OLD GAELIC TAKES TWO OF THREE TO MOVE TO 4-2
The Old Gaelic Rugby Club registered a convincing victory at Galloway, N.J. this past Saturday, 43-0. The win over the homestanding Sharks couldn’t have been timelier, coming on the heels of last week’s defeat by Harrisburg, and kept the Griffins’ post-season hopes alive. A bye next week will by followed by our Homecoming/Halloween match against Lehigh Valley on November 4th. Here is a recap of the last three weeks.
October 7
White Horse came to town and kept the score close for a half. Old Gaelic led 12-0 at the break on the strength of tries by Curtis Brillhart and Dan Roth and a Roth conversion.
The Black & Gold poured it on the second half en route to a 39-0 triumph at Williams Grove. John “Special K” Kroesen took it to the house on a dish from Scott Lindsey, Chris Speese finished off a penalty play on a feed from Travis Smith and Matt “Skinny” Pomraning found the zone on a pass from Dan “Doughboy” Troy off a short lineout. Lindsey and Brillhart tacked on tries to account for the final margin.
Score: Old Gaelic 39 – White Horse 0
T: Brillhart 2, Roth, Speese, Pomraning, Kroesen, Lindsey.
A: Roth, Smith, Lindsey, Troy.
C: Roth 2.
October 14
Archrival Harrisburg came to town for a match with definite playoff implications. The visitors were undefeated, their only blemish a tie with White Horse. Old Gaelic entered the fray with a 3-1 mark, the loss to division–leading Second City Troop.
Harrisburg used a strong wind to its advantage in the first half. A misplayed kick gave the Blue a five-meter scrum and No. 8 Zach scored on a keeper. The conversion was good and the first time all season, the Griffins were not the first to score.
The Black & Gold battled back and cut the deficit to 7-5 at intermission on a try by Travis Smith (from Dan Troy). In the second half, Old Gaelic took the lead on a try by Ken Ivey developed (from Pete Sharpe) off a short lineout. Another try by Smith and a Dan Roth conversion put the hosts up 17-7 with about 12 minutes to play.
That’s when Harrisburg, their division hopes on the line, exhibited inspired rugby. Flanker Jeff Cook scored a try, taking out the goalposts in the process, and the kick made it 17-14. With time winding down, the Blue scored the go-ahead try, this one by Larry Sweger.
A quartet of veteran players – all pushing 40 – were instrumental in the inspiring 21-17 win, the first defeat of Old Gaelic since 2003: Sweger (center), Cook (flanker), Jamie Forbes (flanker) and Bob Rubright (flyhalf).
Tragically, Harrisburg coach Denny Shade didn’t have much time to savor the victory. He died at his home some time after the game and was buried in Erie this past Friday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shade family and Denny’s teammates. He was a worthy opponent and a friend. We will honor his memory with a moment of silence before our home match with Lehigh Valley on November 4th.
Score: Harrisburg 21 – Old Gaelic 17
T: T. Smith 2, Ivey.
A: Sharpe, Troy.
C: Roth
1-Troy
2-Domitrovich
3-T Smith
4-Pomraning
5-Hartt
6-Speese
7-Ivey
8-Brillhart
9-Sharpe
10-Roth ( c )
11-Botto
12-Kroesen
13-Lindsey
14-Ogle
15-Ramsey
Exciting “B” side action followed. The Black & Gold took some sting out of the loss with a resounding 30-0 win to remain undefeated on the campaign. Dan Reisman scored two tries and Justin Stefanon, Scott “Carp” Thompson, Tommy Marascuillo and Brian Ogle added one apiece. Marascuillo had two assists and Chris Botto one. Thanks to “Doughboy”, “Skinny”, Bogle and Botto for doubling!!
October 21
The Griffins faced uncertainty when they traveled to the suburbs of Atlantic City on Saturday for a match against upstart Jersey Shore. The Sharks had taken SCT to the limit the previous week, losing just 19-17. Shore, in just its first division season, was tied with Old Gaelic with a 3-2 record entering the contest. Defections for a variety of just causes trimmed the Black & Gold roster to just 18 players (and that includes Tunis!). Undeterred, this valiant band made a statement with a 43-0 rout.
Unselfish team play was evident from the outset and the superior skill level of the more experienced club quickly manifested itself.
Dan Roth led the scoring with a penalty kick then added a try on a long burst and a conversion to make it 10-0. The Black & Gold roll continued when Justin Stefanon, who played his breakout game as a Griffin, took a pass from Roth and cashed it in. Brian Ogle finished off a feed from Kroesen on a long scoring run to make it 22-0 at the half.
Old Gaelic’s surge continued when Jerry Gould found the tryful turf after Dan Troy slipped him the oblong spheroid at the back of a maul. Ogle took a short pass from Botto and zig-zagged his way 80 meters to glory before Mark Cooley found the corner (another Botto assist) for the final tally.
It was a great victory and kept alive the Old Gaelic dream to try to repeat as MARFU champions in 2007. Matt Graham made the trip after returning from Florida on business and earned the coveted “Grizzly” award for his efforts.
A party at the Blue Marlin following the match was enjoyed by all. Several groups made the seven-mile trek to the Atlantic Ocean (J Gould and M Hart dove in!) and then enjoyed a safe ride home.
Score: Old Gaelic 43 – Jersey Shore 0
T: Ogle 2, Roth, J Stefanon, M Cooley, Gould.
A: Botto 2, Kroesen 2, Troy, Roth.
PK: Roth.
C: Roth 5.
1-Speese
2-Graham
3-Troy
4-Pomraning
5-Hollowell/Hart
6-Hart/Marascuillo
7-Gould/Tunis
8-Brillhart
9-Botto
10-Roth ( c )
11-Beard
12-M Cooley
13-Kroesen
14-Ogle
15-J Stefanon