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2009 Rockaway 7s Tourney
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Old Maroon 12 Betty Ford 10 W Old Maroon 12 Binghamton 5
W Old Maroon 15 Columbia Grad 0 June 20th
2009 --Fort Tilden, Rockaway, Queens It did not look promising for Old
Maroon RFC as three young boys in blue (NYPD) sat pacing at 8AM on the orange field minutes away form their first 7s tourney
and no Old Maroon sensai's in site. Jonny Newman rolled up into the lot to make 4, Pat Carroll (super blast form
the past ALUM) was hovering near by made 5, and we yanked 2 other scrubs from the opposing team to begin the match.
Minutes into the game, Mike Farina and Gary Baldi subbed in and promptly took control of a sloppy ball game. A long
run by Gary out of his own 22 to score put the boys up 5, leaving Jonny Newman to make a drop kick from the right corner.
With astro turf sneakers on, he sent the wobbly ball up to kiss the near post and land between the sticks for the full 7.
This would prove the difference as Gary shanked his other extra point later in the game. Betty Ford made it interesting
by scoring on the last play of the game but could not convert from 10 meters dead center, they Garryied the ball away to lose
the opening match. To Gary - (verb). to shank an easy dropkick for extra points. To Jared - (verb). to shank an
easy penalty kick to win championship. To Jonny Newman - (verb). to live and perform in utter excellence at all levels,
on and off the pitch. Next game against Binghamton
was well in hand as the 3 NYPD players started to get the hang of bringing the 7s game down to their level of pulverising
and rolling mauls of 15s play. Future went in to score on the left side to open the points on the board, while Mike
Farina also contributed with a run in the second half to put away the game. Binghamton's only score came off a bungled
line out that went back to their scrum who galloped away from Paul Kuzluski to get on the board. The last game of Pool play had us face off against Columbia Graduate School, they had a bunch
of foreigners who looked like they might be trouble, but once we put our heads down and ran through them instead of around
them they folded folded like the French of WWII. By this time Jeff Miragliotta was mending his injuries and trucking
over 120 pound men and Pat Carroll stayed on the outside containing what would be scores. Special thanks to our high
school player of the month Blake Odem who came out and got in some good experience, I personally saw him knee an old man in
the back of the head, which he felt bad about. 3-0 and
ready to roll on into the semi finals and hopefully swipe some hardware, we waited for the brackets to be posted. And
we waited, and we fired up the BBQ, and we helped ourselves to some brewskis, and waited. And sat in the rain,
and waited, while the brain squad refused to post anything. We took our pride and remained undefeated in the tourney
as the rain pelted down and guys started eating more hot sausage and burgers and drank more beers. Enough was enough,
it was over three hours of sitting in the rain, we packed it up and left unbeaten from Rockaway 7s matches. All had
a great time, ate well, drank some, but most of all played surprisingly well and were ready to make a run at the championship.
Not on this day, soon enough! Douglas C. Neidermeyer FORDHAM UNIVERSITY FALL UPDATE The Rams claimed the Metro Rugby Union division
title by posting a 4-2 record in the regular season. The club team, which is coached by Fordham and rugby alum Andrew Gheraldi,
have been able to build on the success of last season, in which it won the 2009 Cherry Blossom Invitational, upsetting then-defending
Division II National Champion Radford and a nationally ranked Dartmouth squad Despite a tough match, Fordham came away
with the happy ending, upending Army with a thrilling 25-23 victory. The Rams trailed most of the game and only had the
lead for about 30 seconds - the 30 seconds that mattered most. With their hopes dwindling, and an image of Army celebrating
a victory once again, Keith Reid stepped up to a penalty in the final minute of the game. Reid drilled the points
through, winning the title and sending Fordham to the Northeast Rugby Union Tournament. Even though the game was not
a must win situation, as Army would not have advanced to the Northeast Tournament because its A-Side team competed in the
event, the win gave the Rams a shot of momentum. Even though it could celebrate for a few days, the team had to get
right back to work. The Rams faced a well-respected St. Bonaventure team in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Rugby Union
Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7 in the friendly confines of Murphy Field. With home field advantage, a 5-2 record, a league
title and plenty of momentum, the Rams would seem to be the favorites. However, this was not the case. St. Bonaventure was
a huge favorite, and few gave Fordham any chance in the match. Fordham answered the call, though, with a
try early in the first half to take a 7-0 lead. Reid again took the game on his shoulders, truck-sticking a Bonnies defender
and scampering into the end zone. Still, the Bonnies proved why they were heavy favorites, as they answered right back with
a try of their own, tying the game at seven just before halftime. St. Bonaventure struck first in the second half,
taking the lead on another score, and soon enough the Rams found themselves where everyone else predicted they would
be: down. The theme this year for the Rams seems to be a relentless determination to prove themselves, and this held true
in the second half. Reid scored again on an excellent juke and found the end zone, tying the game at 12. The next few
minutes were dominated by the Bonnies and twice it looked as if they had taken the lead. Yet, despite the cheers
of their players and their fans, twice they had not crossed the goal line. The Rams defense came up huge on several scrums
just outside their own end zone and kept the game tied at 12. Fordham had its own close calls, including an offsides call
that negated a Fordham try. In the biggest games, the biggest players are supposed to step up. Reid certainly showed
he could play, captain Matt Savolskisas also played well and so did Tim Schwartz and Tomas Ferrero, whose senior leadership
were present on the field throughout the match. At this point, it was time for senior co-captain T.J. Carroll, who went
down with injuries a couple of times during the game, to step up. As the clock counted down, and overtime seemed inevitable,
Carroll took the ball from midfield and found the try zone just before a defender took him down. After what many
are calling the biggest win in recent history, and arguably the biggest win in the history of Fordham Rugby, the team prepares
for its semifinal match against the Army "A" side. If Fordham defeats Army, it will advance to the Sweet 16 of the
national tournament, and head out west to take on Dartmouth or Syracuse (who knocked off Fordham last season.) The Rams
lost twice to the Army "C" Side last season and now they will be facing a team better than that. Army is a
perennial powerhouse, and has been steamrolling its opponents all year. No one gave the Rams a chance against the Bonnies,
though, so they will just have to embrace the underdog role until they gain respect from everyone in the rugby community.
The easiest way to gain respect is to beat teams you are not supposed to beat. Men's rugby will try to do just that.
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