 

When the ref finally put an end to the massacre the Rams jumped and hollered as they new there season was still alive.  So it’s off to New Mexico next week for the first tour this year.  If the Rams play with the guts they displayed today they will book themselves a trip to the West playoffs next spring. 

The B-side looked to remain undefeated in league play but were bested by the Zoomies 0-21.  The Zoomie ball possession deprived CSU of offensive opportunities and tough rucking and strait running gave the Zoomies the win.  The B-side back showed a few flashes but poor ball control and cohesion ended the winning streak.  The Rams fought tough until the end and hooker Ehren Samuelson received the man of the match award.

Written by Dafyd Jones

A-side Scoring Summary

0-7 9:00   Air Force #9 John Cordova converted Try

7-7 11:30 CSU #15 Weston Geigle converted Try

12-7 17:00 CSU #2 Jaret Ruscio Try

12-14 27:00 Air Force #13 Brice Colliers converted Try

19-14 34:00 CSU #13 Ryan Ersland converted Try

26-14 39:00 CSU #5 Ryan Chapman converted Try

Half

26-21 7:00 Air Force #9 John Cordova converted Try

31-21 10:30 CSU #5 Ryan Chapman Try

36-21 17:20 CSU #1 David Richards Try

41-21 21:30 CSU #7 Jake Humphrey Try

48-21 25:00 CSU #5 Ryan Chapman converted Try

48-28 27:15 Air Force #13 Brice Colliers converted Try

53-28 30:00 CSU #7 Jake Humphrey Try

53-35 32:00 Air Force #13 Brice Colliers converted Try

58-35 34:00 CSU #6 Sam Doniach Try

65-35 40:00 CSU #5 Ryan Chapman converted Try

A-Side Line Ups

CSU

1 David Richards

2 Jaret Ruscio

3 Greg Raubeson

4 Danny Bolling

5 Ryan Chapman

6 Sam Doniach

7 Jake Humphrey

8 Logan Collins

9 Brett Wolf

10 Michael Krayna

11 Tom Martin

12 Ian Oldham

13 Ryan Ersland

14 Brandon Schrieber

15 Weston Geigle

16 Kevin Teel

17 Nick Anderson

18 Joel Wixson

19 Ehren Samuelson

20 Jason Krutszch

21 Jeff Odell

22 Thomas Staab

Air Force

1 Greg Adam

2 Ernest Guzman

3 James King

4 Carl Corvin

5 Jason Pausewang

6 Kyle Anderson

7 Will Harris

8 Eric Duechle

9 John Cordova

10 Daniel Griffin

11 Clinton Muery

12 Andrew Braley

13 Brice Collier

14 Rosie Deas

15 Mike Kendall

16 Mitch Wills

17 Griff Hoffman

18 Jordan Kahn

19 Steven Mount

20 Mark Cerni

21 Pat Walsh

22 Tommy Smith

CU vs CSU 10/16/05

CSU looked to get into the win column for league play on Sunday when they faced CU at home. The Rams pulled together and played their best fame of the season.  However the Rams fell short in the dying minutes and went down the Buffaloes 25-26. 

CSU threatened early and seemed to be in control, but they couldn't quite get the ball through the hands.  CU went on the offensive and controlled the run of play for the next 10 minutes but also failed to score.  CU finally found the try zone at 18:30.  CSU lost their lineout, which CU recovered, and after a few phases the ball was spun out wide to CU full back Kevin Smith, who ran in untouched for the converted score. 

CSU looked like they had an immediate answer, but a fumble in the Rams backline was picked up by CU and ran under the posts.  With the conversion it was 14-0 CU after 22 minutes of play.  It looked like CU was going to run away with it, but CSU woke up and scored 2 tries in ten minutes.  The 1st came from a knock by CU that CSU played advantage on.  The ball was spun out to the backs and #13 Ryan Ersland broke through the defense and offloaded to #15 Weston Geigle for the score.  On the restart the ball was collected by CSU and taken into a ruck.  #7 Jake Humphrey picked the ball and ran to the weak side, side-stepped two would be tacklers and took it the distance.  Both try's went unconverted, leaving CSU trailing 10-14. 

