Continuing what has been an excellent fall season for the Army flanker and captain, Collum Magee scored with six minutes left to life the Blck Knights over Kutztown in a clash of the top two teams in the Rugby East.

 

Kutztown falls to 4-1 but takes two bonus points from the game, while Army improves to 5-0 and is in 1st place.

 

The game was a dramatic, back-and-forth tussle between two very good rugby teams. Peter Basnight got the host Army team going with a try early on, but Kutztown equalized when Johan van Wyk set up Vetekina Malafu for a try to tie the game 5-5.

 

Kutztown scored again to take the lead and the momentum would continue to shift at Army’s Anderson Rugby Complex all afternoon. Black Knight flyhalf Logan Pearce has kicked well most of the fall and slotted a penalty to inch his side closer. Pearce then set up freshman Jake Lachina for a try to put Army ahead 13-12.

 

Kutztown replied almost immediately, with Adam Greider going over. With Niku Kruger’s conversion good, Kutztown led 19-13.

 

Army would come back as Magee powered over; Pearce’s conversion made the score West Point 20 Kutztown 19. Army then got some breathing room thanks to Lachina, as the former Thousand Oaks, Calif. basketball star scored his second of the game. Pearce slotted the extras for an eight-point Army lead.

 

Which became three points in short order as Alex Faison-Donahoe’s ran in for the Bears. 27-24 Army led. 

 

More pressure from Kutztown resulted in two kickable penalties. Kruger put both over, inching his side into the lead 30-27 with only a few minutes to go. That’s when Magee, who has impressed in every game this season and was a Goff Rugby Report Player of the Week, took matters into his own hands to score the go-ahead try.

 

Army held on for the final six minutes to pull of the upset.

 

Meanwhile, Penn State took control of 3rd place with a 41-26 defeat of Wheeling Jesuit.

 

With those two results, the Rugby East looks like this: