Elsah, IL – Principia College Rugby took the weekend by storm, winning both their games in the Gateway Conference championship, leading to a first-place spot in the conference and an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Rugby Championship Round of 16. Captaining for Principia in both games were
Sjaen Lucas and
Alex Parrish.
On Saturday, Principia faced off against Missouri S&T, winning 64-5. Missouri S&T opened the scoring in the third minute of the game with an interception pass. However, Principia did not repeat that mistake and could capitalize on set pieces to maintain possession of the ball throughout most of the game. Principia's first try came from a backline run when fullback
Kudzai Chiwara broke through the Miner's defensive line in the sixth minute. Eight minutes later,
Emmanuel Atiko was able to power through the first three tries on the day. In all, five different Principia players scored.
On Sunday, Principia played Saint Louis University, who had handily defeated Pittsburg State University 38-19. The game, the fiercest of the season for Principia—was evenly paced, with Principia threatening to score several times but held off by silly knocks and penalties. SLU rucked intelligently and fiercely, winning several balls out of counter-rucks while not overcommitting defensive players. However, a red card for Principia center
Bradley Mayekiso just 15 minutes into the game, for a dangerous tackle, meant that Principia had to play a man down for the rest of the game. The Thunder Chickens finally scored on an attack by fly-half
Damir Conci in the 24th minute to gain a 7-0 lead. Principia scored twice more (scrum-half
Sjaen Lucas and
Damir Conci) near the end of the half to take a 21-0 lead. In the second half, the Principia forwards kept up the tremendous pressure at the scrum and maintained control of the ball. Five more tries were added, including a chip kick into the in-goal, which
Grant Clifford caught over his shoulder football style to then touch down for the try. The final score was 50-5.
Up Next: Principia will play the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Division II Nationals Round of 16 at Emerson Central Fields in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO, at noon on Friday, November 19th.
