Gonzaga 20 - Georgetown Prep 8

With a crowd of thousands watching on, the MARVC Championship played out closer than many expected, with Georgetown Prep pushing Gonzaga to the edge.

It was 15-8 for Gonzaga until the very end of the game, when Reggie Corbin’s try put it away and won the championship 20-8 for the top-ranked single-school team.

Gonzaga started the game firing on all pistons, and after a series of multi-phase movements got a mismatch at the tryline and prop Jack Carroll punched over at the three minute mark. The Eagles kept the pressure on, trying to use their size advantage, battering the smaller Prep team in tight and then looking to get their speed free on the outside.

The Hoyas were staunch in defense, but could not break out of their own half.

Gonzaga broke the Prep defense for another try from the forwards - Rahshan Jones going over. That made it, with Patrick Sheehy’s conversion, a 12-0 Gonzaga lead.

But Georgetown Prep would not capitulate, and their forwards began asserting themselves to turn the game in a new direction.  With scrumhalf Rory Hodgson directing traffic, the Prep forwards began attack Gonzaga around the fringes with pick-and-drives and weak side attacks thru prop Jeff Ferrigno, No. 8 Connor Stewart, and second row Jimmy Alexander, successfully pushing the Eagle defenders back. Under this pressure, Gonzaga aided the Prep cause by committing a number of penalties, allowing Prep flyhalf James Lyons to put Prep into the Gonzaga half with his boot.  

Prep kept Gonzaga pinned in their own end for a long period in the middle of the first half, but Gonzaga successfully defended their own line and cleared the pressure multiple times. The game settled in a bit of move and counter move, with Prep having solved their defensive issues and Gonzaga looking for new avenues of attack. 

However, it was Prep who once again created pressure around the fringes thru their forwards, forcing the Eagles into more penalties and holding their forwards close to the ruck area.  In the final seconds of the half, Gonzaga was penalized for a dangerous tackle, and Jason Colliton put the kick over to enter the break with a 12-3 scoreline.

After the break, Prep came out looking the more dangerous of the two teams.  It was only minutes into the second half when Gonzaga would go down a man when captain Jack Iscaro was yellow carded. This didn't slow down Gonzaga scrum, which continued to pressure Prep in the set piece.

But the Hoya defense was bending under pressure from Gonzaga's big forwards and outside backs, but not breaking. Notable were wing Ryan Rudasill, who bottled up the dangerous Reggie Corbin, and hooker Tommy Cerrito, who had a high work rate throughout the match.  

Prep was also beginning to find their own offensive rhythm with both the forwards and the backs starting to make inroads against their Gonzaga counter parts. Lyons finally slipped through the Gonzaga backline from 40 meters out. He was caught short of the tryline, but a series of surges from the forwards led to sub flanker Thomas Gates going over to make it 12-8.

Minutes later Gonzaga worked back down the Prep end of the field and Sheehy slotted a penalty to put his side up by a converted try at 15-8.

The game continued to see-saw back and forth, with both teams looking dangerous at times and vulnerable at others.  Prep had a golden opportunity minutes after the Sheehy penalty. While pressuring the Gonzaga line once, Hoya flanker Colin Whalen slipped through the Gonzaga fringe defenders, but was held up in-goal. The Gonzaga front row stole the ensuing scrum and cleared their lines.  Minutes later Prep had another chance, when Lyons took a ball weak side from a Prep ruck just outside their own 22m, and exploded into open space.  It seemed to be a race to the goal line, but the Gonzaga cover defense did well to close down the angle. Gonzaga was penalized on the play, but held. 

Finally, with only a few minutes remaining, the Prep defense gave too much space to Corbin for the first time that day and he raced in to put the game away, tiptoeing down the sideline for the final score of the day.

It was a sterling effort from Georgetown Prep, but Gonzaga took the MAVRC championship.

“With Prep always a tough, physical game due to the rivalry in all sports between the two Jesuit high schools in the area,” said Gonzaga Head Coach Peter Baggetta. “Our forwards did an excellent job of limiting the power game of the Prep forwards,”

Gonzaga’s scrum stole half of the Prep put-ins, and that was a crucial part of their victory. Prep’s lineout was good, but they opted not to really defend the Gonzaga throws, preferring instead to send one tackler in to sack the maul. Gonzaga were surprised by that tactic, but adjusted well.

“We just did not do a good job finishing our breaks,” added Baggetta. “Some of the credit of us not finishing the breaks has to go to Prep's scramble defense, which they did very well, and some to our own errors.  Overall we were pleased with our performance and, as always, it’s good to have to play tough games.”

Gonzaga 20

Tries: Carroll, Jones, Corbin

Convs: Sheehy

Pens: Sheehy

Georgetown Prep 8

Tries: Gates

Pens: Colliton