Roosterhead Game Reviews
Reviews of past Roosterhead matches
Roosterheads @ SRU (09.06.2008) 09.17.2008 by Unit
The Roosterheads opened up the Fall 2008 season on the road against ARU rivals Slippery Rock University. The Roosterheads came out strong and immediately took the ball down field within the SRU 10- meter line. After several attempts to punch the ball in, ultimately the efforts of center turned flanker Eric “Nips” Zyski were turned aside by SRU holding up Cal’s initial try. Shortly thereafter a tough penalty call thwarted yet another scoring effort by Zyski. Finally, with Cal still pressuring SRU, Zyski was able to make a brilliant play to senior center Eric “Peanut” Pino who touched down the ball for the try. Or so Cal thought. Unfortunately, moments after the ref had signaled the try, the SRU touch judge informed the ref of a forward pass, and therefore the try was disallowed. The score at half read 0 to 0.
After the half, the Roosterheads continued to play strong defense, but a few breakdowns turned into tries for the opposition. The final score read 17 – 0 with SRU taking the victory.
Following the A-Side match, the B-Side displayed a lot of skill and aggression in a 35 – 5 dominating victory over the SRU- B.
Roosterheads @ Clarion Univeristy (09.14.2008) 09.17.2008 by Unit
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon the Roosterheads looked to rebound from a tough loss the previous week against Slippery Rock University. With a slightly modified line-up the Roosterheads looked to establish the chemistry needed to make a run this fall. They believe they have found it. After a slightly rocky start the Heads felt out the competition and made the corrections they needed to in order to exploit the Clarion team.
After once again missing several excellent opportunities to score within the first few moment of the game the Roosterheads found themselves down 5 to nothing half way through the first half of the game. After veteran hooker Arley “Bash” Cone tried kicking the ball out of harms way a Clarion back managed to block the punt then chip it past the defense for a quick, flaky try. The lead did not stand for long however. Shortly thereafter, scrumhalf Abe “Bash” Cone ran a quick penalty and passed the ball out to Mike “Emo” Poth for Cal’s first try of the young season. Center Phil Micken was able to convert the try, the first of his 4 on the day. At half the score read 7 to 5 in favor of the Roosterheads.
The second half was all Roosterheads. From the opening second half kickoff, Roosterheads Tanner “Chongo” Adams and Arley Cone made some nice passes to set Flanker Mike “Excite” Bodnar off all the way to the tryzone on the opening kickoff. He made several Clarion players miss and immediately received the next kickoff where he ran over the Clarion prop. Shortly thereafter, Bodnar was able to make another heads-up play sending dominating 8-man Ken Wise off for his first try of the season. Rookie prop Jon D’Allesandro and rookie winger Mark “Gumby” Bingaman were able to score their first tries of their young rugby career, and Scrumhalf Abe Cone was able to touch down an easy try following the dominating driving of the massive Roosterhead scrum. Ultimately the hallmark of this game was the amazing ball movement, devastating tackling and powerful scrumming from all of the Roosterheads. Final score read Roosterheasds 38 – Clarion 5.
B-Side was able to continue the CAL domination. They looked impressive beating Clarion 39 – 0.
Fall 2006 Playoff Review 10.24.2006 by Unit
Saturday October 14 against Robert Morrist University
Saturday October 21 against Franciscan University
The California University Men’s Rugby team finished their season with strong play in the ARU playoffs, winning their both games by a combined total of 80-0. Although the Roosterheads suffered two crucial losses during the season, they were still able to take fifth in Division II and show they are still one of the dominant collegiate rugby teams around.
