USD vs Mesa- City championship game 1

In their first game of the city championships USD got the opportunity to come together as a full team for the first time since the end of 7s season. The theme of the day would be rookie heavy lineups, with this starting 15 featuring 6 USD Rugby rookies. All games were played on small fields without posts, so try scoring was key. After some initial sloppy play USD put their first try in from a counter attack. USD pounced on an errant lineout throw, then moved the ball to Matt Desalvo who beat several players with some nice footwork. Desalvo passed inside to Blake Limon who dotted down for USD. USD would let in a soft try before the half to go in level at halftime.

The second half would be a different game with USD putting in four unanswered tries. Constant line breaks by Darren Seward and Mickey Miller were the key to overpowering the opposition. The scoring was started by a big break from Seward, who unselfishly passed to Cameron Miller for the try. Seward would get his points shortly after. He was brought down after a long run, then after several phases punched it in himself for the score. 2 tries up USD was able to start rolling in substitutions, with Parker Rogers and Adam Walter coming in and performing well. Shortly after. a big break from Mickey Miller was finished with a lovely offload from Miller to Mark Boschetti. Boschetti dotted down for USD’s fourth try of the game. Mesa college had one more spirited drive before spilling the ball deep in USD’s territory. Henri Vatinel scooped the ball up and out ran everybody to finish off the scoring for USD. After a cagey beginning USD found their feet and had a dominant second half. Game MVP goes to Wyatt Darien, who was extremely physical defensively and at the breakdown. Darien was responsible for several counter rucks that turned into turnovers.

Final Score: USD 5 tries- Mesa College 1

Game MVP- Wyatt Darien

Starting Lineup

1.       Nick Classen

2.       Clayton Cervantes

3.       Pedro Gomez

4.       Darren Seward

5.       James Bevan

6.       Wyatt Darien

7.       Mihail Mabourakh

8.       Cameron Miller

9.       Brandon Arriaga

10.   Jordan Sandoval

11.   Matthew Desalvo

12.   Mickey Miller ©

13.   Mark Boschetti

14.   Henri Vatinel

15.   Blake Limon

Substitutions

16.   Johnathan Hale (15’ Bevan)

17.   Isoa Moimoi (25’ Boschetti)

18.   Conner Staal (25’ Vatinel)

19.   Parker Rogers (25’ Mabourakh)

20.   Adam Walter (30’ Gomez)

Scoring

Limon, Vatinel, Boschetti, Seward, C. Miller