Wake Forest 34 Georgetown 30

Captain Brendan Shea wins a lineout against Georgetown

On a cold and windy day in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest defeated Georgetown 34-30 in an exceptionally well-played first game of the season for both teams. The Hoyas rolled up to Poteat Field ranked #23 in the country in Division 2 and beginning their preparation for the Mid-Atlantic D2 Conference playoffs. The Demon Deacons were readying for their second season in the D1-AA Atlantic Coast Rugby League, and looking to improve on a disappointing finish to the fall exhibition season which saw them lose to another highly-ranked Division 2 opponent, UNC-Wilmington (currently ranked #10 in D2).

Wake Forest looked to be the better team from the start, taking the opening kickoff and dominating both possession and territory and jumping out to an early 14-0 lead. Freshman fullback Tommy Kinzer started the scoring with a nifty try under the post, which was followed up by a spectacular openfield run from senior captain and #8 Brendan Shea. Both tries were converted by junior flyhalf Johnny McMurry. But Wake would lose some focus and discipline and a string of penalties allowed the Hoyas to get back into the game with a try from former High School All-American Jordan Maitland and two penalty goals from sophomore scrumhalf Jack Sheridan to make the score 14-11. The Demon Deacons regained composure and extended the lead to 19-11 with a try from senior center Ben Cohen, but also let a number of other first half opportunities slip away as they repeatedly found themselves attacking at the Hoya tryline and coming up empty-handed.

The second half started with two unconverted tries for Wake, one from sophomore scrumhalf Jack Zimmerman and Shea notching his second of the game. With the score 29-11, Wake looked to be comfortably in control of the game. Penalties again began to hurt the Deacs, however, and Georgetown took advantage of a stiff tailwind to continually pin Wake deep in its own end. Maitland proceeded to put the team on his back, and in quick succession the Hoyas dotted down three tries-two from Maitland and one from center Mike Wrotniak. Sheridan converted two of the three and with less than 10 minutes remaining Wake Forest suddenly found itself trailing 30-29.

Georgetown looked to be in good position to take the game, as on the ensuing restart Wake sophomore scrumhalf was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, meaning the Hoyas would enjoy a man advantage for the rest of the game. The final minutes were played at a frantic pace, as Georgtown tried to retain possession with their powerful forwards and run down the clock, while the shorthanded Demon Deacons pressed to take back the lead. Wake made numerous forays inside the Hoya 22, but mental mistakes and penalties stymied scoring opportunities. With 3 minutes remaining it looked as if Georgetown would ice the game, as their winger scooped up a loose ball around his own 22 meter line and raced untouched down the sideline. But sophomore center Ryan Tacon tracked him down from behind 10 meters from the line and forced a penalty for not releasing. Wake took the quicktap, worked the ball to the opposite sideline, secured a breakdown and then went through the hands the other way to junior wing Wes Bloomer. Bloomer was tackled into touch 10 meters from the line, but managed to toss the ball back infield before going out of bounds. The supporting Wake forwards gathered possession and four tight phases later Zimmerman went over the line to put Wake back in the lead, 34-30 with less than two minutes on the clock. Wake took the restart cleanly and ground down the clock until finally McMurray booted the ball into touch to cap off the dramatic finish.

Given that it was the first game of the spring for both teams, the quality of play was excellent on both sides. While Wake dominated in many phases of the game, the well-coached Hoyas exploited the Demon Deacons weaknesses well and were unlucky not to have come away with the victory. Georgetown should clearly be a favorite to advance far into the Mid-Atlantic Conference playoffs and this game will hopefully be the beginning of an annual fixture between the two teams.

Wake Forest also emerged victorious in the JV game, winning 15-0. Paul Shumaker, Will Hank, and Liam McIntyre led the way for the Demon Deacons, while sophomore prop Jaime Drewery showed well in his rugby debut.

Wake plays another Division 2 Mid-Atlantic Conference foe next weekend as the Demon Deacons travel to Fredricksburg, Virginia to take on University of Mary Washington. UMW and Wake played a close preseason game in 2011, with Wake scoring late to win the contest.

Wake Forest Varsity Lineup vs Georgetown

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Bryce Lambert, So. (Jeff Millar, Sr. @ 58)
3. Nick Conte, Sr.
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 58)
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So.
7. Rob Elmore, So.
8. Brendan Shea, Sr. (c)
9. Jack Zimmerman, So.
10. Johnny McMurray, Jr.
11. Wes Bloomer, Jr.
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Tommy Kinzer, Fr.

Tries: Kinzer, Shea (2), Cohen, Zimmerman (2)
Conv: McMurray (2)
YC: Elmore