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Written by Bernie Decker
Sunday, 31 July 2011 21:01 |
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Colorado State Games 7s Full Report |
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School Age -
Boys
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The Denver East Angels U19 program earned the gold medal, Littleton the silver and Colorado Springs the bronze in 7s competition of the Colorado state games at Cheyenne Mountain High School sports complex in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
Denver were down 12-0 at halftime of the finals, but clawed their way back for the win with a superb second effort to claim the title.
Path to the medals
The Angels went 3-1-1 and were tied for second place with Colorado Springs Grizzlies in preliminary match play, but advanced to the gold medal fixture by virtue of a cumulative points differential with their downstate rivals of six. Littleton went into the title match as top seed with a 4-1 record, its only loss coming in the third round v the Grizzlies, 10-17.
Bronze: Colorado Springs v Cherry Creek
Colorado Springs jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first half with tries by the Markowsky brothers, Nick and Alex. Sevens All-American Michael Black, who directed his talented charges in stellar fashion from the slot position, stripped ball in the tackle at Creek’s 10 meter line and fed Alex Markowsky perfectly. The speedy scrumhalf stepped inside a defender and outpaced pursuit for Springs first score. Then Black grubbed ahead for onrushing Nick Markowsky who collected the ball on a friendly bounce and sped into goal.
Grizzlies scored twice shortly after break with tries by Marcus Whitting and Nick Markowsky before Cherry Creek got on the board with a slick inside move, burst, and touch down by Hayden Teehan, closing the gap to 22-5. Christian Flores finished tallies for Springs as Black put him into space at Creek’s 22 and he crossed for the score. CC’s Ben Pinkleman completed the scoring with a burst through the defense and a dash into goal for a final of Colorado Springs Grizzlies 35, Cherry Creek 21.
Gold and Silver
Tries by newcomer Abe Ruiz and wing Brian D’Ambrosia had Littleton up by ten at the half, but Denver East were able to erase that deficit and claim ultimate victory via the sure toe of Matt Fitzgerald.
Ruiz, a first year player for Littleton, electrified onlookers with a 60 meter scoot through traffic for a 5-0 lead after 2 minutes. D’Ambrosia got his try after a banging, jinking run up the touchline and a leap into goal: 10-0 to Littleton at the breather.
East burst out of the halftime gates, roaring into Littleton territory as deceptively canny 7s prop Adam Page ghosted through the defensive wall at midfield, but Littleton were up to the task forcing turnover and attacking well in the early stages of the second stanza. Then dynamo wing Taj Willingham fended off a tackle at his own 10 meter line. He broke through a second attempted stoppage en route to a try converted by Fitzgerald, and East drew to within five midway through the half.
Littleton made it a twelve point margin when Josh Brake popped into space at the Denver 22 and would not be denied the score as he dragged a hand tackler for ten meters before crossing, and it was 19-7 as Littleton looked the good bet to grab gold.
A spirited dash up touch by Miles Mackenzie realized seven more for the Angels with Fitzgerald’s conversion. With game over at next whistle, versatile Angel 7s prop Dante Brown broke into space and flippered a pair of defenders to draw East even, and Fitzgerald secured the title with his conversion at no time. Final: Denver East 21 - Littleton 19.
“I’m really proud of the way the boys played after the loss to Littleton (14-21) in our first match, as well as their ‘never say die’ attitude in the finals,” enthused a beaming Bill Baer, longtime Denver East coach.
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Written by Pat Clifton
Sunday, 31 July 2011 19:25 |
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Warriors Not Relying on Big Names at Nationals |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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 The Utah Warriors, in their first summer playing 7s, are the champions of the Pacific Coast, and they could well be crowned national champions Sunday at Sheeran Field in San Francisco.
The Warriors lose no players from the Pacific Coast Championship team, except Mike Palefau. Palefau is their top playmaker and one of the best all-around players in the country, but he has to report for the Eagles 15s assembly Sunday and will not be available.
(Palefau is not available for the Eagles in their Saturday showdown with Canada, as personal commitments are forcing him to join the team late, but he should be in the mix for the rematch a week later and the Japan game later this month.)
Don Pati, The University of Utah star who played for the Warriors earlier this summer, is also not expected to play, as he's recovering from knee surgery.
Suiting up for the Warriors, however, will be Maka Unufe, who starred for U19 runners-up United (Utah) in the spring. 7s Eagles coach Al Caravelli has called Unufe the find of the summer and compared his speed and agility to that of Palefau, which is about as high a praise as the coach could bestow upon the up-and-comer.
"Maka is a really dynamic player. He's a young guy with immense amounts of athletic ability and a real sense for the game of rugby actually," said Jason Pye, 7s Eagle and Utah player/7s coach.
"It’s a great opportunity for him to play with us and grow. Mainly because when you have someone who has the ability to be a true star, if they’re not surrounded with other good talent, it’s very difficult for them to shine. With our whole roster, I think we have a lot of talented guys who can all share the workload in scoring tries and making a defensive stand, and so I think it gives him the ability to focus on smaller things and make the impact in that manner.
"You’ll definitely seem him out there (at Nationals) and he’ll be really fun to watch, but the reason that he’ll shine so much past his athletic ability and God-given ability is the workload’s going to be shared pretty evenly amongst the team."
Pye, with Palefau out, is Utah's biggest name. He's been an Eagle selection in the last 12 months, he's a former All American and he's coached the University of Utah to two Collegiate Rugby Championship appearances, winning the Cup in the first go-round.
Outside of Pye, there aren't too many recognizebale names. Matt Byrd is a former Utah All American, and he was invited to the Eagles domestic camp in the spring, but other than during the Warriors' lone Super League season, Byrd's been out of the game for a while.
