Culver Pulls Out Win Over Rugby Rocks
March 18, 2015
On the first warm, sunny Sunday of the new year, the Trinity rugby Rocks took on the Eagles of Culver Military Academy from Culver, Ind. Despite taking an early lead, the Rocks fell to the Eagles 24-20 in a match played Mar. 15 at Marshall Stadium.
With the opening kick-off signaling the start of the match, Trinity and Culver Academy went at each other with full force. Physical play was present on both ends of the field; both teams dealt bone-crushing tackles. This style of play proved effective, as much of the first half was a stalemate. It wasn’t until the latter part of the first half when Trinity junior Sam Seay broke the scoreless tie with a try (a five-point score in rugby), breaking through several tackles in the process. Seay’s try put Trinity up 5-0 as the conversion kick was no good for Trinity.
Not much time passed before senior outside center Zack Shunnarah rushed from one end of the field to the other to score another try for Trinity, increasing the score to 10-0.
Culver Academy cut away at Trinity’s lead before the end of the half by scoring a try, closing to 10-5.
Culver came out strong at the start of the second half. Culver made slow but steady advancements towards Trinity’s end of the field and barely got the ball across the goal line to tie the game at 10-10. Culver then connected on the conversion kick to take the lead 12-10.
Culver carried their momentum into their ensuing rushes and scored again, widening their lead to 17-10, then to 19-10 as they connected on the conversion kick for two points.
Trinity persevered and responded with a crucial try by junior Jon-Luc Hall, shortening Culver’s lead to 19-15. The ensuing kick conversion attempt by junior Han Bin Fung fell just short, so the score remained 19-15 in Culver’s favor.
Trinity then had another great rush by Hall to get within scoring distance. With about four minutes left in the match, Seay received the ball on Culver’s end of the field and ran it into the end zone for his second try, re-establishing Trinity’s lead, 20-19.
The Rocks’ lead would not hold, however, as Culver went on to score in the final minutes to win 24-20.
Although a heartbreaking loss, Trinity coach Richard Plouffe ’99 was pleased with his team’s effort. Plouffe said, “I think we played really well. It was unfortunate, they (Culver) subbed an entire team in the second half, so they had a fresh squad, but I thought we played really well today.”
Culver head coach Darrel Knowlton thought his team played. Knowlton said, “For a young team, and having played yesterday a good team with Xavier, who really took it to us, I thought our boys responded very well.”
Shunnarah said, “We played hard. We could’ve done better, a few small mistakes, but I think we’ll come through with it.”
Shunnarah also said the Rocks need to improve some areas of their game. He said, “We need to improve on getting the ball out of our pack and working it through the wing.”
Hall said the best area of their match was their rucking. He said, “Our rucking (was good) because we did a really good job getting the ball back and stealing it.”
Plouffe praised Culver’s play. Plouffe said, “I thought they did well. They’ve been around for a while and they gave us a good match.”
Shunnarah was also impressed with his opponent’s play. He said, “Culver came ready to play. They came with their heads on straight, and they were looking for a win.”
Plouffe said there is still work to be done for the rest of the season. “We just have to get back to work, the basics, get in hard work and get our conditioning up,” he said.
Knowlton had some nice words for Trinity’s play. He said, “I thought Trinity played with a lot of heart and athleticism. Their number nine is lights-out; I know he’s a senior and it showed — a very well-disciplined team, and it was a joy to come down and play you guys for the first time.”
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