Close One for FSU, Impressive Shutout for South Florida

02.01.2025College Men

Florida State rebounded from their opening-week loss to St. Thomas to defeat the Florida Gators in Week 2 of the Florida D1AA Collegiate Conference.

Early tries from Jack Carpenter, Aidan Wingert, and Jaden Alexander staked the Seminoles to a 21-0 lead. But three tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half brought Florida back to a 21-21 tie. Roman Navarro, Luis Navia, and Daniel Shumway all went over for the Gators.

But midway through the second half Florida State forced a turnover. A long series of phases, 10 in all, saw the Seminoles work their down from midfield to the Florida tryline. There flanker Andrew Crouch took a pass from scrumhalf Francesco Mozzi and cut away from the ruck where Florida had left a gap.

Try for FSU, and Mozzi's fourth successful conversion made it 28-21.Both teams had chances to score and in the end FSU held Florida out just long enough. A couple of goalline stands right next to the posts helped. Florida did eventually score with time almost up, but it was out wide and the conversion drifted away to the right, leaving FSU up 28-26. Florida State kicked off, pinned Florida in their half for about a minute, and once they earned a penalty, tapped and kicked to touch to end the game.

FSU Head Coach Michael Gomez said last week's 31-12 loss to St. Thomas was a good learning experience for the players and for him. The players were relatively encouraged at holding St. Thomas to just 31 points. Gomez cautioned the players, saying this was a somewhat different lineup compared to the team St. Thomas put on the field in the fall. However, it's also fair to say FSU had their challenges. The game had to be moved to the Gainesville men's club's field because of snow in Tallahassee (something Floridans aren't too used to).

With weather issues and the Martin Luther King Day Holiday, Gomez had hardly seen his players leading up to that game.

"We learned some things about our play and about the players," said Gomez. And from there their started on fire against Florida.

"It could have been a convincing win," said Gomez. "We squandered a 21-point lead and UF got out of here with two bonus points. But we also saw what works for us."

Florida State has some work to do, but the future looks solid because FSU has over 100 registered players, with teams playing in Florida's D1AA Conference, the Florida Men's D2 College conference, and a 3rd team playing regularly, too. With so many players getting game time the program remains popular and certainly has depth.

"I love our pack players and they're playing well," said Gomez. "But there's also a lot of growth there because so many of them are sophomores."

Some other players have developed and also switched positions. Crouch, new to rugby last year, and in fact new to any ball sports, has emerged as a devastating carrier. Captain Danny Barrett moved from scrumhalf to flyhalf and taken control there. Tanner Smith has moved from No. 8 to center and continues to test defenses while partnering nicely with youngster Ethan Elllis.

Also this weekend, South Florida put teams on notice with a 51-0 shutout of FAU. Keelin Coyle, the Belfast, NI native who was a standout at St. Bonaventure, is now working on a master's at USF and his arrival in Tampa has been good news for the Bulls. Coyle scored two tries and added 11 points with the boot to pace USF. Sophomore wing Tristan Brown scored three tries in USF's opening-game win.

Close One for FSU, Impressive Shutout for South Florida

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