The second annual HazBowl Old Boys Match took place over the weekend bringing together past generations of Troop and Schuylkill River Rugby players as well as representatives of numerous Clubs within the Philadelphia community including significant contingents from Temple University and Blackthorn. A big thanks as always goes out to everyone who helped spread the word so that we could get a good turnout and for helping to run the grill. Overall we had approximately 40 players participate in the match with many more watching from the sidelines.

Following the HazBowl the Exiles took on a tough Norfolk Blues side and ended up with a 29-29 draw. Coach Burch stated that it was a “good start with the wind at our backs but we took our foot off the gas and didn’t press the advantage enough. We took a 14-12 lead into halftime but we knew that Norfolk would come out flying in the second half. Too many forced passes and handling errors allowed the Blues opportunities to make plays in transition and with 15 minutes left in the match we were staring down a 29-19 deficit. The boys buckled down for two late tries to salvage a bonus point draw.”

Try scorers for the match included Randy Helsman, Lucas Brickley, Matt Stringer, and Matt Henderson who scored twice. Brian Keown hit 2 conversion kicks on an extremely windy day. For his efforts on the wing Matt Henderson was awarded man of the match honors and other strong performers included Randy Helsman, Jimmy Wolfer, Lucas Brickley and Matt Hughes.

We are happy to report that at the conclusion of the match we found out that Troop, our D3 side, qualified for the EPRU playoffs. On Saturday March 30 the Exiles travel to Baltimore for the final match of their regular season while Troop travels to Jersey Shore for a friendly as they prepare for the playoffs set to begin on April 6.

This week’s U-19 Match saw the combined North Philly Nomads and Narberth Otters side take on Simon Gratz. Unfortunately, the weather in the week leading up to the match prevented the Nomads and Otters from having a combined training session so it was difficult for the boys to remain cohesive when many of them are still so new to the game of rugby. Gratz jumped out to an early 14-0 lead thanks to some turnovers but the Nomads struck back thanks to some quick thinking about Captain Nas Epps who scored off of a quick tap. The teams traded tries from there with Gratz scoring followed by Ifeyan Gavin scoring off of a penalty play to make it 21-12 following a conversion from Phil Gatti. Gratz controlled things for early portion of the second half and scored two more tries before Christian Diaz was able to steal a lineout which led to a try for Antonio Tilley off of a nice decisive pass from scrum half Cameron.

The final score was 33-19 in favor of Gratz but the boys fought hard until the end. The Nomad of the Match was inside centrer Antonio Tilley. In addition to scoring his first try of the season, Antonio was instrumental in keeping the Team engaged positively during the course of the game. Congratulations Antonio on your exemplary effort Sunday! Christian Diaz also impressed the coaching staff with his play throughout the match.
The Nomads travel to Father Judge on Sunday.

Season Scoring Totals:
Troop:
Tries: Jabari Johnson (4), John Hines Jr. (2), Dave Hilley (2), Matt Hughes (2), Michael Bacon (1), Justin Brown (1), James Brunson (1) Cody Bukowski (1), Ed Carter (1), Rich Casey (1), Jeff Hall (1) Dave Hockenberry (1), Ross McMonigle (1), Lake Paul (1), Tom Stenberg (1)
Cons: Ryan Tower (10)
Pens: Ryan Tower (6)

Exiles:
Tries: Sean Barnes (5), Randy Helsman (5), Matt Henderson (5), Brian Keown (4), Dan Deal (3), Lucas Brickley (2), Joe Midwig (2), Jimmy Wolfer (2), Pat Boyle (1), Matt Chiaramonte (1), Jeff Hall (1), Dante Jacquet (1) Jabari Johnson (1), Austin Lucas (1), Ricky Schneider (1), Matt Stringer (1), Brad Volm (1)
Cons: Keown (20)
Pens: Keown (8)

Nomads/Otters
Tries: Nas Epps (2), Ifeyan Gavin (2), Antonio Tilley (1)
Cons: Phil Gatti (3),
Pens: