The Mid-Atlantic All Star team crushed the West #2 team in the first round of matches of the National Collegiate All-Star Championships at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo.

The result of the match was never in doubt for the Mid-Atlantic, which scored 91 points to West #2’s three. Fullback Tim Ackers of Kutztown led the scoring with a hat trick and two conversions, while flyhalf Joseph Baker of Penn State followed that up with a try of his own and five conversions. Trevor Tanifum, Bruce Dolan, Chris Saint, Mike Erickson and Dominic DeFalco each added two tries in their side’s rout.

West coach Jim Snyder said, “It was pretty one-sided, but it was a good learning lesson for some of the young guys. The way we put this camp together is to get the younger guys learning. We want them to improve as rugby players.”

Assistant Mid-Atlantic coach Chris Hoy of Penn State said that he was glad his team had the opportunity to get better and work on its execution. “We outmatched them a little bit,” he said. “We executed our game plan and our patterns very well. I never like to see a score like that, but the main thing is that this is for the kids to get better. Good on them for giving us a tough game and coming out and playing, but they were a little overmatched.”

Hoy was also happy that his team is showcasing the kind of rugby that the Mid-Atlantic is capable of. “We were fielding a strong first side and it was a good chance to show our brand of rugby,’ he added.

The Mid-Atlantic takes on the West #1 team on Saturday at 4 p.m. MDT. The West #1 All Stars beat the Northeast 29-14 earlier today and should put up a better fight than their West #2 counterparts.

Mid-Atlantic 91-3 West #2

Mid-Atlantic
Tries: Ackers 3, Dolan 2, Saint 2, Tanifum 2, Erickson 2, DeFalco 2, Rohrs, Baker
Conversions: Baker 5, Ackers 2, Saint