Wake Forest lost to Virginia Tech 37-12 in cold and snowy conditions in Blacksburg, VA on Saturday to drop to 0-3 in the ACRL. As has been the case in each of its first 3 league games, Wake gave up a try in the first 5 minutes, as the referee awarded the Hokies a try in the corner despite it appearing that the Tech player did not ground the ball. Moments later a defensive miscommunication in the midfield allowed a break by the Hokie outside center who touched down under the posts and Wake was down 12-0. Virginia Tech used superior size in the forwards to dominate the scrum and control possession and another try and penalty goal by Virginia Tech saw Wake in a 20-0 hole 30 minutes into the game.
The scoreline, however, did not reflect the way Wake was playing, and eventually Wake's backline started clicking and sophomore fullback Johnny McMurray got Wake on the board with a try in the corner. That was quickly followed by another break from Wake's backline, ending with sophomore flyhalf Rob Kelly scoring under the posts. McMurray's conversion brought the score to 20-12 at the half and Wake looked to have some life.
Virginia Tech made some adjustments in the second half and were determined to retain possession and keep the ball away from Wake's backline. The Hokies kept possession in the forwards and dominated territory and possession for much of the second half. Tech muscled in three more tries in the half, and although Wake Forest did make some good breaks, they were always attacking from long-range and were never able to finish anything off.
Wake Forest head coach Patrick Kane was disappointed with the result, but said that despite the scoreline, it was the best game that the Demon Deacons had played yet this season. "After Clemson and Maryland we identified some big problems that we needed to address. We worked hard on fixing these and I think we have improved immensely in those areas. The things we need to fix now are the little things-that last pass to put a winger away, the decision to keep ball in hand rather than kick away a good attacking opportunity. The talent and desire are there, and I'm encouraged going into the second half of the ACRL season that we will get a few in the win column."
For the third consecutive game, Wake Forest used a different halfback combination and finally seem to have found the right one, with junior Will Hank at scrumhalf and sophomore Kelly at flyhalf. "Will played the best I've ever seen him play at #9," said Kane. "Some of that can be traced to the forwards working hard to get him cleaner ball at the rucks, but it also comes from him getting more familiar with the position and handling the pressure that comes with it."
Wake Forest finds itself 0-3 in the ACRL and out of playoff competition. The ACRL schedule certainly did not do the Demon Deacons any favors, as they opened with three teams ranked in the RugbyMag top 25. Next weekend Wake Forest will play at home against Georgia Tech with readjusted goals for the remainder of the season. Team captain Ross Hilton commented, "We want to finish the season at .500 and prepare the team for the future in the process. We had 9 freshmen and 3 sophomores play in the varsity game yesterday. Our job as seniors now is to make sure we help these young players improve as much as possible over the next three weeks."
Wake Forest Varsity vs Virginia Tech
1. Ty Pierce, So. (Bryce Lambert, Fr. @ 55)
2. Jeff Millar, Jr.
3. Nick Conte, Jr.
4. Christian Jewett, Sr.
5. Brendan Shea, Jr. (Paul Shumaker, Fr. @ 73)
6. James Watson, Fr.
7. Ross Hilton, Sr. (Liam McIntyre, Fr. @ 50, Matt McCurdy, Fr. @ 65)
8. Hunter Lostan, Sr. (Matt Gray, Fr. @ 65)
9. Will Hank, Jr.
10. Rob Kelly, So.
11. Brandon Turner, Jr.
12. Ben Cohen, Jr.
13. Ryan Tacon, Fr.
14. Drew Chadwick, Sr. (Franco Cima, Fr. @ 70)
15. Johnny McMurray, So. (Sean Barrett, Fr. @ 75)
Tries: McMurray, Kelly
Con: McMurray
The Junior Varsity game saw Wake Forest beat handily by a solid Virginia Tech JV side. Some of the few highlights for the Demon Deacons were the play of sophomore center Wes Bloomer, who made multiple linebreaks and scored a try in only his second ever rugby game, and the play of freshman lock Robert Elmore, who fought through bruised ribs to play a solid defensive game and was a force in the lineout. Freshman hooker Bryce Lambert also played well in the set pieces and in loose play.
Junior Brandon Turner scored three tries in Wake's last meeting with Georgia Tech in October 2009
