Around the US: LU, AIC, UND, McKendree, Fordham, and More
Around the US: LU, AIC, UND, McKendree, Fordham, and More
Here's a look at some of the D1A, NCR D1, and D1AA games around the country.
Tennessee Plays Two
Thomas More defeated Tennessee 27-20 on Friday.
TMU Head Coach John Fox said he was able to get a couple of players back on the field after an injury layoff. Lorenzo Lelli was able to give 20 quality minutes, and
Flanker Bautista Saint Bonnet was a terror, scoring two tries and earning player of the game honors.
“We were missing some key players against Walsh and they were back with us this week,” said Fox.
Malibongwe Mkosi, a freshman out of Zimbabwe, has emerged not only as a talent but a lead. Flyhalf Francisco Cuscuna and scrumhalf Mohale Sekhwela are starting to become a force.
“We have the right leadership and the right combinations,” said Fox. “They owned how it went at Walsh and made improvements.”
Tennessee then turned around and played Rio Grande and turned in a 31-31 tie.
Liberty Conference
The D1 league produced four head-turning results. Dartmouth faced a strong Iona side and thumped them 69-5. This was a notice to the rest of the league that Dartmouth could be a major contender.
Brown slammed Syracuse 120-10. There’s not much more to say about that. Brown is very dangerous.
In two closer games, AIC got another late penalty goal from German Rossi to win a game. Last time it was a 6-5 scoreline. This time it was to break a 32-32 tie with Siena to win it 35-32.
Ivan Rossi and Demetrius Ta’ape scored two tries each to pace AIC to a 29-15 lead, only for Siena to come storming back to tie it up. Flyhalf Fredrich de Koker and Luca Holloway, Anthony Guarino, and Harry Ryder all contributing to the scoresheet.
But Rossi was the hero in the end, winning it at the death.
Fordham edged Harvard 17-10. It’s a young Fordham team and a Harvard program still working its way upward.
“It was a story of two different halves,” said Fordham Head Coach Taye Daniel-Ayibiowu. “Harvard capitalized off our mistakes.”
The Crimson took a 10-0 lead, but a rather stern halltime discussion among the Fordham players about returning to principles of play sparked a comeback.
Flyhalf Benja Thompson, fullback Gavin McNicholl, and center Gabriel Ste, a sophomore and two freshmen, led the comeback “plus our bench gave us a nice jolt of energy,” said Daniel-Ayibiowu.
Those reserves Alex Popper, Benicio Jara, Sebastian Occhino, and Sebastian Kleczkowski.
“Not the pretty victory, but a victory nonetheless,” said Daniel-Ayibiowu. The win, he added, will “give our young squad confidence against a tough Liberty schedule. We'll be ready for the challenge against Dartmouth in the coming weeks.”
In Liberty’s D1AA league also produced some interesting results, notably UMass beat Northeastern 15-0 with tries from center Rahul Patel and lock Liam Concannon. John McGoey added a conversion and a penalty. That’s a good showing for UMass.
Meanwhile, Yale looked quite impressive in beating Boston College 30-7.
Also Around the Nation
Lindenwood beat Indiana 45-0. Lions Head Coach Josh Macy said the performance was just a C grade performance, but provided a baseline for his team as they start the long journey through the season.
“Two weeks of training, lots to improve on, not fit enough,” said Macy. “But some guys put their hands up.”
Ohio State beat Illinois 52-17. OSU has been piecing together their squad with some young recruits. No. 8 Dan Carroll was the player of the game for the Buckeyes.
McKendree shut out Michigan State 22-0. Guillem Marine scored two tries while Jacob Kinnaird and William Wickens also touched down.
The Spartans, said McKendree Head Coach Cameron Wyper, “are a very physical team with strong ball runners and for us not to let in any points is also a credit to how hard out players have worked during the pre-season. We definitely have plenty to work on but it's a fantastic result and a significant step in the right direction for our season.”
Notre Dame defeated Bowling Green 33-15. The Irish fell behind early but rallied.
“I am happy with the fact that, despite being down 15-0 in the first 15 minutes on the road, our guys didn’t panic and chipped their way back,” said UND Head Coach Justin Hickey. “Roger Mazzarella Field is always a tough place to play. We did a really nice job of managing the tempo and territory.”
In the second half Notre Dame held Bowling Green scoreless, helping by the wind advantage.
“We eliminated a lot of errors and penalties and our defense was solid,” said Hickey.
Flyhalf Alan Gordon did well controlling the attack and Andrew Packard was a force on the wing, especially in counter-attacks. With freshman Andrew LaFrankie (recent captain of Gonzaga in their national championship run) playing out of position at lock, Notre Dame had a mobile pack and LaFrankie, normally a flanker, was defensively adept and made tackles and forced turnovers all over the place.
Captain Patrick McKenzie led the Irish well.
