Among the teams deeply disappointed in not winning the Men’s DI College 7s Championships in Denver, Central Washington would have to be at the top of the list.

Leading Davenport 21-12 with just a couple of minutes to go, the Wildcats saw it all disappear. 

“We were in control,” said CWU Head Coach Tony Pacheco. “It’s interesting how possession and momentum flips. Credit to Davenport that they did what they did.”

Ahead 21-12 Central had a lineout and looked set to win the ball and run out the clock. But a not straight call put the ball in Davenport’s hands, and Mason Baum raced in at the corner. JP Eloff’s touchline conversion made it 21-19.

“JP made a great kick,” said Pacheco, who had made some subs late in the game. “That not straight kind of changed everything.”

Then Anthony Welmers made a bold play in racing after the restart and catching it on the fly. He tiptoed down the sideline, stayed infield, and then just at the last second flung a pass inside where Eloff was in pursuit. Good support running by the team leader and he was in for the winner.

“I thought we’d execute an exit, but we hadn’t,” said Pacheco. “Things can change so fast.”

Central has very specific plans to win the tournament, and dominated most of their opposition. Going into the semi they had allowed seven points in four games. After that loss, they defeated Utah 34-7 in the 3rd/4th match, capping off a 5-1 weekend, getting a bronze medal, and ruing those final few minutes against Davenport.

“Not the medal we wanted at all,” said Josh Bower, who knew, along with his teammates, that they had to bounce back to take 3rd. “It’s hard, it’s all mental. You’ve got to stay switched on. You’ve just got to go to work.”

The 3rd/4th game was a mirror image of the Davenport game, in that CWU were somewhat in trouble - ahead 12-5 they had a yellow card given to Zach Siemens, who was everywhere, and ran the chance of losing their lead and their momentum. But instead they forced Utah to turn the ball over, and put Maverick Schirmer, Corey Nuti, and Dominic Lindstrom over in short order before Simione Ratukalou finished it off.

“We were a man down,” said Bower. “I know I had to take it upon myself to keep the ball. We found we had guys open and took the opportunity. It was our defense. It’s what worked for us all year.”

So, as the Wildcats rue those few moments against Davenport, they would do well to be pleased with their performance overall. While Cup Champions Lindenwood were 6-0, runners-up Davenport,  Plate Winners St. Mary’s, and 3rd-place Central Washington were all 5-1. That’s not such a bad record - although you know coaches will be looking at the one loss more than anything.