Who Shook Things Up Across College Divisions?

09.17.2023College Men

There were a variety of cross-divisional games in men's college rugby this weekend, providing coaches with a different measuring stick than just their annual opposition.

Marian Hold Off Notre Dame

A very good first half in which the Marian forwards kept the continuity going paced the Knights to a 41-34 victory over University of Notre Dame Friday evening in South Bend. Marian's depth was tested as the Fighting Irish lived up to their name and stormed back in the second half.

Some snappy backline play highlighted a UND second half that should give them some confidence going forward.

"Hats off to Notre Dame for a hard fought match," said Marian Head Coach John Hartley. "It was a good team win for us but there are still some things to work on. But overall we're really happy with our effort. Our defensive line speed was aggressive and we showed we have big strike capability."

Navy Over Indiana

We have more detail on this one by Navy rode a fast start and a strong finish to beat Indiana 61-19. Navy Rolls Past Indiana

Southern Nazarene Edges Oklahoma

In a game in which SNU trailed the whole time ... until they didn't ... Oklahoma ran out to a 13-0 lead. It was not the most precise game of rugby as both sides were plagued with knock-ons. But SNU started to chip away at the Sooners' lead. After defending for quite a while SNU broke out with a turnover and some nice support work to score a length-of-the-field try. OU was guilty of a high tackle as the try was scored so it was a penalty try and that made it 13-7. An Oklahoma penalty goal made it 16-7. Then another Southern Nazarene try, this time with the forwards slogging it over, and it was 16-14.

With time up SNU got a penalty right in front of the posts and sophomore flyhalf Edgar Galindo put it over to win the game.

IUP Clashes With Rio Grande

Still-improving D1 side Rio Grande got by top-ranked D2 team IUP 33-19. This was a good showing by Rio Grande as they build their school-supported program.

Arkansas State Big Over Iowa Central CC

As is widely known, Iowa Central is always willing to play against high-level teams, and they certainly did this time around. Arkansas State looked very dangerous is defeating the Tritons 80-17, unleashing a fit, mobile tight five and a dynamic set of backs.

Notre Dame College Defeats Adrian

NDC held Adrian to just one penalty goal but overall the Falcons weren't thrilled with their 22-3 victory.

"Not a great performance by any means," said interim Head Coach Hugh Johnston. "We reverted back to last year's habits of getting three yellow cards and a very high penalty count."

It was a stop-start game and NDC had trouble really getting into their flow. BUt at the same time, said Johnston, some of the newer players showed well and the defense was strong.

So it was a victory, but not an emphatic one for the Falcons.

Queens Defeats Belmont Abbey

Belmont Abbey continued their run through a series of Rugby East teams before turning attention to their conference play. Queens did well in this one, winning 43-10. Hilton Oliver scored four tries and and added 13 points from the boot for a personal haul of 33.

"We had a very good test tonight," said Queens Head Coach Frank McKinney. "I feel like the team really stepped up in the second half. I think this game is going to give us a couple things to work on as we prepare for Navy."