Going into Saturday’s NCR D1 final, St. Bonaventure and Queens had already faced off twice before; each had won a game, and the points scored were Bonnies 55, Royals 54.
And yet, things were not as expected this time around, Pace by a strong commitment to a smart game plan and executing at a high level, St. Bonaventure swamped Queens 55-19, taking the title in emphatic fashion.
When you play at Houston’s Sabercats Stadiium in the evening, there are some thing you need to know. Most important is that the wind picks up late in the afternoon and then dies down after sunset. So any team that wins the toss should take the wind, because you never know if it will be there for you next time.
St. Bonaventure remembered, said hooker Reynard Boshoff after the game. They had been burned by that particular weather fact before, so they were determined to take the wind if they could.
And they got it, and they kicked.
A superb kick from fullback Koen Webb was chased with alacrity, forcing a middling clearance kick and setting up an attacking lineout for Bonnies. From there they worked it down to the line and Bashoff was over.
More long kicking and an excellent 50-22 set up another try, his time for Rhys Cunningham, and after a penalty goal from Noah Edwards (who didn’t miss all evening) Bonnies looked like they might take control.
Queens did get something going after that, worked a penalty down to the tryline, sent it wide, and then powered it over.
But Bonnies responded well. The center pairing of Manu Taula and Ed Nelson, who played together in high school, was excellent. Both laid in some massive hits and both were also very opportunistic, looking for interceptions and breaks. More on that later.
This time is was the powerful tackles that rocked Queens back, and when one tackle meant a Queens player was slow to get up, off a turnover scrumhalf Troy Heroldt went right through that gap 26 meters to paydirt.
That made it 24-7 at halftime.
Bonnies didn’t let up. Queens worked a move along the right-hand tramlines only for Nelson to snag a pass and cut back inside to score under the posts.
Now it was 31-7.