The Roosterheads went through the playoffs with something to prove and it started with Robert Morris University. On the heel of two huge losses, the ‘Heads came into the game on October 14 knowing that losing again was not an option. With a large number of alumni there to support the team from the sideline, the Roosterheads came out of the gate strong against RMU in the first half of play. They were able to keep the ball in RMU’s half of the field for most of the first half. Cal was finally able to get a break away, but was penalized along the way and lost possession by way of an RMU scrum. RMU won the scrum but immediately lost the ball as it made its way to their backs because of strong defensive attacking from Mike “Puddy” Walton and Josh “Beef” Eberhart. This set up flanker Sean “Army” Williamson for the first try of the day. Freshman Justin “Speedy” Heinle converted for the two, putting the heads up 7-0. RMU would come back hard against forcing the ball deep into California territory, but the Roosterhead defense was strong, gaining possession and eventually heading back down field. Once in the offensive position flanker Josh “Beef” Eberhart was able to score two tries consecutively followed by a try by Joe “Tweeder” Galuska which was set up beautifully by veteran prop Zach “Herb” Herbert. The score at the half read Roosterheads 22 – Robert Morris 0.
The Heads started the second half the same way they left the first. Wanting to finish what he started, Eberhart was able to score his third try of the day with assistance from fellow forward Bill “Unit” Marnell. Justin “Speedy” Heinle was able to convert his second attempt here, putting the Heads up 29-0. Senior Mike “Puddy” Walton got a taste of try zone set up by senior Doug Schneider. The Roosterheads got the ball back and scored three more times. Scrumhalf Devon “Demon” Roth made a nice cut against the Robert Morris back line to break away, rookie Dave “Clifford” Vissari rode a dominating Roosterhead maul into the try zone, and senior prop JT “Pain Train” Hredzak trucked over a few Robert Morris forwards on his way to the try zone. Heinle would come in to kick and add another two points onto the board for the Heads. After spending the day kicking points for the Heads, Heinle was finally able to score a try himself, assist nicely by Joe Galuska. With the score being 56-0, 11 of the Heads points belong to the Heads first semester freshman winger Heinle. The Heads next seven points would be a team effort however. With assists from Abe “Bash” Cone and Mike “Puddy” Walton, Scott “Cowboy” Brumagin was able to land in the try zone and give Heinle the opportunity to add another two points onto the scoreboard. At the end of the day, the Heads were able to walk away from the pitch victorious, beating Robert Morris 63-0.
The following week, the Roosterheads would finish their season the same way they opened it, against Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. With one win already against Franciscan, the Heads came in confident in accomplishing another one. Although Franciscan was a smaller team compared to the Roosterheads, they played well disciplined rugby which proved invaluable for them, keeping the score 0-0 at the end of the first half. With the strong desire for one final win for the season and the difference of having a winning season or not, the Heads had 40 minutes to go to get that win they were looking for. With strong play from veteran players such as JT Hredzak and Abe “Bash” Cone, and impressive play from rookie freshman Dave “Clifford” Vissari, the Heads were able to pull out their fourth win of the season. First of the Heads to score was Vissari. With strong running and hard hitting, Franciscan was breaking down, which allowed the Heads to march down the field and setup Vissari in the try zone, his second of the season. Justin “Speedy” Heinle would go on to be perfect in kicking this day, starting off with the 2 point conversion he made here. A short time after Vissari’s try, the Heads would take a penalty kick, which Heinle would convert for the Heads to put them up 10-0. Zach Powell would score the Head’s second and final try of the game off an impressive punt that got pass the Franciscan fullback and wind up in the try zone which Powell would touch down. Heinle would score the Roosterheads final two points of both the game and the season, making the final score 17-0.The Roosterheads finished in 5th place in Division II for the Allegheny Rugby Union.
With the season over, I’d like to congratulate the Roosterheads on strong play through out the season. Through much adversity through out the season, the team stayed together as one and was focused on rugby. Although we did not reach Midwest, we finished strong and kept up with Roosterhead tradition in the way in which we play strong rugby. Congratulations to all of our veteran players for the leadership and especially all the new players this semester that really stepped it up big. This being your first semester, you made great leaps and bounds in learning the game and showed you can, at any time, play A-side. I’d also like to thank the officers for the work they did this semester. Once again, congratulations to all the Heads and have a good off season. Great season boys.
