Wake Forest finished what was a frustrating season on a high note on Friday night, defeating Duke 43-7 in Durham. After withstanding early pressure from the Blue Devils off the opening kickoff, Wake drew first blood with a try between the posts from sophomore flanker Justen Robinett. Senior fullback Perry Salvagne's conversion made the score 7-0. The Demon Deacon forwards dominated the breakdown and the set pieces, and from a maul driven about 30 meters to the Duke goalline, Christian Jewett went over to make the score 12-0. Duke got on the scoresheet minutes later when their dangerous fullback gathered in an attempted chip kick from Wake's flyhalf and sped around and outside the Wake Forest defense to bring the Blue Devils within five at 12-7. But Wake closed the half with a tremendous individual try-scoring effort from senior center David Sage and Salvagne's conversion made it 19-7 at the break.
The second half started with Wake winning a scrum against the head and Robinett picking from the base and going 30 meters for his second try of the night. Sophomore fullback Will Hank converted to extend Wake's lead to 26-7. From there out it was all Wake Forest as a Duke pack that was missing a number of regulars due to injury and unavailability had trouble competing in the scrum and had no answer for the Demon Deacons' maul. The Wake forwards continually set the platform and allowed the backs to run into space, with sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea, sophomore wing Tyler Vanston, and freshman wing Rob Kelly all touching down. Hank converted one of the tries to bring the final tally to 43-7.
Friday night's victory marks the last collegiate game for seniors Mike Duffy, Ken Forte, Christian Jewett, David Sage, Trent Justice, Perry Salvagne, and Gabe Huertas del Pino. Wake Forest rugby owes a huge debt of gratitude to this graduating class as they served as the foundation for Wake to move from a Division 3 team to one that will next year be a Division 1 team competing in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League. Duffy and Forte were four year starters in the front row, while Jewett, Sage, Justice and Salvagne all have been mainstays in the Demon Deacons lineup for the past three years.
While the departure of these seniors will leave holes in the team, the future looks very bright for Wake Forest. Freshman center Matt Tucker was extremely impressive on Friday night in his first action with the first team, garnering man of the match honors. Tucker will be counted on to solidify a backline next year that will be bolstered by the return of sophomores Ben Cohen and Brandon Turner from injury. The forwards, meanwhile, will be led by North Carolina Rugby Union All-Star Ross Hilton who will return to Wake for grad school and his final year of eligibility. Hilton will be joined by fellow All-Star Matt Storck who missed the entirety of the 2009-2010 season due to injury and 8-man Hunter Lostan who had a breakout year at the base of the scrum. The return of Cohen to the backline means that Brendan Shea, who performed admirably at #10 this season, can move back to flanker, adding more power and skill to the Wake forwards. Additionally, Wake hopes to soon announce a star-studded recruiting class that will help the Demon Deacons challenge for the inaugural Atlantic Coast Rugby League title in 2011.
Wake Lineup vs Duke
1. Devin Henry, Jr. (Nick Conte, So. @ 40)
2. Jeff Millar, So. (Chris Ryan, So. @ 65)
3. Ken Forte, Sr. (Matt Layden, So. @ 65)
4. Ross Hilton, Sr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Ty Pierce, Fr. (Sal Scifo, Fr. @ 60
7. Justen Robinett, So. (Drew Mehrmann, Fr. @ 63)
8. Trent Justice, So.
9. Mike Duffy, Sr.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Barrett Corrigan, Fr. (Tyler Vanston, So. @ 40; John Borkowski, Fr. @ 65)
12. Matt Tucker, Fr.
13. David Sage, Sr.
14. Gabe Huertas del Pino, Sr. (Rob Kelly, Fr. @ 40)
15. Perry Salvagne, Sr. (Will Hank, So. @ 40)
Tries:
Robinett (2), Jewett, Sage, Shea, Vanston, Kelly
Conversions:
Salvagne (2), Hank (2)
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