Hard-fought tie takes Colby Men’s Rugby into the postseason
Colby Men’s Rugby hit the road this weekend, heading up to Orono, Maine to take on the University of Maine Black Bears. Going into the game, the Bears were 3-0 and Colby was 2-0, priming what would prove to be a hard-fought clash of divisional powerhouses. The game’s winner would be declared division champion and earn the right to host their first playoff game on Saturday.
The game started with a well-placed dropkick from Peter Morariu `22 that slipped through the Black Bears’ hands only to be returned to them due to a Colby penalty. The following phases resulted in only a few meters gained, but set the tone for Orono’s offensive strategy.
Analogous to football’s ground-and-pound style of running, the Black Bears run a pick-and-go offense, meaning that they rarely pass and prefer runs with minimal gain in an attempt to wear the opposing defense down.
The Colby defense, however, muscled up behind the likes of Vice-Captain Sam Donahue `22 and Jesse Higgins `22, shut down Orono runners at the gain-line and stuffed the Black Bears’ attack. Donahue in particular dominated defensively, recording over eight “jackals,” which is essentially when a defender strips the attacker of possession after making a successful tackle.
Possession swung back and forth between Orono’s relentless beat-down style offense and Colby’s skillful jackals, defensive stops, and several Colby penalties. A spark of excitement suddenly came from a Colby lineout thiry meters from the try-line. Running a play meant to swing the ball out wide, Colby’s Mason McKee `25 took the ball off the lineout into the first ruck. Following a forwards-smash sort of play to set a second ruck, the ball swung from Morariu to Burr Rhoads `23 to Will Bedingfield `22.
Bedingfield had slotted in at inside-center to start this week after playing inside-center the past game and fullback in the opening match against Bowdoin. Back to the play with an Orono back line hot in pursuit of Rhoads, Bedingfield received the offload in stride, breaking through two Orono defenders before running clear into the try zone.
With the score now set at five to zero, the game sank back into the usual drudgery, with Orono controlling the offensive pace. Colby struggled to maintain possession due to dropped balls and penalties, but was always steadfast defensively.
The next break came from Orono, who in an instance of creativity and athleticism, swung the ball wide through their back line and took a line break into the corner of the try zone after a few missed tackles. Luckily for Colby, a try scored in the corner of the try zone makes for a difficult low-angle extra points kick and the Orono kicker never stood a chance. The game was now level at five to five at the end of the first half.
The second half was a new game and the Mules came out firing. The first ten minutes of the second half showed signs of domination from Colby that could lead to an outstanding victory, but the team was still plagued by penalties and missed attacking opportunities. After one particular strand of repeated Colby penalties that contributed to Orono’s attack, the Black Bears were able to pound the ball over the try line and take the lead. Luckily, Orono again missed the kick for extra points, making the score ten to five.
The Mules knew they had a tough game to finish, but had to dig deep to manifest success. After multiple substitutions in the second half to bring fresh legs and energy to the field, Colby found the break they were looking for on a lineout twenty meters from Orono’s try zone.
With a direct lineout to Bedingfield from Oliver Lawrence `22, who subbed in at scrum-half for Morariu, Bedingfield crashed past the forward pack, faking out an Orono would-be tackler, before trudging through to make it five meters from the try line.
Bedingfield took the ball into contact and set a ruck, letting Lawrence swing the ball to the far side where Brett Cosby `24 scored his second try of the year in the corner of the try zone.
In a dramatic turn of events, Mack Fisher `22 took a difficult kick from a low-angle position and came up just short. Due to the Orono chase leaving early, however, Fisher was allowed to re-kick from the same position, but hit the crossbar.
The game petered on as it had the whole time, with a grueling Orono ground-and-pound and a resilient Colby counter. The final five minutes of the game were fought within Colby’s 22-meter zone, with Orono repeatedly picking and going, trying to wear down the Colby defensive line. However, in an epic standoff that ended inches from the try zone, Colby stood fast and held back Orono, sealing away a tie to end the game.
Without extra time, Orono ended their season with three wins and a draw compared to Colby’s two wins and a draw. Due to the tie, Colby will travel to Middlebury, VT to take on the 4-0 Panthers on their own turf this Saturday.
~ Will Bedingfield ’22