Carnegie Mellon vs. Roosterheads: Sept. 16, 2006 09.17.2006 by Unit
Over this past weekend, Roosterhead Rugby had their first home game of the season against Carnegie Mellon University. The Roosterheads were very impressive in the match; with good ball movement that dictated play all game long.
Within the first few minutes of the game, Matt Bailey broke free to score his first career try off an excellent pass from outside center, Eric “Nips” Zyski. A second try was scored shortly thereafter by inside center Scott “Cowboy” Brumigan. It was also the first try of his career. Senior fullback Zach Powell kicked his first conversion of the day to extend the lead to 12. With the Roosterheads up early, they continued playing their confident style of rugby, keeping ball moving efficiently and playing strong defense. As the Heads moved the ball down the field, Josh “Beef” Eberhart eventually broke through the CMU defense to score his first try of the season, but the scoring was far from over. Shortly afterwards, Arley and Abe Cone, the “bash brothers” each scored consecutively. Both tries were set up beautifully by their teammates Blake “Rico” McKita and Bill “Unit” Marnell respectively. With plenty of time left in the first half, Zach Powell got to tack on another seven points by scoring another try and kicking his second conversion of the day. The Roosterheads knew they could add another try before halftime and Bill Marnell and Arley Cone made sure that happened by assisting Mike “Puddy” Walton into the try zone with a couple of excellent exchanges. The score at the half was Roosterheads 39 – CMU - 0.
With a comfortable lead, the Roosterheads began throwing in their reserves to gain some valuable playing time and experience. They proved to be just as dominate as their starting counterparts. Although CMU was able to get in the try zone in the beginning of the second half, the Roosterheads scoring was far from over. They continued their exhibition of rugby dominance with Eric Zyski scoring a try off an assist from Scott Brumigan. Scott had an excellent breakaway before tossing “Nips” the ball in the try zone for the score. Crafty veteran Doug Schneider added another try shortly thereafter off a beautiful setup from flyhalf Mike Walton. Walton received the ball deep in Roosterhead territory and kicked an excellent punt. After chasing it, he forced the CMU fullback to misplay the ball; Mike picked it up then dumped it off to Schneider for the try. Rookie Justin “Speedy” came in as a sub for Zach Powell, kicking through the first conversion of his career. Mike Walton then went on to score another try before being subbed out for rookie Anthony "Nutty" Glab. To end the day, second year reserve Sean “Shoe” Connors was able to score his first career try, earning a huge ovation from the crowd. The score gave “Speedy” the opportunity for his third and final conversion of the day, which he nailed, going 3 for 4 in his debut.
The story of this game was the strong all around play from all of the Roosterheads on the field. Team captain JT Hredzak, veteran lock Bill Marnell and veteran flanker Josh Eberhart ran the ball excellently and lead the hard hitting pack. Mike Walton, Scott Brumagin and Eric Zyski lead the backs with accurate and smart passes. Strong defensive play was also in the recipe for this dominating performance. All the players that hit the pitch played well including clutch reserves like Ben “Rubber” Collins and rookie Chris "Wayne" Suleski. Final Score: Roosterheads 65 - CMU 5.
Next week the undefeated Roosterheads travel to Morgantown to battle West Virgina University in quite possibly the most highly anticipated match of the season. Good luck and let’s go “Heads!
Roosterheads @ Franciscan: Sept 9, 2006 09.12.2006 by Unit
The California Men’s Rugby Club opened their season up this past weekend with an away match at Franciscan University of Stubenville, Ohio. The Roosterheads went in confident and it was evident throughout the 80 minute game.