The tempo of the game soon slowed and possession went back and forth until CU broke through and looked to score but #12 Ian Oldham ran down the CU player and made a try saving tackle to keep the game close.  However, CU was able to run in one more try before the half time whistle.  They pounded the ball up the middle of the field and touched down on the weak side of a ruck.  The conversion missed and the score was 10-19.  CSU also managed to get some points before the half when #4 Danny Bolling hit a penalty kick to leave the half time score CSU 13 to CU 19.

The second half opened up with CU on the attack and threatening with a lineout at the five meter line.  CSU stole the scrum and then touched down a loose ball in their own try zone, which gave the ball back to CU with a 5 meter scrum.  CU controlled the ball and after several pick and goes touched down for another score.  The conversion was good and CU led 26-13. 

So once again the rams were down by 2 scores and once again they responded.  #9 Brett Wolf quick-tapped a penalty just inside the CU half and squeezed himself through the CU defense for the score.  The conversion was controversially waved off even though it looked good.  CSU went back on the offensive and after numerous phases CU's defense collapsed.  Brett Wolf sent a pass to #10 Mikey Krayna who had an overload, the defense shifted to cover the overload and Mikey took the score in himself.  Wolf converted and brought CSU to within one point.  CSU played the last 15 minutes with desperation and looked to steal the game when Wolf and freshman wing Tom Martin broke through the defense and seemed to be home free.  They were caught however, just yards from the try-line and in the ensuing ruck the ball trickled out of bounds.  With that the ref blew the whistle for full time and CSU hearts were broken. 

CSU vs Wyoming 9/25/05

            The CSU men’s rugby team opened up its league play this past weekend with a hard-fought contest against Wyoming.  Emotions ran high in a game that saw scrappy play from both teams as Wyoming came out on top 21-11. CSU looked the better team early on with tough tackling (with Jake Humphrey leading the charge), and a strong showing in the scrums, which lead to several turnovers. It was a stolen ball from a ruck that lead to CSU’s only try of the game. Mikey Krayna hit Ian Oldham on the week side who then broke several tackles on his way to 50 yd try run. The conversion failed but the Rams were in the lead 5-3. Two minutes later the rams were on the board again when Brett Wolf kicked a penalty through the uprights and gave the Rams an 8-3 lead.  It was short-lived however as Wyo punished the CSU defense with numerous runners off of the fly half exhausting the CSU defense in this channel. Wyoming fly half Mark Stines took advantage of  the defensive disarray and slipped by two tackles to put the try down under the posts. With the conversion the score was now 10-8. The teams traded penalties in the next 10 minutes and it was still anybody’s game when the half-time whistle blew, score CSU 11 Wyo 13.

In the second half, however, the Rams were never able to settle down, as play got real ugly. The ball was getting knocked on and the Rams could not secure their own rucks. Jake Humphrey was sin binned for a late hit on a kicker, the Rams hunkered down and only allowed a penalty despite being a man down for ten minutes. Soon the Rams were down a man again when Ryan Chapman was sent off for a similar infraction (the ref later admitted to being to harsh and the suspension is being appealed). This time it was too much as Wyoming ran in for there second score as Corey Sittner ran to the weak side of a ruck 10m out from the try line at two minutes from full time. It was a tough loss, and the players know they can play better as a team. Man of the match honors went to Jake Humphrey for his aggressive presence on the field and punishing hits that were fun to watch.

The B-side, ran all over their Wyo counterparts and scored an impressive 28-7 win over the Cowboys. The game started on a worrying note as Wyo scored barely a minute in on a suspicious decision by the ref to allow a try without the ball being touched down. The Rams recovered quickly and the entire team played well, especially the back line which had no problem spinning the ball wide and exposing the Cowboys’ flanks.  Tom Martin (who played for 10mins at the end of the A-side game) displayed excellent speed and field awareness and lead the killer B’s with 2 tries, earning him MOTM honors. Potter, who played well on the other wing, also got on the score sheet. The Rams will get another tough test this Friday night when they face Aspen Ruggerfest Champions the Denver Barbarians.  Kick-off is at 7PM come out to see the Rams under the lights.