Wake Ends Losing Streak Against State in Dramatic Fashion

Sophomore wing Franco Cima led the Wake Forest first half comeback (Kyle Ray O'Donnell Photo)

Sophomore flanker Rob Elmore had a monster game defensively (Kyle Ray O'Donnell photo)

For the second consecutive year, Wake Forest let NC State race out to an early 14-0 lead. However, strong defensive play and offensive patience lead to two late first half tries from the Demon Deacons and the momentum carried over into the second half with two more tires to give Wake a 24-21 victory in Raleigh. The win puts Wake at 3-1 in the conference and in a tie for first place, while the Wolfpack drop to 0-3 in ACRL play.

Both teams played less than stellar rugby throughout the day, as missed passes, knockons, and penalties disrupted the flow of the game. But the first 20 minutes belonged to State, as their forwards used a very methodical attack off the fringes of the ruck to maintain territory and possession for long periods of time. Wake Forest defended well at times, but the Wolfpack were able to run in two converted tries complements of Wake Forest mental breakdowns and were unlucky not to have added more points as they had a ball knocked on in the tryzone and another ball held up.

Despite the disparity in possession and territory, Wake Forest remained calm and positive and slowly worked to establish their offensive pattern. Their patience was finally rewarded when a multiphase attack culminated in sophomore wing Franco Cima receiving the ball on the wing and stepping inside two defenders to touch down. Fullback Johnny McMurray added the conversion and the score was 14-7. With no time remaining in the half, Wake had a scrum 40 meters out on the left side of the field. A well executed move from the back of the scrum sent Cima into space and a few phases later Cima received the ball on the wing, was brought down short of the line but offloaded from the deck to sophomore lock James Watson for the try in the corner. The whistle blew with Wake within two at 14-12.

The second half saw messy rugby from both backlines, as neither seemed to be able to get in sync. NC State's usually reliable goalkicker Bryan Maxwell missed a penalty kick and then the favor was returned when McMurray missed a shot at goal as well. But from the ensuing 22 meter drop, which was actually gathered in by State, a dropped ball in the backline was kicked forward by flyhalf Rob Kelly. A fortuitous bounce came right into Kelly's hands and he raced in for a try to put Wake ahead 17-14.

The momentum was now clearly in Wake Forest's favor, but the Demon Deacons were sloppy on multiple set pieces inside the Wolfpack 22 and the game hung in the balance as the clock wound down. But from a 5 meter scrum to the left of the posts, senior captain Brendan Shea picked from the base and broke 3 tackles to touch down and give the Demon Deacons some breathing room. The breathing room was much-needed, as NC State's replacement wing took advantage of lackadaisical defense by the Deacs to bring State back within 3 with two minutes remaining. But Wake Forest was able to hold on for the final few minutes to claim the victory.

Wake's JV side continued to struggle in ACRL play, giving up a number of first half tries to the Wolfpack second side. But the Deacs stepped up their efforts in the second half and matched the Pack two tries apiece with sophomore prop Jaime Drewery and sophomore scrumhalf Andrew Estes scoring tries. Drewery's try was converted from the touchline by sophomore wing Steve Hemric.

Wake Forest travels to College Park, Maryland next weekend to take on the Maryland Terrapins, the defending ACRL champion. The Terps are undefeated this season at 3-0, but face a tough test on the road tomorrow at UVA.

Lineup vs. North Carolina State

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @60)
3. Nick Conte, Sr.
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Jaime Drewery, So. @ 40)
7. Rob Elmore, So. (Matt McCurdy, So. @ 77)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr.
9. Will Hank, Sr. (Jack Zimmerman, So. @ 40)
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Tommy Kinzer, Fr. @40)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, Jr.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr.

Tries: Cima, Watson, Kelly, Shea
Cons: McMurray (2)

Wake Overcomes Adversity to Claim Victory over Cavs

Johnny McMurray added to his ACRL leading point total with a try and conversion

Despite being forced to relocate the game from the Wake Forest campus to Danville, VA three hours hours before scheduled kickoff, Wake Forest improved to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play with a hard-fought 27-13 victory over the University of Virginia. The Demon Deacon forwards led from the front all day, while Wake's midfield defense put in an impressive performance containing a very dangerous UVA backline. Five different Deacs scored tries in the win, including Atlantic Coast Rugby League leading scorer Johnny McMurray.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at noon on Saturday on Poteat Field, but overnight rains caused standing water on the playing surface and the University closed the field to play at 9am. In order to get the game played and avoid the problems affiliated with rescheduling, both teams travelled an hour and a half to Danville, VA, to play on a field that, ironically, was far more waterlogged than Poteat.

