The Red Ruggers dominated once again as they shut down Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 58-10 in the Division II Conference Semi-finals.
Last week, Fairfield men’s rugby team showed absolutely no mercy when they took down the Siena Saints 102-17 in the first round of the finals.
Heading into their game against Rensselaer, however, the Red Ruggers knew they would have to step up their game to get the win against the team that was seeded second in the North Division. Stepping up their game was no problem for the team as they started the first half strong, leading 17-0 about 20 minutes into the first half of the game.
The field conditions could have proved to be a problem for both teams after the torrential downpours that occurred on Saturday. However, Fairfield used the puddles and slippery grass to their advantage. With the endurance and strength training the team has acquired through daily mornings spent at the crossfit gym, the Red Ruggers had no problem outrunning and dodging their opponents which proved to work largely to their advantage.
“The boys stuck to the game plan, they really stuck to what they were supposed to do and we train hard,” said Head Coach Marc Downes. “Their fitness is a key level, we do a lot of [Ben Kelley] athletics and any athlete should be doing that kind of conditioning because it works.”
By the end of the first half, RPI was only able to score five points for their team after making a series of offensive drives past Fairfield’s defense.
Fairfield, however, was relentless and with Alex Cucchi ‘15 anchoring the back and setting up multiple passing opportunities for the team, the first half ended in the Red Rugger’s favor, 34-5.
At the start of the second half, Richard Park ‘15 tackled through lines of offense from RPI, further proving Fairfield’s dominance in the game. With about 20 minutes left in the second half, Fairfield was ahead by more than 40 points, now leading 46-5.
The 40-point advantage wasn’t enough for Joe DiRico ‘15, however, who was able to impressively run the ball more than halfway down the field, outrunning three of RPI’s defensemen, and scoring yet another five points for the team.
For the remaining 10 minutes of the semi-final game, the RPI Red Hawks made several attempts to step up their offensive game and were only able to get another five points off Fairfield, which would happen to be their last points they would score of the season.
As the end of the second half came to an end, the tag team of Anif McDonald ‘16 and Aaron Bates ‘16 were able to score again for the team, making the final score of the game 58-10, sending yet another team home with defeat.
“The game today was fantastic, the boys played absolutely fantastic, and we can’t wait for Vassar,” Downes.
With the win against RPI, the Red Ruggers will prepare themselves for their next game against Vassar, the championship round of the tri-state conference league.
Heading into the championship round on Nov. 9, both teams are undefeated, however Fairfield heads into the conference with seven in-conference victories while Vassar only has five of these wins. While Fairfield defeated Sacred Heart, ranked number two in the South Division, 72-10 on Sept. 14, Vassar had barely taken down Sacred Heart in the semi-final round last weekend, defeating the team 48-34.
Although every game is different, if the Red Ruggers can continue on with the same heart and dedication for the game that they’ve showed all season, the championship game should be no difficult feat for the team that is looking to be the national champs.
“We believe we are on a national basis,” said Downes, “and we believe we want to go all the way to nationals and win nationals.”
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