Virginia Rugby Football Club vs. Blacksburg Rugby Football Club
1:00 PM, Saturday, October 31st, 2009
Charlottesville, VA
In a contest to determine the Virginia Rugby Union's Division III champion, the Virginia Rugby Football Club dominated the visiting Blacksburg Rugby Football Club in a 31-0 victory. The win gave Virginia its third shutout of the season, its fourth straight VRU Division III championship, and the number one seed for the MARFU playoffs in the spring.
Virginia dominated from the start, keeping the ball in Blacksburg's defensive side for most of the opening half. Fourteen minutes in, Virginia was awarded a scrum near midfield. The ball made its way through the hands of fly half James Fealey, blind side wing Ken Duvall, center Evan Davis, and finally to open side wing Shawn Johnson, who touched down in the corner to open the scoring. Fealey was faced with a difficult conversion from the touch line, but his successful kick gave Virginia a 7-0 lead. Near the end of the first half, Virginia capitalized on another scrum, this one deeper in Blacksburg territory. The ball was fed to Duvall, who broken through the defensive line and was tackled in the open field. He quickly released the ball, got to his feet, and recovered the ball, then outran the Blacksburg defense to score under the posts. Fealey's conversion brought Virginia's lead to 14-0 at half time.
Fealey resumed the scoring early in the second half with a penalty kick that brought the score to 17-0. Half way through the final period, Virginia stole the ball in Blacksburg's half, and the ball made its way through the hands once again to Johnson. He appeared to score his second try of the match, but the play was called back for a forward pass. Ten minutes later, Blacksburg was awarded a scrum deep in its own territory, but the Virginia pack promptly stole the ball. Scrum half Matt Staples chipped the ball into the try zone, where Johnson dove on it for his second try. Fealey once again converted from the touch line to extend the Virginia lead to 24-0.
Virginia kept up the pressure until the end of the match. With only a few minutes remaining, Virginia ran a set play from a scrum at the center of the pitch. With the backs split to both sides, Fealey reversed field, received the ball from Staples, and then passed to Davis. Davis fed Johnson, who broke down the wing untouched to score his third try of the match. Fealey continued his impressive kicking display, slotting another difficult conversion to bring the score to 31-0. Blacksburg's best scoring opportunity came at the end of the match as they repeatedly attacked the Virginia try line and kept the ball inside the Virginia 22. Virginia's defense, however, held strong and preserved the shutout until the final whistle.
Tries:
Shawn Johnson (3)
Ken Duvall
Conversions:
James Fealey: 4/4
Penalties:
James Fealey: 1/1
Drop Goals:
James Fealey: 0/1
B-Side Match: Virginia 55, Blacksburg 0
Tries:
Anthony "Mongo" Montgomery
Evan Davis (4)
Shane
Matt Pawlowicz
Matt "Juice Box" Strickland
Ben Leach
Conversions:
Evan Davis: 2/4
Shane: 0/1
Todd Applebaum: 2/2
Matt "Juice Box" Strickland: 1/2
Photos:
Scrum half Matt Staples at the scrum.
Center Johnny McNulty making a tackle with support from wing Ken Duvall.
Flanker Michael Bischoff charging down the Blacksburg scrum half.
Flanker Matt Pawlowicz stripping the ball.
Wing Ken Duvall breaking into the open field.
Wing Shawn Johnson opening the scoring with the first of his three tries.
Wing Ken Duvall scoring the second try of the match.
Virginia forwards controlling the breakdown.
Center Evan Davis catching a chip kick.
Forwards Matt Pawlowicz and Aaron Franke combining for the tackle.
Fly half James Fealey kicking a penalty.
Center Evan Davis trying to strip the ball.
Scrum half Matt Staples preparing to make a tackle.
Flanker Michael Bischoff fending off a defender.
Scrum half Matt Staples and forward Jason Gaviria charging down a Blacksburg kick.
Flanker Michael Bischoff making a tackle and stealing the ball, with support from lock Aaron Franke.
Wing Shawn Johnson diving on a loose ball for his second try of the match.
Wing Shawn Johnson completing his hat trick.
Hooker Luis Lucas preventing a try in the corner.
Celebrating the victory.
More Photos