How Wayne State's Change in Approach Produced a D3 Championship
How Wayne State's Change in Approach Produced a D3 Championship
It has been a few years of battling for Wayne State to get their D3/Small College NCR title.
Three straight years of heartbreak had to hurt.
In the fall of 2021 Wayne State made the final of the NCR Small College Challenge playoffs, a tier just below the Small College championships, reserved for newer programs. And this was Wayne State's first official 15s season as a school-supported team. Fast, dynamic, fun to watch, they were held off 25-20 by Siena.
In the fall of 2022 the Bobcats went through a Small College championship season in impressive fashion, winning five playoff games by an average score of 45-10 in a season where they entered the national final 17-0. They lost to Cal Poly Humboldt 20-15.
In the fall of 2023 they ramped it up a little. After playing Iowa Central CC's B side the year before, the Bobcats played the Tritons' A side, losing that game. However, it was a good test for their players and they also played Iowa Central B-side (a loss) and a University of Iowa XV (a win). They rolled through the playoffs until the semis, where they met Cal Poly Humboldt with a chance to get some revenge. That they got, 23-20.
In the final, they lost to Babson 27-23.
So over the course of three seasons Wayne State made three NCR finals, and lost those three games by a total of 12 points—average score of 25-21.
Heartbreak indeed.
Each version of Wayne State was highly explosive, fast, and dynamic. But teams with really strong forward packs (Humboldt had size and power; Babson had height and athleticism) were able to shut down the Wayne State attack and wear them down.
This year, it was a different story. The Bobcats came out of last year's final realizing that they can't play exactly the way they do in most games against the very best small-college (now D3) teams.
In the 2022 season Wayne State played 15 games against like-division teams, winning all 15 and averaging a score of 49-8. They played no D1 or D1AA 1st teams, and when they got to the semifinals, scored only 40 points in the two games.
In 2023 they cut the like-division games down to seven, outscoring those opponents (all Wayne State victories) 47-8. But they also played two D1-level teams, winning one game and losing the other 36-5.
Once they got to the NCR semifinals, once again their offense was stymied, as they scored only 23 points in each game.
So now this year, with Head Coach Bryn Chivers now with some time to plan who they played and how, Wayne State cut their like-divisional opponents to four, winning all four by an average score of 49-5. But they played four D1-level teams, winning three of those games. More importantly, in all of those games they found it difficult to score points.
So the lesson had been learned. Wayne State knew they would have to fight. They knew they would have to opt for penalty goals. They knew they would need a more effective forward pack.
Wayne State, Holy Cross Book Spots in NCR D3 Final
And in the final against Holy Cross the Wayne State forwards stepped up big-time. Prop Aaron Venegas scored a try in the final after the Wayne State forwards won the scrum against the head. Flanker Diego Stefani was a huge worker who was active throughout the game. He scored two tries in the final, both from close-in pick-and-drives. Fullback Ricardo Pretorius was the only back to score and he did so because tighthead prop Trent Draper executed a perfectly smooth catch-and-pass to set him up. Final score Wayne State 27 Holy Cross 8.
And let's talk about Draper. Pretty much every scoring chance went through this player. He made the gainline; he won scrums; he won rucks. He was undoubtedly the best
"It felt amazing; these were a special group of boys," Draper told post-match interviewer Tyler Doidge on The Rugby Network's broadcast. "We were a small group this year, but we pushed hard."
That is true, but you can see also over the years that the program learned. They needed to play tougher opponents. And finally, they needed to be comfortable playing a hard-nosed, forward-oriented game when it was called for. They couldn't always play champagne rugby to win a championship, and they learned that.
The upshot? A semifinal and a final in which, in total, they scored 73 points, compared to 46 and 40 in the previous two years. Oh ... and a championship.