The Blaze and their fans traveled strong to Lincoln Park in Chicago to play the Chicago Dragons in a Midwest Rugby Football Union Division 4 League Match last Saturday, and just like the weather, the Blaze poured it on with a 91-0 victory.
The overnight storms made for a slippery and wet surface to play on, but the star of the show was the wind. This changed a lot of the simple aspects of the game, making every kick to receive an adventure and a challenge to anyone looking to convert a try. The Blaze had a lot of both. They kicked off and the defense held tough, while the Dragons pounded for the first 4 minutes until a wet ball produced a knock. 8-Man Quinton Jackson picked the ball out of the back of the ensuing scrum for his first of two tries for the day.
Rookie speedster Brandon Hamilton returned the Dragons kickoff deep into their territory, where Captain Erik Otten was able to push the ball over the line for the Blaze’s second score of the day. Fullback Brandon Hamilton was running free most of the day and scored two tries of his own.
The Hart Foundation, consisting of #1 Andrew and #3 Dan, both got into the first-half score column with tries - Andrew bowling down all, as he sped in from the 22, and Dan with a nifty quick tap off a penalty.
“We played a physically dominating game, which was led by strong carries from our forwards then finished off by our backs,” Blaze coach West Jackson stated.
With a commanding 41-0 lead at the half, the Blaze made way for good minutes for Blaze reserves.
Jerry Vassala relieved Jackson at 8-Man and scored two second-half tries, the first highlighted by a nifty run-pass-offload combination from Andrew Hart to Otten to Vassala. The other was more conventional as it was an 8-Man pick and go.
Caleb Pelletier, Jayson Stewart, and Ty Dickerson all joined in the second-half scoring campaign, and the Blaze’s final try of the day came at 76 minutes with an 80-meter run from Matt Martenson off a kickoff.
Though there were plenty of highlights to go around, the Blaze Man of the Match was Brad “Butters” Bendle, who had a number of good runs breaking through the line and even scored his first-ever try for the club.
“Even with the wet conditions, Brad did not live up to his nickname of ‘Butters’ today,” Otten said. “It was really good to see him performing at the level that earned him most improved player honors last year.”
The Blaze return home on Saturday to face the Illinois State University Rugby at Noon in a friendly.
Tries:
Quinton Jackson (2), Brandon Hamilton (2), Jerry Vassalla (2), Erik Otten (2), Andrew Hart (1),
Dan Hart (1), Brad Bendle (1), Caleb Pelletier (1), Ty Dickerson (1), Jayson Stewart (1), Matt Martenson (1)
Conversions:
Chris Chrencik (8)
Starting XV
Andrew Hart
Erik Otten (C)
Dan Hart
Brad Bendle
John Ruiz
Aaron Sanderson
Joshua Runge
Quinton Jackson
Dain Krug
Chris Chrencik
Wes Muntz
Marcus Green (VC)
Jaden Johns
Mikey Slabenak
Brandon Hamilton
Reserves
Jerry Vassalla
Jayson Stewart
Jordan Travis
Sam Reinhart
Jim Krug
Caleb Pelletier
Matt Martenson
Ty Dickerson
Coaches:
DJ Williams
West Jackson
Alex Baro
