WARSAW — A winning start highlighted the season openers for both Warsaw rugby teams over the weekend.

The Warsaw boys team began its season on a high note by beating Homestead 24-3 at Edgewood Middle School.

Warsaw,  after being pinned in their own half for much of the first quarter of the game,  tried to clear their line by kicking out of their 22. This resulted in the kick being charged down by Kyle Heckaman, who propelled the ball forward over the Homestead try line allowing Justin Netherland to dive on the loose ball to score the opening try.

The resulting conversion by Desmond Hudson was successful giving Warsaw a 7 to nil lead. A strong run by Jason Taylor late in the first half saw him crash over for the second try. A missed conversion kick by Hudson gave Warsaw a 12 points to nil lead at the half.

The second half started much the same as the first with Warsaw applying  pressure to Homestead both on defense and offense. Homestead rallied early in the second half forcing Warsaw to concede a penalty which was duly kicked by the Homestead flyhalf making the score 12-3.

This seemed to rally Warsaw with Taylor crashing over to score his second try of the game a little while later. The resulting conversion was missed wide by Hudson giving the home team a 17-3 lead.

Warsaw then scored again within the final few minutes of the game after a good series of passing plays when Neil Sand crossed over the try line to extend their lead. A successful conversion kick by Hudson saw Warsaw to a comfortable 24 points to 3 winner over Homestead.

“The boys played well today especially as this is their first game,” said Warsaw boys head coach Mark Caruso. “We still have a lot of work to do to get where we need to be for the end of season playoffs. I was particularly pleased with the play of some of my newer players, especially Neil Sand who made some strong tackles and cleared out effectively at the rucks. It was good to see him rewarded for his work with a try.”

Warsaw’s next game is at home on Saturday with Marquette, kick-off at 1 p.m.

Tries
Jason Taylor 2, Justin Netherland, Neil Sand
Conversions
Desmond Hudson 2

Warsaw Girls Victorious As Well

The Warsaw ladies started their season with an away game on Sunday and collected a 22-14 victory at Westfield.

Warsaw, with early pressure straight from the kick-off, was camped close to Wesfield’s line. After a sustained period of pressure Allyson Walls crossed the line close to the touch line to give the Tigers their opening try. The conversion by Liz Marroquin was wide of the left post giving Warsaw a slim five-point lead.

Soon after the Shamrocks broke through the Tigers line only to be thawed by a strong open field tackle by Oliver Netzley. This was to be a pattern for the game with both teams breaking each others defensive line only to be stopped by a last-minute tackle or a handing error.

About halfway through the first half, the Shamrocks scored a try which they converted giving them a 7-5 lead. The Tigers came back strongly with Valeria DiTizio scoring under the posts in the last few seconds of the half. The conversion was good by Marroquin giving Warsaw a 12-7 lead at the half.

The second half was much like the first with both teams making an equal number of breaks and errors which allowed the other team back into the game. Then came a period toward the end of the second half when the Tigers scored two tries in quick succession, the first by Marroquin and the second after a long solo run by Maria Duenas. Neither try was converted by Marroquin, giving Warsaw  22-7 lead over the Shamrocks.

“I am very pleased with the way the ladies played today,” said Warsaw girls coach Trevor Cracknell. “In particular the open field tackling of Olivia Netzley was outstanding. She made tackle after tackle which kept us in this game and allowed us to win in the end.

“We are still a very young squad, but we showed today that we have the potential to do very well in this year’s state championship competition.”

Warsaw’s next game is at home to Penn on Sunday, March 24, with kick-off at 1 p.m.

Tries
Allyson Walls, Valeria DiTizio, Liz Marroquin, Maria Duenas
Conversions
Liz Marroquin

Information provided by the Warsaw Rugby clubs.