On September 30, 2017 Schuylkill River traveled to Baltimore for a MAC doubleheader. It was a good day to be an Exile as the team went 2-0 to pick up a couple of big wins.

D2 went first on the day and quickly found themselves in a 6-0 hole. Baltimore had a very solid kicker who was able to take territory and get them going early. Things turned around for Schuylkill when Matt Tyris got rolling and started ripping off huge chunks of yardage, including a 75 meter try that gave us the lead. Our scrumhalf Tito Callahan was able to find space around the breakdown and take it himself from 25 yards out for another try before half and a couple of conversions from Greg Mininger gave us a 14-6 lead at the half.

In the second half it was a back and forth battle but Schuylkill was able to drive deep in Baltimore’s half to set up a penalty kick from Ryan Tower that gave us an 11 point lead with just a few minutes to go. Baltimore was able to add a try late to make it a 17-13 score line in favor of River.

Callahan ended up being named man of the match and other strong performers included Matt Tyris, James Brunson, and Ryan Tower. A couple of players, including Matt Centanni and Pat Bellot made their overall rugby debuts this weekend and both of them definitely looked like they belong on the pitch.

Scorers: Tries – Callahan and Tyris, Cons – Mininger (2), Pens – Tower (1)

D1 went next and ended up playing a very exciting back and forth game. Brian Keown put us ahead 3-0 in the early going but Baltimore was able to come back with a quick try to take a 7-3 lead. Joe Midwig and Matt Giannascoli managed to simultaneously charge down a kick to lead to a try for Ricky Schneider and Ryan McHugh finished off a sequence of pick and goes soon thereafter to give River a 17-7 lead.

Baltimore had a strong points kicker as well and he traded penalties with Keown to eventually make it 20-13 which was the halftime score. Baltimore went on to put two more tries on the board to give themselves a 27-20 lead. Schuylkill remained calm and played steady from there leading to a sequence where quick hands on the goal line from Matt Chiaramonte to Rich Casey to Ryan McHugh made the score 27-25 Baltimore.

As the clock ticked down Randy Helsman found some space and fed Roman Lowery who squeezed through a gap to make the score 30-27 which ended up being the final. With the 4 tries Schuylkill ended up getting a bonus point in this match.

Afterwards Randy was named man of the match and other strong performers included Lucas Brickley, Roman Lowery, Geoff Matthes, and Matt Chiaramonte.

Scorers: Tries – McHugh (2), Lowery, Schneider, Cons – Keown (2), Pens – Keown (2)

Coach Owen Jones described it as “a fantastic day for Schuylkill River with both sides securing road victories. The players once again finished with great passion and earned two tries in the final ten minutes. Baltimore was a bruising team and we met them with physicality. The team is starting to find their identity, and with many games left, is looking to make a charge this season.”

Season Scoring Tally
Troop
Tries: Tito Callahan (2), John Sneh (2), Michael Bacon (1), James Brunson (1), Yuriy Trimba (1), Matt Tyris (1)
Cons: Greg Mininger (2), Ryan Tower (2)
Pens: Ryan Tower (1)

Exiles:
Tries: Rich Casey (3), Ryan McHugh (3), Roman Lowery (2), Rick Schneider (2) Joe Midwig (1), Jim Rosato (1),
Cons: Brian Keown (8)
Pens: Brian Keown (3)