Gonzaga Holds Off Ignatius in Freezing Cleveland
Gonzaga Holds Off Ignatius in Freezing Cleveland
In a result that was a bit of a surprise in how close it was, Gonzaga held off St. Ignatius of Cleveland in Brooklyn, Ohio Saturday.
This was a physically punishing match and both teams saw injuries to key players—Gonzaga losing a prop and a flanker and Ignatius losing their sophomore flyhalf with a very high ceiling in Hank McGowan.
Ignatius brought the intensity they had been lacking somewhat and led into the second half. But Gonzaga eventually pulled it out.
“The first half they played exactly the way we thought they would; they ran really hard and we helped them out with a bunch of penalties,” said Gonzaga Head Coach Peter Baggetta. “They came out with a lot of emotion and we knew that would happen, too. We told our guys in the morning meeting that winning on the road in these weather conditions is very tough. They had the crowd. But in the second half we sucked up all of that emotion and turned it around.”
Weather conditions were indeed difficult. Several inches of snow covered the field at Brooklyn Memorial Stadium (where Ignatius is playing their home games as their own main field is being refurbished). About 60 Ignatius players spent the early morning shoveling snow off the field so three games could be played on it.
Ignatius scored a converted try early but were unable to add to that, They had a couple more good opportunities but couldn’t make them pay off.
“We felt we should have been 12-0 up but 7-5 and with the wind in the second half we felt good,” said Ignatius Head Coach Dan Arbezmik.
In the second half the Wildcats thought they had reached the tryline again, as Bobby Rosol stretched to touch it down and then roll away. But not call was made and Gonzaga picked the ball up, took off down the field, and, eventually scored to take the lead 12-7.
That gave Gonzaga a level of comfort.
“In the first half we didn’t adjust to the wind very well and we couldn’t win our lineouts,” said Baggetta. “So we played a lot of defense, but we never panicked. IN the second half I don’t think Ignatius really used the wind, we sorted out our lineouts, and they struggled against our backs.”
Indeed Ignatius does have work to do out wide (although having to play a chunk of the game with two scrumhalves and no flyhalf didn’t help), but up front it was a different story.
“This was a ferocious game,” said Arbeznik, who praised co-captain Davey Kotnick for his hard runs and overall toughness.
Ignatius did feel a little unlucky, especially when a Jimmy Collins 22-meter dropout just never stopped rolling and went right through the opposite dead-ball-line. The result was an attacking scrum for Gonzaga, from which they scored.
Arbeznik pointed to that play and the Rosol try that never was as two tries that helped turn the tide. Other than that the teams traded score for score. Gonzaga were deserved winners, but not dominant winners.
Ethan Heim was outstanding out wide for the Eagles and scored three tries. Flyhalf Kieran Downs also put in a good game. But Baggetta was most impressed with his team’s composure under pressure from Ignatius.
“We felt a little unlucky, but Gonzaga is very good and they are on a roll right now,” said Arbeznik.
“They played well and they’re going to get better,” said Baggetta of his Ignatius opponents. “In tough conditions I thought overall it was a really good high school rugby game. Each team played to its strengths and each team had to absorb what the other was doing. They were prepared.
I think we’re happy with the result, and Ignatius would probably have liked to convert on a few more chances.”
