West Small College Bracket Promsies Fireworks

New Mexico Tech

NMT finished 2nd to Christendom in last fall's final, then went on to win ACR's D3 playoff in the spring and also won NCR's CRC 7s, beating Christendom in that final. So yes, they can play.

New Head Coach Chris Hathaway said he has seen the players improve and develop their work ethic.

"As a team we still have lots of work to put in to ensure we are successful in the latter part of the season," Hathaway told GRR. "Once the boys learn to use all the tools at their disposal, I know we can achieve our goals as a team."

That loss to Mines was based, added Hathaway, on "complacency and ego."

He knew Mines had worked all season on a plan to beat the Miners. "Unfortunately, my guys got big heads thinking it was an easy win. We dropped the ball on the attack a lot, were inconsistent with our defensive alignment and line speed, and the Mines team capitalized on kicks."

A harsh lesson, but one they can fix. Forwards captain Niko Crosato has become an effective leader and with standout Milaan van Wyk out injured stepped in to kick for points. Club president and scrumhalf Elijah Naranjo is an athlete and learning all the time. He and Van Wyk are constant try-scoring threats.

Add to that freshmen Ben Medve (flanker), Lukas Chavez (hooker), and David Vaquera (wing) and their future looks bright, too.

"We want to win [at playoffs], of course, but I also want to finish tying up all of our loose ends," explained Hathaway. "I want my team to grow together through the upcoming challenges and come out stronger, together. Our offense is catching on and building, now we just need to build consistency on defense."

Cal Poly Humboldt

Formerly Humboldt State, CPH knows they are in a challenging bracket.

"A tough western bracket indeed," said Head Coach Greg Pargee. "For the most part we are healthy and fit. That fitness will be put to the test versus any of these other three teams, especially with back-to-back days of rugby."

Humboldt's success has come in part from a leadership group of six seniors. They are the ones who saw what the team could be.

"They are hungry and passionate for a playoff run and this has been infectious to all on the team," said Pargee. "The guys are trusting the process and each other, work rates are up across the board and we just need to keep focused and disciplined."

A good balance of talent in the forwards and the backs and a willingness to play tough defense has seen Humboldt through.

And ... "our on-field vision is continually improving each game and better choices are being made during set piece and phase play," explained the coach. "But playoff rugby is a crazy beast sometimes. I think we will be in a good place if we can continue to stay mentally fit, apply our skill sets, and leave it on the pitch come match day."