Although being a man down in the beginning of the game due to Arley “Bash” Cone’s yellow card, the Roosterheads played strong rugby in anticipation for their starting hooker to return to play, keeping Franciscan out of the try zone with a big defensive stand while missing Cone. Once he returned from the sin bin, Cone was an immediate impact player for the team. The Roosterheads were picking up good momentum until the loss of their scrumhalf, Devon “Demon” Roth, who was unexpectedly yellow carded. With Roth in the sin bin, Matt Bailey moved up from wing to play scrumhalf. However, Franciscan got the best of the Roosterheads with Roth out and scored their first try of the day. Roth’s remained in the sin bin through half with the score 5 – 0 in favor of Franciscan. Shortly into the second half Roth returned to play but the Roosterheads suffered another huge loss when team captain and veteran prop JT “Pain Train” Hredzak was red carded and ejected from the game, leaving the team down a man for the remainder of the game. Stunned by the ejection, Franciscan immediately was able to score for their second time. With only 20 minutes remaining in the game, Franciscan was leading 10 – 0.
From that point on, it was all Roosterheads. They rallied around each other and faced the adversity of being a man down and played strong, inspired rugby. With time slowly ticking away, veteran fullback Zach Powell was able to get out wide and burn some Franciscan ruggers to score his first career try and bring the ‘Heads within 5. Several minutes later, second year lock Tanner “Chongo” Adams was able to score his first career try to tie the game with six minutes remaining. Tough defensive, mainly attributed to the solid play of Roosterhead subs like Jeff “Fabio” Linney and Sean “Shoe” Connors kept Franciscan out of the California end of the field and eventually placed Zach Powell in position for another game winning penalty kick. Powell nailed his kick from 30 meters out to win the game and stun the crowd in Stubenville.
Next week the Roosterheads will be playing an even tougher match against Carneigie Mellon University at their home pitch at Roadman Park at 1:00 on Saturday. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Roosterheads @ Blood Tournament: April 1, 2006 04.03.2006 by Unit
The Roosterhead Rugby Club continued their excellent play at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Blood Tournament this past Saturday, earning yet another trophy this season. The Roosterheads finished in third out of a pool of some great teams.
The first game was against the WVU B-side who earned the right to play the Roosterheads by beating the host team, UPJ. After kickoff, the ‘Heads were immediately able to gain possession and seemed to never loose it again for the entire game. Just a few minutes into the game veteran flanker turned scrumhalf Doug Schneider scored on a quick kick penalty run. Shortly afterwards, second-year winger Chuck “Fetus” Cross broke a long run for a try, which was converted by fullback Zach Powell. Doug Schneider and Chuck Cross were able to add another try each in the same half and veteran flyhalf Mike “Puddy” Walton was able to score his first career try. The score at halftime read 33 – 0, in favor of the Roosterheads.
WVU was able to score a quick try at the beginning of the second half, but that was all the possession they would have for the remainder of the game. Cal dominated the second half, same as the first, and added two more tries. The first of which was by rookie center Erik “Nips” Zyski on a heads up play and the last by Doug Schneider to complete the try “hat trick”. Fullback Zach Powell converted 5/7 tries during the game, as the final score read 45 – 7, in favor of the Roosterheads.
Cal’s second round game pitted them against a tough Clarion team, a team that beat them last semester, however Cal was able to sneak by with some last minute heroics by fullback Zach Powell last week at the Pitt City Rugby Classic. Everyone knew it would be a dog fight, and it was. Clarion came out hard, hammering the Roosterheads to take a 14 – 0 lead at the half. The ‘Heads would not get down however, and dominated the second half. Quickly the punched the ball down the field and just a few minutes into the new half, second-year lock Arley “Bash Brother” Cone was able to score a try. Shortly after, Doug Schneider was able to jam the ball in for another try, which was converted. Cal found themselves down by two with less than 10 minutes to go. While holding off the Clarion offense, Cal was eventually able to move the ball down to near the Clarion tryline again. After several unsuccessful attempts to get the ball down in the try zone, Cal lost possession. The final play of the game had fullback Zach Powell taking a 35 meter penalty kick. The kick was straight, but fell just short, in large part due to the very windy conditions at the field. Clarion snuck away with a win and the right to play in the championship. Final score: Clarion 14 – Roosterheads 12.
