ELLENSBURG, WASH. -- The Central Washington University men's rugby team will travel to Utah this week for a pair of matchups against Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University. Central's first match with BYU was cancelled due to weather and the Wildcats took the win against UVU in their matchup last weekend.
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, March 21 @ 7:00 p.m. | Provo, UT | BYU
Saturday, March 23 @ 1:00 p.m. | Orem, UT | UVU
QUOTEABLE
"We are excited to head down to Utah and be challenged in all areas of our game," said CWU Head Coach
Todd Thornley. "BYU has been a powerhouse in collegiate rugby for a very long time and are a very difficult side to play at home. We must be able to absorb pressure defensively and then exert it with ball in hand for long periods of time in order to have a successful evening down there. Then we have to do it all over again less then 48 hours later against what will be a much-improved Utah Valley side from this past week. This is going to be a great learning experience for our program at a critical time as we continue to push for a play-off spot".
SCOUTING BYU
The Cougars come in with an 8-3 record on the year. Their only losses come from the same team that handed Central their only loss of the season (Saint Mary's College of California). BYU took both of last season's matchups by score of 46-26 and 38-22.
In the second meeting of the season last year the Cougars found the scoresheet first, tallying their first try just five minutes in. Alex Mackenzie responded in the 13
th minute. Mackenzie scooped up an errant lineout and dove over the try line, levelling the score at 5-5.
After the restart, BYU drove into the Wildcats' defensive third and looked for try once more, inching their way towards the line. The Wildcats' defensive line held and forced a turnover in the 16
th minute. The Cougars found a break in the Wildcat defense four minutes later, when Coleman Meier broke free for the try. Calvin Whiting added the conversion for a 12-5 lead.
The Cougars scored three consecutive tries, taking a 38-12 advantage, before
Kawika Macy found his way over for a try. Macy powered up the middle and was able to ground the ball for the score, but it was not enough as BYU held on 38-22.
SCOUTING UVU
This will be the second time that the Wildcats will see the Wolverines this year. Utah Valley took the loss to CWU last weekend by score of 71-3. The Wolverines only points of the match came from a penalty kick after the Wildcats were called for offsides early in the match.
The two teams met last year two times. The Wolverines split two games against the Wildcats. In the first meeting of last season in Orem, Utah, UVU took the win by score of 40-24. The Wolverines scored 26 unanswered points to close out the first half and went into the half with a 26-7 lead.
In game two of last year's meetings, the Wildcats snagged the win by score of 48-36. The first half ended on two straight UVU scores making the score 19-12 in favor of Central. The second half was back and forth but the Wildcats were able to hold off the Wolverines and won the game thanks to four total scores
Jack Wendling.
LAST TIME OUT
Central's last game was against UVU last Saturday. Although the Wolverines scored first, the Wildcats owned the game. It didn't take long for the Crimson and Black to respond.
Siddique Newkirk scored a try in the sixth minute off of a scrum, reeling in an offload and breaking through the Wolverines' defensive line for a 7-3 lead after
Reuben Ludick's conversion.
It was Newkirk again in the 11
th minute, taking an offload and scampering up the wing for his second try of the contest. He completed the hat trick in the second half.
Ludick knocked through a penalty goal after an injury timeout, putting the Wildcats up 15-3.
Cole Zarcone broke loose in the 26
th minute with a huge run up the left wing, but the Wolverines were able to keep the shifty back rower out of the try zone.
Ludick added a second penalty in the 30
th minute, taking a 22-3 advantage.
The Wildcats didn't look back the rest of the game and continued their dominance. Central went on to win the game by score of 71-3. Central is an impressive seven and one on the season and are outscoring their opponents 533 to 89.
