Navy won the first of the three-game Commander-in-Chief Trophy series with a 50-8 defeat of Air Force.
The Falcons took an 8-3 lead in the 18th minute, but the Mids scored the final 47 points of the game, claiming the Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Memorial Rugby Cup for the sixth straight year.
“Obviously we’re delighted to retain the Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Trophy. It’s very important every year to make sure the trophy stays in Annapolis,” said Navy Director of Rugby Gavin Hickie. “Tough conditions today made for a start-stop game. We tried a lot of different combinations today and some of them worked really well. I think our center partnership with Jake Cornelius and Max Smith worked great. Some other areas need more work in terms of the partnership around our set piece. That area didn’t function the way we wanted to today, but we’re a bit more clear on where we stand there as a result.
"Overall, we’re happy about the win and now we’re gearing up for the final three weeks of the season. It’s all guns blazing now to close out our Rugby East schedule strong and try to win another conference championship.”
The match served as the first start of the season for six Mids and the Falcons used their advantage of experience early in the contest. Navy took a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick from Kade Williams in the fourth minute, but Air Force controlled the momentum for the next 15 minutes. The Falcons responded some 10 minutes later with a penalty goal before a Navy error gifted the Zoomies a try. Having defended against an Air Force attack and forced the ball into touch, Navy proceeded to mistime their lineout and see it fall into Air Force hands. The Zoomies consolidated and scored on a pick-and-dive to regain the lead at 8-3.
Both teams looked to gain ascendency with their kicking game and it was the Navy counter that set up their first try. Max Smith cut through for 25 meters, the forwards surged on, and pounded at the line long enough for there to be a gap available for flanker Ed Soeder standing off. That tied it and Kade WIlliams converted to give Navy a lead they would not relinquish.
Navy’s defensive pressure had helped lead to that try and certainly set up the next one, with the pass from the scrum not going to hand and eventually ending up in the hands of Jake Cornelius, who powered through five tacklers to score next to the posts. It was a very impressive showing as he put his shoulders down and just kept his legs pumping.
Smith was very dangerous at outside center as well and he was set up for the next try as Williams popped a nicely-weighted kick that Smith scooped up before sidestepping his way for the try. That made it 24-8 and it remained that score into halftime—Air Force had a shot at goal but it was a long-range attempt and drifted wide.
In the second half, Smith cut through into the Air Force 22, fed Cornelius who did well to catch and pass quickly to Michael Strehle who did the rest. A penalty off a scrum allowed Navy to set up a lineout deep in the Air Force 22. Navy went short to Soeder who got close to the line and while the Air Force defense hung tough finally Ian Bullock surged over.
