Berks Rolls in Opening 7s Tournament of the Summer
Berks Rolls in Opening 7s Tournament of the Summer
Berks County Rugby 7s entered two teams into the Delco 7s this past weekend, taking home two team and two individual trophies after a 7-1-2 day.
With a few weeks of practice under their belt, including guest coaching appearances from CRC champions Kutztown University and Rugby East newcomer Mount St Mary’s University, the 28-player squad certainly was in position to start the summer well.
The Berks I squad started out pool play against a physical and well coached MD15 team. MD15 started out fast and scored the game’s first two tries to take a 10-0 at halftime. This would be the only two tries scored on the Berks I team over the next six halves of rugby. Berks played suffocating defense and stuck to their offensive structure. They did that and with a hat trick from Diohnny Ruiz Berks won 17-15.
In the second pool game, Berks faced Vipers I out of Baltimore, Md. Berks started out fast, maintaining possession for long periods of time. This resulted in tries from Ruiz, Anthony Bourassa, Turk Baum, Jax Shingleton, Ulices Ramirez, and Aiden Pavlek. Final score Berks 42 Vipers 0.
Berks went up against Wilmington (DE) in the final pool play game. Sticking to their structure and playing staunch defense, Berks continued their success with tries from Ramirez (2), Ruiz, Bourassa, Jake Stelluti, Izaiyah Wilson, Cole Boyer and Manahi Chicoine. Final Score Berks 48 Wilmington 0.
In the semifinals, Berks faced the Minutemen out of Washington DC. Berks continued to put the opposition under pressure and capitalize on any mistakes. That resulted in an early lead thank to tries from Ruiz, Ramirez, and Chicoine. The Minutemen got one back but tries from Bourassa and Stelluti finished it off 27-5.
In the final, Berks found themselves in a rematch with MD15. After giving Berks a tough opening game, MD15 won their next three to book their spot in the final. A slow start had made it difficult for Berks in the opening game, but in this game Berks started strong. Ruiz, whether playing prop or wing was a constant scoring threat and he scored three in this game. Bourassa also got a try and Pavlek added two as Berks defeated MD15 34-0.
Berks went 5-0 on the day, outscoring opponents 168-15. As expected, Ruiz was named tournament MVP thanks in part to the nine tries he scored on the day. Ruiz continued his torrid pace of try-scoring from the spring where he scored 29 tries for the Berks 15s team. That is 38 tries scored by the West Chester University-bound wing since March.
Berks just missed playing against their 2nd side in the semifinals. Berks II fell short of a 2nd-place finish in their pool due to point differential. Berks II went 2-1-2 on the day and won the plate. MVP of the plate championship team was senior Jeremiah Thompson, who finished the day with 10 tries.
