Pendleton Rugby's tour to Memphis and New Orleans began with a very good showing over the weekend.
The Indiana HS club defeated #13-ranked 901 (formerly Germantown) out of Tennessee 29-5.
The evening began with an exciting JV curtain raiser that saw a back-and-forth tussle finishing with Pendleton won 41-31. Prop Eli Libler scored a try and made several rumbling runs to cause 901 trouble. He was named JV man of the match.
In the varsity match, Pendleton's tight five ran hard and tested what was a powerful 901 defensive front. Eventually the Pendleton forwards started to find the tryline, while Steven DeVault stole multiple lineouts, one leading to a try.
Brennen Adams scored a try off of a short and swift run after a won lineout. Hunter Branham and Kolbey Siler rounded out the scoring as the prop duo bounced in for two tries.
The two teams played to a 5-5 standstill in the second half, with Pendleton's James Malone scoring his sides lone second-period try.
Nick Trout added two conversions and scored a try of his own.
This result followed on a from a 40-7 defeat of SLUH as Pendleton eye s a spot in the HS National Championships.
