On a perfect night for rugby in Clemson, SC, Wake Forest opened its Atlantic Coast Rugby League season with a frustrating 34-10 loss to the Clemson Tigers. Wake Forest was plagued all night by turnovers, specifically at the breakdown, and Clemson took quick advantage of turnover ball, with four tries coming directly from Wake Forest failing to retain possession in the tackle.
Clemson's first try came when senior wing Drew Chadwick lost the ball in contact and it squirted into the hands of the Tigers' speedy wing who sped 30 meters untouched into the tryzone. The conversion was missed and Clemson lead 5-0. Clemson struck again after a disorganized Wake offensive possession led to Clemson turning over sophomore Drew Merhmann. Three quick passes later, and Clemson's wing was in for his second of the night. This time the conversion was good and Wake trailed 12-0 midway through the first half.
Wake Forest had the bulk of possession for the remainder of the half, but squandered numerous scoring opportunities. Fullback Steve McMillen broke a 50 meter run down the sideline but was left without support after a try-saving tackle by a Clemson back and the opportunity was wasted. Twice Wake Forest lost possession less than 5 meters from Clemson's tryline and Clemson was able to clear the danger. The halftime whistle sounded with Clemson holding a 12-0 lead.
The second half opened with neither team gaining much of an advantage in either possession or territory. But Wake soon began exhibiting its poor habits from the first half and two turnovers resulted in two quick Clemson tries and Wake facing a daunting 22-0 deficit. With the game seemingly in hand, Wake was able to finally cross the tryline, as flyhalf Ben Cohen made a nice looping run to touchdown in the corner and bring the score to 22-5. Any hopes of a Wake comeback were dashed, however, by some spectacular play by Clemson's scrumhalf. His sniping runs off the base of the ruck and scrum resulted in two more tries and an insurmountable 34-5 lead for the Tigers. Wake Forest managed a consolation try at full time from freshman center Ryan Tacon to make the final 34-10.
"The game I think was probably closer than the score would indicate," said Wake Forest head coach Patrick Kane. "There's no question that the difference was our turnovers in the tackle and Clemson's impressive ability to immediately take advantage of the opportunities we gave them. The good thing is that our problems from Friday are fixable, and you can rest assured that we'll be working all week to fix them before we face Maryland this weekend."
Wake senior Ross Hilton was very complimentary of Clemson after the match. "I think our team now is much improved over the team we had last year that beat Clemson in Carolinas League play. So the fact that they beat us like that tonight shows how much better they've gotten over the past year. We need to learn from this loss and then put it behind us and look forward. If things go right, maybe we'll get another shot at these guys down the road."
Wake Forest Varsity vs Clemson
1. Ty Pierce, So.
2. Jeff Millar, Jr. (Chris Ryan, Jr. @ 70)
3. Nick Conte, Jr.
4. Brendan Shea, Jr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Drew Mehrmann, So. (Matt McCurdy, Fr. @ 40)
7. Ross Hilton, Sr.
8. Hunter Lostan, Sr.
9. Johnny McMurray, So.
10. Ben Cohen, Jr.
11. Drew Chadwick, Sr. (Jim Kavalec, So. @ 65)
12. James Watson, Fr. (Franco Cima, Fr. @ 40)
13. Ryan Tacon, Fr.
14. Brandon Turner, Jr.
15. Steve McMillen, Sr.
Tries: Cohen, Tacon
In a shortened Junior Varsity game, Wake Forest exacted some measure of revenge with a 19-0 victory. Tries were scored by junior scrumhalf Will Hank, freshman lock Matt McCurdy, and freshman wing Sean Barrett.
Wake Forest takes on University of Maryland on Saturday as the featured match during Wake's annual High School Rugby Showcase. Kickoff will be at 2pm. Maryland is coming off a last minute heartbreaking 23-20 loss at North Carolina, so both teams will be pressing to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play.
Clemson's first try came when senior wing Drew Chadwick lost the ball in contact and it squirted into the hands of the Tigers' speedy wing who sped 30 meters untouched into the tryzone. The conversion was missed and Clemson lead 5-0. Clemson struck again after a disorganized Wake offensive possession led to Clemson turning over sophomore Drew Merhmann. Three quick passes later, and Clemson's wing was in for his second of the night. This time the conversion was good and Wake trailed 12-0 midway through the first half.
Wake Forest had the bulk of possession for the remainder of the half, but squandered numerous scoring opportunities. Fullback Steve McMillen broke a 50 meter run down the sideline but was left without support after a try-saving tackle by a Clemson back and the opportunity was wasted. Twice Wake Forest lost possession less than 5 meters from Clemson's tryline and Clemson was able to clear the danger. The halftime whistle sounded with Clemson holding a 12-0 lead.
The second half opened with neither team gaining much of an advantage in either possession or territory. But Wake soon began exhibiting its poor habits from the first half and two turnovers resulted in two quick Clemson tries and Wake facing a daunting 22-0 deficit. With the game seemingly in hand, Wake was able to finally cross the tryline, as flyhalf Ben Cohen made a nice looping run to touchdown in the corner and bring the score to 22-5. Any hopes of a Wake comeback were dashed, however, by some spectacular play by Clemson's scrumhalf. His sniping runs off the base of the ruck and scrum resulted in two more tries and an insurmountable 34-5 lead for the Tigers. Wake Forest managed a consolation try at full time from freshman center Ryan Tacon to make the final 34-10.
"The game I think was probably closer than the score would indicate," said Wake Forest head coach Patrick Kane. "There's no question that the difference was our turnovers in the tackle and Clemson's impressive ability to immediately take advantage of the opportunities we gave them. The good thing is that our problems from Friday are fixable, and you can rest assured that we'll be working all week to fix them before we face Maryland this weekend."
Wake senior Ross Hilton was very complimentary of Clemson after the match. "I think our team now is much improved over the team we had last year that beat Clemson in Carolinas League play. So the fact that they beat us like that tonight shows how much better they've gotten over the past year. We need to learn from this loss and then put it behind us and look forward. If things go right, maybe we'll get another shot at these guys down the road."
Wake Forest Varsity vs Clemson
1. Ty Pierce, So.
2. Jeff Millar, Jr. (Chris Ryan, Jr. @ 70)
3. Nick Conte, Jr.
4. Brendan Shea, Jr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Drew Mehrmann, So. (Matt McCurdy, Fr. @ 40)
7. Ross Hilton, Sr.
8. Hunter Lostan, Sr.
9. Johnny McMurray, So.
10. Ben Cohen, Jr.
11. Drew Chadwick, Sr. (Jim Kavalec, So. @ 65)
12. James Watson, Fr. (Franco Cima, Fr. @ 40)
13. Ryan Tacon, Fr.
14. Brandon Turner, Jr.
15. Steve McMillen, Sr.
Tries: Cohen, Tacon
In a shortened Junior Varsity game, Wake Forest exacted some measure of revenge with a 19-0 victory. Tries were scored by junior scrumhalf Will Hank, freshman lock Matt McCurdy, and freshman wing Sean Barrett.
Wake Forest takes on University of Maryland on Saturday as the featured match during Wake's annual High School Rugby Showcase. Kickoff will be at 2pm. Maryland is coming off a last minute heartbreaking 23-20 loss at North Carolina, so both teams will be pressing to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play.
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