SCRC vs Big Rivers: A Close One and a Tie
SCRC vs Big Rivers: A Close One and a Tie
Early fall brings some college matchups we wouldn't normally see in conference play and it provides an intriguing glimpse into where those programs are in various pecking orders.
Take, for example, Saturdays game between Tennessee and Rio Grande. Tennessee had played Thomas More on Friday, losing 27-20, and they took on another school-supported team in the same weekend. Against Rio Grande they came away with a very creditable 31-31 tie.
"Tough weekend for us in Ohio," said Tennessee Head Coach Scott Tungay. "We had a good runout vs Thomas More on Friday night and found some good line breaks on the edges. But we let the pressure off with silly penalties and errors, failing to finish the good work the lads were putting in."
For Thomas More Head Coach John Fox, he saw improvements from his team's loss to Walsh a week before, and the emergence of some on-field leadership. Boosted by an excellent game from flanker Bautista Saint Bonnet (two tries) the Saints came away with the win.
On Saturday the Vols took on Rio Grande and it took a bit of time for them to find their rhythm.
But the same issues crept into their game.
"The boys were cruising to a 12-point lead with half an hour to play when we resorted to the silly penalties and errors which let Rio back into the game," said Tungay.
Down 19-0 early thanks to a penalty try and then tries from Zack Thomas and Will Spencer. But Tennessee stormed back with 31 unanswered points. Andrew Celeste scored two, and then Colyer Blackwell, Maximos Ponce, and Nate Rawls made it a 31-19 lead for the Vols.
But as Tungay said, the momentum shifted back to Rio Grande, and Ethan Pannell and, with four minutes to go, Aaron Eddy tied it up.
As for Rio Grande, they are looking to make a move in what promises to be a very competitive Big Rivers Conference in NCR's D1, and while they didn't win, they also showed themselves something.
"We really were very excited with the result the boys put up," said Rio Grande Head Coach Brad Sandig. The tie, he added, was "obviously not what we were hoping for, but it gave us a great opportunity to see areas we need to improve and what works well for us. We threw away several opportunities where we failed to convert pressure into points."
Senior No. 8 Solomone Ahoia was a strong ball carrier and defended well also. A smart player who works hard, he was backed up by Che Spiotti, who proved to be a dangerous attacker in the backline. Fullback Thibault Carrere was a smart, capable presence and his kicking as well as his understanding of the game proved key for the Red Storm.
Rio is still a young program and with some coaching changes they are looking to find their character.
"The guys have been working hard and really trying to move the needle forward in terms of taking the next step forward," said Sandig. "
Next up for these teams, Thomas More takes a week off, Tennessee hosts Texas A&M, while Rio Grande starts their conference season as they host Marian on Sunday.