With both teams liking to play wide open rugby, it was clear that the game would be decided by which team could best adapt to the less than ideal conditions. That turned out to be Wake Forest, as the Deacon forwards won the battle in the trenches and used a tight attack pattern to maintain possession and territory. When the Wake backline did get into the action, they made the most of it, with sophomore outside center Ryan Tacon, junior fullback Johnny McMurray, and senior wing Brandon Turner all making long probing runs into space. Wake got on the board first with a try from senior scrumhalf Will Hank, converted by McMurray. UVA answered back with an unconverted try of their own, but Wake responded immediately with a try by McMurray. UVA closed out the scoring in the half with a penalty goal to make the scoreline 12-8 at the break. UVA were unlucky not to have put more points on the board, but were held up in goal once and knocked on while touching the ball down in goal another time.

While the first half was a relatively even contest, the second half belonged almost entirely to Wake Forest. The forwards continued to control the attack, but opened it up a bit and used long periods of offloading and quick recycling to move down the field. Sophomore lock James Watson and senior #8 Brenadan Shea continually broke through the Cavaliers defense and finally freshman lock Christian Gutowski went over to extend Wake's lead to 17-8.

Meanwhile, Virginia's backline attacks were repeatedly stopped cold by almost flawless midfield defense from centers Ben Cohen and Ryan Tacon. Unable to consistently break the gainline, the Cavaliers opted to kick and chase, but McMurray covered the field superbly from his fullback position and counterattacked well at every opportunity. With UVA on its heels, Wake ran in two almost idential tries. Both began with long linebreaks, one by Tacon and the other by Turner, and culminated in a series of quick forward phases capped off by unconverted tries from senior prop Matt Storck and Watson.

With Wake holding a commanding 27-8 lead and time running down, Virginia finally found some gaps and showed some flashes of the offensive skill that saw them establish themselves as a top collegiate 7s team last fall. But another ball kocked on in goal stymied any chance for a comeback, and although they did manage to touch down a nicely worked try in the final 5 minutes, it was not enough and the final whistle blew with Wake claiming a 27-13 victory. The five tries scored by Wake garnered a bonus point and kept the Demon Deacons in the heart of the race for the ACRL title. UVA also controls its own destiny with 5 games remaining, including games against all the teams in front of them in the conference standings.

Wake Forest head coach Patrick Kane said after the game, "This was a big win for us. UVA is a great team and we frankly were lucky to play them in conditions that kept them from playing to their strengths. But those same conditions took away some of what we like to do and I was impressed with the way our guys adjusted our attack to dictate play and create opportunities outside of our preferred pattern. And our backline defense was superb. To be able to shut down a backline as talented as UVA's is a tremendous feat. My only regret on the day is that our guys weren't able to put on this performance in front of a home crowd."

The Wake Forest second side suffered its third stright close defeat, falling to the UVA JV side 17-8. Freshman center Ted McGuiggan continued to impress, scoring the Deacs lone try, while sophomore wing Steve Hemric kicked a penalty goal. Flankers Andrew Estes and Kip Lewis were especially active on defense, and center Jim Kavalec and fullback Tommy Kinzer were stalwarts in the backline attack.

Wake Forest takes on North Carolina State next weekend in Raleigh in a game that the Demon Deacons have been looking forward to for some time. "Last year we lost to State on a legnth of the field try on the last play of the game," said senior Ben Cohen. "Then they beat us pretty handily in the quarterfinals of the ACI 7s this fall. So we've had this game circled on our calendar. Today's win was nice, but it means nothing if we don't refocus and put in another good performance next weekend."

The Wolfpack have struggled through a difficult early season conference schedule, falling to second place Virginia Tech in the opening week of conference play and then losing to first place North Carolina today. "NC State is an excellent team and the chances of them losing three straight are slim. So we will need to play our best if we want to go into their place and come away with a win next weekend," said Kane.