Ryan Chapman, who also attended the Eagles spring domestic camp, is another talent that's been unearthed by the Warriors. The No. 8 did play for Glendale previously, but wasn't invited to his first National Team camp until playing for Utah. Chapman, along with several other Warriors, is playing his first summer of 7s.
"There’s a few that are kind of dabbling for the first time in 7s, Ryan being one of them, and he’s really enjoyed it," said Pye.
"Ryan and I are good friends...and he’s ecstatic about 7s. He wants his 15s game to improve, but he’s got a true love for the sport of rugby, and he’s just looking to go out there and run at anyone who dares try and tackle him, so I wish those guys luck."
What the Warriors lack in star power they make up with chemistry. Outside of Unufe, nearly every member of the 7s team played 15s for the Warriors in the spring, something few clubs who'll be joining Utah at Nationals can say. The Warriors are taking a resting approach to preparing for Nationals, having not played a tournament last week. What's on tap for this week? According to Pye, continuing to strengthen their chemistry.
"I'd love to get the guys up (to my gym) sometime this next week and do a boxing session…Just to kind of really pull the guys together a little bit. I think that’s very important that you have that camaraderie and you're willing to do whatever it takes for the guy next to you on the field, so we’ll focus a little bit on that and work a little bit more on the pattern, and that’s going to be our buildup."
The Warriors are joined in Pool A, also known as the Pool of Death, by Glendale, the Chicago Lions and San Francisco Golden Gate. The Warriors defeated SFGG in the Pacific Coast Championships last month, but have never played Glendale or the Lions in 7s or 15s. Pat Clifton will be tweeting live from Club 7s Nationals Saturday and Sunday via @Rugby_Magazine. You can also follow him via @Pat_Clifton.
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Written by Alex Goff
Sunday, 31 July 2011 20:09 |
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Boston Ready to Make the Jump |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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The Boston Rugby Club was almost unbeatable during this summer’s Northeast 7s season.
They led the season standings easily and were hardly challenged in the final championship, and that has Head Coach Kevin Imonje just a little bit worried.
 “Have we been tested enough? No I don’t think we have,” Imonje told RUGBYMag.com. “In the Northeast every so often some teams will really test you, but with NYAC not competing this summer there was one less team to do that. Perhaps in the future we might look at other tournaments to go to, such as Cape Fear.”
But that’s in the future. Right now Boston has a national championship to compete for August 6. And in a pool with Hawaii Select, New Orleans and Belmont Shore, they have their work cut out for them.
“I think what we have going for us is that we have a group of players who have been to nationals the last three years,” Imonje explained. “It is difficult to understand what it takes to make the jump to that level of play, but we have several players who have learned it.”
Among them, longtime star Derek Wavomba, Kyle Marshall, Duran Vota and Brennan Moore. Add to that Australian Blake Creighton, who joined the team this summer and has emerged as a real playmaker, and you’ve got a strong nucleus. So much so that Fijian Epeli Mara’s injury can be handled.
“It’s a loss, a tough loss,” said Imonje. “But not a devastating loss. We have enough depth to be able to handle it and we have players who can step up.”
This year’s Boston team is perhaps a little more polished in its playmaking, and even a little more athletic, too. But in the end, it’s about being able to realize that easy victories on the local circuit aren’t enough. Imonje and Boston are confident they have learned that lesson.
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Written by Cody Secker
Sunday, 31 July 2011 15:18 |
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Eastside Takes Wash U19 7s Title |
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School Age -
Boys
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Everybody loves the Cinderella story in sports. For whatever reason, whether it’s a person or a team accomplishing the improbable, people always stand up and cheer. On Saturday, at the Subway Summer Championships in Tacoma, it was Eastside against Chuckanut in the state championship game and the stakes were higher than ever. Both team started slow, but Eastside keep its streak against Chuckanut alive with a 38-7 win.
Back at the Can-Ams in Bellingham, these two teams faced each other in the championship match. This time however, the roles were reversed and so was the home team. For Chuckanut, it was about revenge, for Eastside a chance to go undefeated in their first ever run through the summer 7s venue.
Before Bellingham, Eastside players had never played in a sevens tournament, now they were playing for a title. “It’s been really exciting to watch this team this year,” Eastside head coach Josh Young said. “These guys have done a lot this year and they’ve done it all together and have been able to grow as a family and that’s what has been one the keys to our success.”
At the beginning of the game, both teams were sluggish with penalties and mental errors that would make a coach frustrated beyond belief. However, when things settled, the scoreboard started to light up. Chuckanut started the show with an early 7-0 advantage. Eastside would counter quickly with an incredible run by Aladdin Schirmer up the middle of the defense.
Eastside would get on the scoreboard one more time before the half to take a 14-7 advantage. When the second half started, any and all nervousness that plagued Eastside in the first was gone and went back to their game plan. “We were all too excited in the first half,” Schirmer said. “Once we calmed down, we went back to our game plan and executed it.”
Whatever that game plan was, it worked and Eastside looked like a completely different team. Whomever had the ball for Eastside, seemed as though they were on a mission, dragging defenders and breaking tackles. Shirmer, who had a hat trick with three scores, scored his first of the second half by juking out two defenders and running in untouched for a score. Two minutes later, he was back when he got the ball out wide, made the first defender miss with a juke and side stepped the next in a highlight-like run that his teams were yelling “dirty” and “filthy.”
“I’m ecstatic,” Schirmer said. “We have really gelled as a team this and it’s been a lot of fun to learn this game. I have to thank God and everyone out there. I’m a very religious person and I always make a priority to thank him and what he has done for me.”
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