On Monday April 25th, the Blue Jay Ruggers took down the St. Paul’s Wolves 26-12 in a playoff semifinal match. The win puts Blue Jay Rugby into the State Championship game this Saturday, April 30th against the Bayou Hurricanes at 3pm @ Pan American Stadium.
The Jays and the Wolves played clean hard fought match in front a large group of fans at the Marconi field. The Jays started the scoring after winning a St. Paul’s scrum. Scrum-half Jr. Ian Fogarty secured the ball and tossed to Jr. Patrick Brou who slashed his way over the goal to score a try. Sr. Scott Derbes’ conversion was good and the Jays led 7-0.
Jesuit added to their lead when Sr. Captain William Waguespack stole the ball from the Wolves and tossed it to Jr. Case Ellis who dashed his way 45 yards passed several Wolf defenders to score. Derbes was again good on his conversion putting the Jays up 14-0.
St. Paul’s Nicholas Montreuil answered the Blue Jay score with a long tackle breaking run for a score late in the first half. Adam Schmidt’s conversion was good and the score would stand 14-7 at the half.
The Jays opened the second half moving the ball. Sr. Evan Slattery broke through the Wolves defense to get the Jays deep into enemy territory. St. Paul’s defense stiffened and the Jays would come away with no points. The Jays kept getting into the Wolves end of the field and the Wolves kept fighting them off. Eventually, the Jays used their characteristic sharp ball movement to break through. Case Ellis found himself on the receiving end of a nice toss and weaved his way through tight St. Paul’s traffic to score. Derbes’ conversion was solid and the Jays built a 21-7 lead. Later, Soph. Gabe Massey would pick up a loose ball and out run the Wolves’ defense 55 yards for a score as Jesuit fans cheered wildly. With the missed conversion the Jays led 26-7.
St. Paul’s battled hard throughout the match. The Wolves penetrated the Blue Jay defense late in the match and scored on a try Bam Barreiro. The conversion was no good and the match would end 26-12 Jesuit.
As is customary in rugby, the home team treats the traveling away team to a shared post-match meal. Blue Jay Rugby families treated the St. Paul’s players, coaches and families to a meal of pastalaya, salad and dessert. Also, in the spirit of sportsmanship and tradition, each team honors the other with a Man of the Match. The Jays honored St. Paul’s Nicholas Montreuil as their Man of the Match and the Wolves honored Jesuit’s Case Eills.