Wake Forest Varsity Lineup vs University of Virginia

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @ 74)
3. Nick Conte, Sr. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 73, Conte @ 77)
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 58)
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Matt McCurdy, So. @ 52)
7. Rob Elmore, So. (Jaime Drewery, So. @ 52)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr. (capt.)
9. Will Hank, Sr.
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So.
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr.

Tries: Hank, McMurray, Gutowski, Storck, Watson
Cons: McMurray

Exciting News from Atlantic Coast Rugby League

GREENSBORO, NC (March 13, 2012) – The Atlantic Coast Rugby League has announced the launch of a new collegiate Rugby 7s series, the Atlantic Coast Invitational Rugby 7s Series, to be run in the fall of 2012. Four one-day tournaments will be held in different locations up and down the east coast, which will lead up to the Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s Championship, sponsored by USA Sevens, LLC, which will be held in late October.

The idea behind the series originated with Clemson Head Coach Justin Hickey.

“With the Olympic inclusion of Rugby 7s and the current trend of 7s competition in the United States, the Atlantic Coast Rugby League (ACRL) has the opportunity to set the standard on how Rugby 7s operates and competes at the collegiate level.”

Each ACRL team will have the option to enter any of the Series tournaments. Once it is established how many ACRL teams will be attending each tournament, the extra slots will be opened to non-ACRL collegiate teams through an application process. The one-day Series tournaments will have either eight or twelve teams depending on the venue. The Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s Championship will be contested over two days and will be limited to the men’s rugby teams from the universities in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Patrick Kane is the ACRL League Commissioner and Co-tournament Director of the Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s Championship. “The expansion from a single tournament to a series is a natural progression given the increasing popularity of Rugby 7s. It will expose our teams to more and better competition while providing competition opportunities for collegiate teams outside of the ACRL,” said Kane.

ACRL teams who will be allowed to enter each event of the series will represent the following universities:

• Clemson University

• Georgia Tech

• N.C. State University

• University of Maryland

• University of North Carolina

• University of Virginia

• Virginia Tech

• Wake Forest University

As well as the eight members of the ACRL, Florida State and Duke have also been extended invitations to the Series events and to the Atlantic Coast Rugby Sevens Championship.

Tentative dates and venues to be confirmed are:

September 15th – Blacksburg, VA

September 29th – North Carolina (Raleigh, Charlotte, or Greensboro)

October 13th – Atlanta, GA

October 13th – College Park, MD

October, 27th-28th – Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s Championship (Location TBD)

Information on the application process for non-ACRL teams will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Atlantic Coast Rugby League, the Atlantic Coast Invitational Rugby 7s Series, and the Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s Championship are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Wake Moves to 1-1 in Conference Play with Win at Georgia Tech

Wake Forest shook off their disappointing result from last weekend and evened their ACRL record with a 67-10 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Demon Deacons opened the scoring in the third minute with a try from sophomore lock James Watson and never looked back, running in 10 tries on the day. Watson lead the way with a hat trick and senior center Ben Cohen bagged two tries. Junior Johnny McMurray accounted for 22 points on the day with a try, penalty goal and seven conversions. Senior scrumhalf Will Hank stepped in seamlessly for the injured Jack Zimmerman, while junior Rob Kelly directed the offense from flyhalf with McMurray moving back to fullback.

Wake now has two weekends off to prepare for the Virginia Cavaliers who travel to Winston-Salem on March 24. UVA has yet to play an ACRL game, as their scheduled game with defending champions Maryland was postponed this weekend due to field conditions in Charlottesville.

Wake's JV side lost to a more experienced Tech side 20-7. The Deacs were behind 10-0 at the half, but dominated most of the second stanza. But they were only able to notch one try from their sustained pressure and a loose ball at the goal line was scooped up by a Tech player who went 95 meters for a backbreaking try.

Wake Varsity vs Georgia Tech

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @ 50, Matt McCurdy, So. @ 75)
3. Nick Conte, Sr.
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 40)
7. Jaime Drewery, So. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 45)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr.
9. Will Hank, Sr.
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Drew Ammons, So. @ 72)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr.

Tries: James Watson (3), Ben Cohen (2), Ryan Tacon, Brandon Turner, Johnny McMurray, Brendan Shea, Christian Gutowski
Cons: McMurray (7)
Pens: McMurray