Cal, Navy, and BYU Make D1A Semifinals
Cal, Navy, and BYU Make D1A Semifinals
Navy continued its impressive run as the best of D1A made the final four this weekend.
The Midshipmen defeated Army for the third time this season, this time making it relatively emphatic at 30-6.
“To hold Army without a try for 80 minutes is a combination of a lot of hard work defensively and being disciplined. I thought even though we gave away a number of penalties, we were still disciplined in the right areas of the pitch,” said Navy Director of Rugby Gavin Hickie. “We played tactically really well in terms of executing our set piece, scrums and lineouts. What we did in the second half is what we’ve done all season long. We made it very tough to play against us with our physicality.
“Massive credit to our seniors for the leadership they’ve shown throughout the season. The team has earned the right to another week of practice and we’re excited about moving on to the semifinals of the DI-A playoffs. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on today. The team was thrilled with all the support and we can’t wait until next week.”
The game itself was tight for the first half. Sean MacLaney's eightman pick put Navy ahead, but Army replied with a penalty. Another Navy try, this time with MacLaney linking with Lewis Gray to set up JD Bengston.
Back came Army with a penalty only for Gray to answer and make it 13-6 at the break. Almost five minutes into the second half when Jack McMahon fed Landon Opp to burst through the middle. At 20-6 Navy had some semblance of control and a Ben Haugh try, and a conversion and a penalty from Roanin Krieger finished it up 30-6.
Life vs Lindenwood was delayed until Sunday due to weather.
Cal overcame and early surge from Saint Mary's to score 29 straight points and then hold on to beat the Gaels 29-28.
Tries from wing Max Clark and flyhalf Max Schumacher made it 21-12 Saint Mary's at halftime. But Cal was still on a roll and tries from center Rand Santos and back Kealan O’Connell, kept them going. Schumacher converted both and added a penalty to make it 29-21.
That penalty was crucial as it made the game a two-score contest. Saint Mary's got one back, but that was it.
“I think our composure was the key today,” Schumacher said. “We grinded it out and played some phases of really good defense. Credit to Saint Mary’s, they really gave us a great match. We’re proud of ourselves, especially for the seniors.”
And Cal will play ... BYU.
While BYU had already beaten Central Washington this season, the Cougars managed that first win by only a point. This time around, the BYU attack, which has been growing in confidence, exploded for 62 points in doubling up the Wildcats 62-31.
Ten different Cougars scored the ten tries, with fullback Lyle Matthews adding six conversions in what ended up an emphatic victory.
"Really proud of how the guys played and the effort they gave on the field," said BYU Head Coach Steve St. Pierre as his Cougars made their first D1A semifinal since 2017.
