Thomas More's road to a Men's DII National Championship was a story like that of many teams; they didn't know what they had at the beginning of the season, they didn't know how they matched up, and at a critical period in the season games were hard to come by.

But, as has been the story for this season especially, Thomas More's varsity status helped. Funding for the program, funding for a coach, and facility support means the world. But that, of course, doesn't make a team or a game plan. In the end, it's about players coming together and making the right decisions.

Sunday's DII final pitted two teams that had encountered that match. Adrian, too, had dealt with a string of forfeiting opponents in October and had won most of their games by wide margins. How would they respond when things got tough?

As it turned out, they responded admirably. 

The Saints opened the scoring with some typically typical support work from flanker Bautista Saint Bonnet, but Adrian didn't implode. They kept playing. They used big tighthead prop Alexander Tautua'a and No. 8 Michael Pakofe to punish defenders, 

Then when that drew enough attention, flyhalf Sione Mamata was able to work his magic. the result was wing MacGregor Adams getting some space and beating several defenders for his side's first try. Thomas More led 8-7.

More replied, and then Adrian center Petelo Vatuvei cut through impressively and there was Adams again, ready to score.

It was a back-and-forth battle where every point was precious, exactly the story that might frighten these two big scorers. Thomas More was smart. They looked to Matias Caramoti when the points were on offer instead of being impetuous on penalties. No.8 Tomas Casares was a key ground-gainer for them and the center pairing of Carlos Quintero and Ta'veon Veal produced a massive defensive effort.

At 18-12 Thomas More could not relax, and in fact Adrian did score, with Mamata skating around the edge and burning More for one more try. Now it was 18-17. Once again, methodically, the Saints did the smart thing, and took points when on offer, and then doggedly held on 21-17.

It was a dramatic and tight game in a weekend of them. The 3rd-4th game was a barnburner, back and forth, with Norwich scoring late to seal a 36-29 win. And while Thomas More's semifinal win over Northern Iowa was fairly lopsided, the Adrian victory over Norwich was anything but. 

"We worked all year, since August, coming from no team whatsoever all the way to the championship stage honestly is amazing," said Adrian captain Nic Andiarena, who played lock in the final and was a rock. "We wanted to go far but we didn't know how far we could take it. We're just proud to be here for our families for the school and represent."

While Bautista was MVP for his work rate, Casares was also strong and scrumhalf Dylan Weir did well to use the resources he had to get points, whether that was prop Hudson Montgomery getting hard yards or taking a snipe himself. 

"It was physical I needed to utilize my big boys," said Weir. "They did a great job doing the hard work and letting the backs look good."

It was all smiles for everyone, but perhaps most for Head Coach John Fox, who is usually smiling anyway. He found the pieces, and then put them in place. He prepared his side for a game they hadn't seen before, and now he, like Adrian's Benny Mateialona, has a young team that could make a big move in the game.