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| Wake Forest After Season-Ending Victory Over Virginia Tech |
Trailing 22-5 at halftime, Wake Forest ran in six second half tries to finish their 2012 spring season with a remarkable 43-29 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday in Winston-Salem. The win gives the Demon Deacons a 4-3 record in Atlantic Coast Rugby League play and a fourth place conference finish. The Deacs finish with an overall spring record of 6-3.
From the opening kickoff, Virginia Tech looked to exert their style of play, focusing on starving the Demon Deacons of possession, gaining ground with their well-drilled forward pack, and running their offense through All-Conference senior center Matt Heitzer. The Hokies executed very well for the first part of the game and Wake's defense did not look to be up to the challenge. The Hokies went up 3-0 in the early going on a penalty kick, then extended the lead to 10-0 after a well worked try. On the few occasions that Wake Forest had possession they looked dangerous in attack, but saw many opportunities fall by the wayside with sloppy passing and poor ball retention. However, a sustained period of pressure inside the Hokies 22 resulted in senior scrumhalf Will Hank scoring off the fringe of a ruck and Wake cut the defecit in half at 10-5.
The teams then endured a prolonged stoppage in play, as Wake Forest sophomore flanker Tim Zage suffered a suspected neck injury making a tackle and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution. (All examinations came back negative and Zage was released from the hospital later that evening with nothing more than a sore neck).
When play resumed, Wake Forest again showed a promising attack, but continued to make mistakes with the ball that the opportunistic Tech side turned into two more tries before the break. As the teams changed sides the Hokies held a commanding 22-5 lead and looked to be in easy control of the match.
However, inspired play by the Wake seniors who were playing their final game and spurred on by a boisterous home crowd, the Demon Deacons looked like a different team in the second half. The forwards shut down the Virginia Tech forward attack and when the Hokies sought to swing it wide, they were bottled up quickly and began to make mistakes. Ten minutes into the half one of those mistakes took place inside the Tech 22 and senior Ben Cohen toed a loose ball ahead and it was gathered in by sophomore outside center Ryan Tacon who touched down between the posts. Junior flyhalf Rob Kelly, who had taken over kicking duties from Johnny McMurray who was hampered by an injured ankle, slotted the conversion and suddenly the Demon Deacons were down 22-12 and looked to be in the game. Moments later, Kelly slithered through the Virginia Tech backline to score under the posts and his conversion brought Wake to within 3. The momentum had shifted and Wake brought on fresh legs in sophomores Jack Zimmerman, Bryce Lambert, and Jaime Drewery to try to increase the pressure.
Taking a page out of the Hokies playbook, Wake began to control possession for long periods, with the forwards setting a good platform and the backline alternating with attacks through the middle and out wide. Senior captain Brendan Shea was virtually unstoppable with ball in hand, and gave the Deacs their first lead of the game with 20 minutes to play when he powered over a Hokie defender to put Wake Forest ahead 24-22. Wake continued to execute their attack pattern almost to perfection and a backline movement saw Johnny McMurray isolated against two Hokie defenders on the wing. McMurray chipped over the defense and gathered in the bouncing ball and went in for the try. Kelly's conversion was true and suddenly Wake appeared in full control of the match, leading 31-22. Wake struck again soon afterwards, when the forwards drove in a maul off a lineout from 10 meters out and senior Matt Storck touched down in the corner. 36-22.
The Hokies were not about to roll over, however, and on their next possession ran a well-executed play off of a lineout that saw their winger go 50 meters untouched through the center of the Wake defense for try under the posts and after the conversion Wake's lead was cut to seven. Tensions were high as the clock ticked down and Wake was awarded a scrum in their attacking third. A miscommunication in the backline resulted in a broken play, but Rob Kelly capped off a stellar performance by again weaving through a maze of Tech defenders to dot down for the second time in the half. His conversion put Wake up 43-29 with a minute to play. Wake received the ensuing restart and ran out the clock with some tight forward phases.
In the junior varsity game, Virginia Tech used its superior scrum to overwhelm the Wake second side. Tech jumped out to a 28-0 haltime lead, but Wake Forest battled back and scored three tries in the second half, two by sophomore #8 Liam McIntyre and all converted by sophomore scrumhalf Steve Hemric to make the final score a respectable 35-21.
The first side victory over Virginia Tech was the culmination of a season that had many ups and downs, but by most measures must be considered one of the most successful in the history of the Wake Forest rugby program. In only their second year of Division 1-AA, and having been picked to finish second to last in the ACRL preseason coaches poll, the Demon Deacons instead finished fourth in the conference with a winning conference record and at the mid-point of the season garnered their first ever D1-AA Top 25 national ranking. Assistant coach Mike Wills, who was a standout player for the Deacs from 2005-2009, put the season's success in perspective. "When I began playing rugby at Wake as a freshman, we were a Division 3 program whose rivals included Guilford College and Elon University. The thought of even setting foot on the same field as Division 1 teams like Virginia and Virginia Tech would have been unfathomable, much less actually beating those teams like we accomplished this year. It is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the players who have come through this program over the past 8 years, both the current ones and those who have graduated but continue to offer substantial support, that we have been able to progress to this level."
Wake graduates a number of key seniors, including four year starters Matt Storck and Brendan Shea and former North Carolina Collegiate All-Star players Brandon Turner and Ben Cohen. But fifteen freshmen and sophomores saw time on the varsity side for Wake Forest this season and juniors Johnny McMurray, Rob Kelly, Wes Bloomer, and Jim Kavalec are an experienced group who will undoubtedly provide solid senior leadership both on and off the field next year.
Wake Forest will hold its end of the year awards banquet next Sunday evening, and then will turn their focus towards exams and, for some, graduation. A core of returning players will be remaining at the University for the summer to take classes and train together for the upcoming fall sevens season, while the remainder of the team will be training with senior men's teams in their hometowns. Wake's 2012 collegiate 7s season opens on Sept. 15 with the first Atlantic Coast Invitational Sevens Series event in Blacksburg, VA.
Wake Varsity Lineup vs Virginia Tech
1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @ 52)
3. Nick Conte, Sr.
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 65)
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 18)
7. Robert Elmore, So. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 7, Elmore @ 13, Jamie Drewery, So. @ 52)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr.
9. Will Hank, Sr. (Jack Zimmerman, So. @ 52)
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Drew Ammons, So. @ 54)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr.
Tries: Hank, Tacon, Kelly (2), Shea, McMurray, Storck
Cons: Kelly (4)
