Indiana’s Pendleton, the #10-ranked HS Club, defeated School-team #4 St. Ignatius Saturday in Obetz, Ohio Saturday.
This was a full day of rugby with St. Ignatius fielding six teams against two opponents, taking on Pendleton’s A side, B side, and JV team, as well as the A, B, and Freshman teams of Notre Dame de la Salette. The Ignatius Varsity Blue held off la Salette 31-21. Two JV teams beat Pendleton opposition 29-0 and 33-15. while the Ignatius Varsity B beat la Salette’s 2nds 36-25 and the Ignatius freshmen beat the la Salette freshmen 41-12 (in a game that was much more competitive than the score indicates).
But the marquee game was Pendleton vs St. Ignatius Varsity Gold, and in that game Pendleton brought a hard-nosed, hard-working defense and a very good kicking game.
The game started with St. Ignatius threatening, but Pendleton held on and in fact was able to run out of their own and ends, eventually earned a penalty which flyhalf Nick Trout put through the posts for a 3-0 lead.
Ignatius responded well and had some of their best work getting them down close before center Joe Deinhart barreled his way through several defenders to score.
There followed a long period during which Ignatius was often inside the Pendleton 22. During that time they had three lineouts five meters from the Pendleton line, a scrum five meters out, and another long sequence on the tryline. Pendleton stopped them each time—they sacked the jumper to negate the Ignatius maul; they forced a penalty off the scrum when the Ignatius runner was isolated, and they held the Wildcats up in-goal another time.
Finally, Pendleton broke out of their own end again on a long run. They consolidated possession in the Ignatius half, and eventually put Nolan Souders in at the corner. Pendleton led 8-5 and that’s how the half ended.
In the second half, playing with the wind, Ignatius struggled to make the wind pay, but they continuially stole Pendleton lineouts . They opted for a lineout on a kickable penalty only to see Pendleton stop them again.
It was Pendleton that made the next move. A stolen lineout at midfield set up a run for wing Jacob Rowley, and the big winger cut through and around several tacklers to score in the corner.
That made it 13-5. Ignatius responded with some good passing in the backs to put Tommy Kilbane in at the corner to make it 13-10.
