Pendleton, Royal Irish in a Tight One in Indiana
Pendleton, Royal Irish in a Tight One in Indiana
Everything seems to have tightened up in Rugby Indiana and Wednesday night's result between Pendleton and Royal Irish just reinforced that notion.
After beating Bishop Dwenger by a single point, Royal Irish achieved the same feat Wednesday.
Pendleton is coming along with a young squad, and a late comeback from them fell just short.
"We are maturing," said Pendleton Head Coach Curt Trout. "Our defensive connect is getting better. We are polishing set piece."
Royal Irish took an early lead through a penalty goal and added a try for a lead of 8-0 at halftime. Two more tries made it 18-0 in the second half before Pendleton kicked a penalty goal and scored two converted tries to make it 18-17. Royal Irish held on from there.
Despite controlling much of the field position in the first half, Royal Irish did have trouble converting that into tries.
"Kudos to them," said Royal Irish Head Coach David Snyder. "We left at least three scores off the board after some great phases. We were playing like we were preserving a lead and that went bad quick."
Snyder said the wins have come for a Royal Irish team that has recruited well in the spring, but they aren't hitting their potential. The backline is fast but things aren't quite connecting as they should.
Winning these games by such thin margins is taking the luster out of the victories, added Snyder, and as the team continues to play for their teammate, Todd Kelsey, who has been diagnosed with a serious bone cancer, everything seems pretty serious.
But, Snyder added, "Royal Irish is a group of boys that will rise to the occasion."
For Pendleton, they, along with Royal Irish, will be at the Boys HS Nationals later this month. They got some big runs from Derek Lowder and solid defensive work from Peyton Pollock and Sam Mossoney.
Next up for Royal Irish is Westfield, which is on a three-game winning streak. Pendleton will be at the Midwest Championships (Royal Irish won't), but will be fielding a 2nd and a 3rd team and won't be in the Championship bracket.