Cal’s last match for the day was the for the third place title against the tough Mon-Valley Highlander’s Men’s Club. The game was very hard-hitting and high intensity. Cal broke open the scoring when veteran 8-man Joe “Tweeder” Galuska scored and the try which was later converted. Several minutes later the Highlanders were able to add a try, which was not converted, and the halftime score read 7 – 5 in favor of the Roosterheads. The second half was dominated mostly by the Roosterheads, but they were only able to add one more try by veteran center Adam Kannegieser who had played excellent all tournament. The game ended with the score of 12 – 5 and the Roosterheads claimed their hard fought for third place trophy.
This weekend Roosterhead Rugby travels to Washington, DC to play in the 40th Annual Cherry Blossom Tournament, a very prestigious and well known rugby tournament. They look to once more continue their winning ways by earning a 1st place finish among some of the nation’s best and toughest teams. Let’s go ‘Heads!
Roosterheads @ Pitt City: March 25, 2006 03.29.2006 by Walt
On Saturday, March 25 the California Men’s Rugby Team placed second in Pitt City’s Annual Collegiate Classic held at Coopers Lake, losing to WVU in the finals, 22-3.
To begin the day the team faced Grove City and won the match 12-0. An early try by Abe “Bash Brother” Cone gave the Roosterheads a lead that they would only expand on as the game went on. Adding to the score, Sean “Army” Williamson broke through Grove City’s defense on a 20 meter run and scored his first career try. Zach Powell made one of two conversions in the victory.
The next match was against Clarion, a team that defeated Cal the last time the two met. Clarion got up on Cal early from a long run, making the score 5-0. At halftime the ‘Heads were still down but came out led by Captain, Doug Schneider and played some incredible rugby. The scrums were dominated by Cal, and Clarion’s backs struggled to reach the gain line. Richie Maffet played an excellent game, and kept the ball out of Clarion’s hands by stealing most of their hooks. Zach “Herb” Herbert was finally able to put Cal on the board by plowing through Clarion’s defense and scoring a try. Late in the game Zach Powell sealed the deal for the ‘Heads as he made a 32 meter penalty kick resulting in a final score of 8-5.
On the day, Cal turned many heads at the tournament coming in as an underdog and finishing as a top contender. MVP’s of the tournament were Joe “Tweeder” Galuska for his inspiring play where he made some big hits, long runs, and played with so much intensity it was contagious. Zach Powell was also a team MVP for his absolutely solid play at fullback. Zach played an extremely smart game, made many very important and difficult kicks, and was a threat to defenses as he broke several tackles on every run.
West Virginia vs. Roosterheads: Oct. 15, 2005 10.16.2005 by Unit
Roosterhead Rugby won another tough fought battle against West Virginia this past Saturday at Roadman Park. After a great kickoff to start the game by veteran flyhalf Adam Kannegieser the Roosterheads were immediately able to gain possession and drive down the field. Second year lock Arley Cone, who was playing prop for the second week in a row due to injuries, broke open the game’s scoring with his first career try. Later Kannegieser was able to put two penalty kicks through the uprights to add to the California lead. West Virginia scored two tries, which neither were converted making the half time score 11 – 10 in favor of the Roosterheads.
The second half started off all West Virginia. They immediately scored a try which was later converted giving themselves a 17 – 11 point lead. After several minutes of back and forth possession changes the Roosterheads made a tactical change in putting in veteran forward David Banta, much to the displeasure of the West Virginia sideline. The change proved successful when only a few minutes later Banta was able to shake off a few defenders and run for a long try, putting the ‘Heads back within one point.
