Saint Mary’s rode the rollercoaster once more Saturday, before surviving an enormously talented Central Washington team 53-48.
This game was non-stop.
Central Washington took the early lead on a weakside move to wing Oscar Treacy, who kicked ahead and regathered when the ball bounced awkwardly for Saint Mary’s fullback Mario Storti. Jac Tregoning converted from the touchline and we were off.
Right off the restart Saint Mary’s charged down a Wildcats clearance kick. The ball was knocked past the dead-ball-line by a CWU player, but no penalty try was called likely because there was reasonable doubt at to whether the player was trying to touch the ball down or grab it.
Saint Mary’s got a scrum at the five-meter, but Centra stopped them thanks in part to a superb one-on-one tackle from Tregoning on wing Siale Ofa.
But back came Saint Mary’s with prop John Wilson busting through on a long run and then sending an excellent pass to Ofa to finish it off.
From the next restart, quick hands to Storti put him off on a run. He linked with Ofa on an inside line and that got the Gaels to the CWU 22. Quick ball saw Dom Besag catch and pass just as he was hit. The ball was scooped up by King Matu and he set up Brian McKeon to score his second try in as many weeks.
Saint Mary’s kept it up. From the restart a wide kick from Ollie Cline to Ofa. He gained territory and then the ball was sent quickly out to the left where Iosefa Toia’ivao, who beat four defenders before he’s finally tackles. Saint Mary’s, however, can’t finish it off, and a later big break from Besag was also stopped.
So it was Central Washington that scored next. Bolstered by a Gaels penalty, the Wildcats camped out in the Saint Mary’s 22, and finally put lock Andrew Miller through. That made it 12-10 CWU, but not long after Cline popped a chip over the CWU defensive line for Besag to grab.
He linked with Sosaia Pongi, who found flanker Sione Ofa (Siale’s older brother), who charged on to score.
Down 17-12, Central Washington once again got into scoring position where Treacy took a pass in the middle of the field and popped a high ball for wing Drew Farrington. Try Central Washington.
Right after that, Tregoning chipped through for Sam Dwyer to chase down. Tregoning converted, and it was 24-17 with time ticking away in the first half.
With halftime approaching Saint Mary’s got into the Central Washington 22, earned a scrum five meters out, and from there, Besag set up Storti to score. Cline converted and it was 24-24 at the break.
The scoring commenced less than a minute into the second half. An excellent pass from Pongi to Storti unleashed the fullback. He then passed to Siale Ofa, who sold a dummy before finishing off an 80-plus-meter run.
Pongi was a superb playmaker for Saint Mary’s before he was felled by injury. Eased back into playing time his presence has been felt immediately. His passing, combined with his ability to make players miss, makes Saint Mary’s that much more dangerous.
