Mary Washington defeated Belmont Abbey 36-11 Saturday in a non-conference early-season warmup for both.
In the futures game UMW’s team ran away from the Crusaders 59-0. Freshman Abel Kebede was unstoppable and sophomore Nick White was a man possessed, often needing three tacklers to subdue him. Mathew Clinton played an excellent game all over, executing a perfect series of throws and scrums. Sam Gorey continues to build on his performances.
In the 1st-side game, the teams traded penalty goals early on to make it 3-3. UMW defended well and their physicality started to make its effect felt as the game wore on. Mary Washington added a try and Belmont Abbey a penalty for a 10-6 halftime scoreline. Ahead bby five, UMW was nonetheless not too happy with how they were executing and certainly their goal in the second half was to find and exploit space rather than just tuck it and run.
Freshman Andrew Evan, who just finished a very impressive HS career with Vienna, was outstanding at center and continued to make ground. Fullback Sebastian Scheffermann started to see gaps in the defense which led to springing wings sophomore Yann Aubert and junior Conor Foster for long runs and, eventually, tries.