Cal needed to keep up the intensity and they did just that, driving down the field and putting the ball near WVU’s goal again. After several attempts to blast the ball in, it came down to the fourth 5-meter scrum in just a few minutes. With WVU winning the hook, they looked to punt the ball out of danger. Luckily for California, flyhalf Adam Kannegieser was able to continue to have a big day by not only blocking the punt, but then recovering it and touching it down for the try. It was an amazing play, which after Kannegieser converted it, put the Roosterheads up by 6 with a good bit of time remaining.
West Virginia was unable to score again as California dominated the rest of the game. With little time remaining second year wing Chuck “Fetus” Cross scored his first career try, which was later converted by Kannegieser to give the Roosterheads a commanding 13 point lead and seal the game.
The final score Roosterheads 30 – West Virginia 17
With the victory, Roosterhead Rugby improves to 2-2-1 on the season and continues its playoff life. Next week they are scheduled to play Washington and Jefferson College at a time and place to be decided.
Roosterheads vs. Penn State: Sept 29, 2005 10.03.2005 by Unit
The Roosterhead Rugby club played the Penn State University Panthers in State College this past Friday night. After a quick score by the Panthers, a long run by veteran flyhalf Mike "Puddy" Walton set up sophomore prop Zach "Herb" Herbert's first career try on a penalty play. The try was later converted by rookie Matt Bailey. The game went back and forth as the Panthers would score, and the Roosterheads would fight right back. Veteran flanker Doug Schneider scored two tries and veteran 8-man Joe "Tweeder" Galuska scored his second try of the season.
The Roosterheads played well all around and always seemed to have an answer for PSU attack. Forwards and backs worked and unison and put on a great show under the lights and in the shadow of Beaver Stadium. Cal was on the attack again, with the win seemingly in their hands when the ref called for the match's end. Final Score: Roosterheads 22 - Penn State 22.
Robert Morris vs. Roosterheads: Sept. 17, 2005 09.19.2005 by Unit
California Men's Rugby opened up their season against the Robert Morris Colonials this past Saturday at Roadman Park. After several minutes of wearing the Colonials down, Cal broke open the scoring with a long run by veteran flanker Scott Mariana. Cal U's pack dominated Robert Morris, which was evident in Cal's next two tries. The first scored by second year lock Abe Cone, which was converted by rookie Matt Bailey, and the second which was scored by veteran forward Joe "Tweeder" Galuska. The half ended with a 17 point Cal lead. The second half was all Roosterheads as well. Scott Mariana scored his second try of the game, followed by two more tries by veteran scrumhalf David "Verona" Bastedo and rookie Terrell Robinson. The Roosterheads held Robert Morris to no points with the final score Roosterheads 32 - Robert Morris 0.
Roosters vs. Heads Team Scrimmage 09.12.2005 by Unit
Roosterhead Rugby started off it's 2005 Fall Semester with a very competitive and hard-hitting scrimmage against one other at Roadman Park this past Sunday. The “Roosters” who were led by captain Adam Kannegieser played the “Heads” who were led by captain Walt Czekaj. Quickly after kickoff the Roosters were able to capitalize on some opposition mistakes and rookie 8-man Whitey scored the first try, which was later converted. The Rooster’s led 7 – 0 at that point. The scored remained that way until 30 minutes in the first half, when prop Zach Hebert scored the Head’s first try following a great set-up by JT Hredzak. The conversion was missed, and even though the Heads drove again before the half ended, the score remained 7 – 5, Rooster advantage. The second half was all Heads. It was filled with brutal hits and excellent rugby. Veteran flanker Scott Mariana was unstoppable for the Heads as he scored an amazing 3 trys in the second half, the most impressive of which came on a penalty play where he ran a punch blowing through the defensive line and into the try-zone. All and all the game was a great learning experience and a great primer for Robert Morris next week.
Final score: Roosters 7 – Heads 20