is in the books after a cold, damp, Saturday at York College. West Shore United headed down I-83 South short a few key players for a variety of reasons. The big question entering the day would be "How will we do without these players in the line up?" We would have our answer at the end of the day.
Game 1 "A" Side vs. Calvert Hall
Our first game would kick-off at 9:00 AM against Calvert Hall a school from just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. United
came into the game feeling confident after last weeks showing at the Radford Rugby festival. This would prove to be a mistake as the boys from Calvert Hall came out fired up and ready to
play. Their forwards work rate was top notch as they regularly beat our forwards to rucks and loose balls. Despite the fact that United were outworked they managed to get on the scoreboard
first when Pat Connolly touched down in the corner after some nice quick passes in our back line. The teams would settle down into a battle for possession for the remainder of the half with the weather
conditions making play very sloppy. Calvert Hall would come close to punching it in near the end of the half but good tackling and disciplined defense kept them out of the try zone as the half ended.
Calvert Hall came out even more fired up for the second half and immediately started putting pressure on the United defense. After several phases their forwards would drive over the line
for a try to tie the score at 5. This score seemed to wake up the United team and they finally started playing some good hard rugby. Their hard work paid off as Pat Connolly would touch down his
second try of the game to put United up 10-5. Calvert Hall refused to quit and put pressure on the West Shore defense until the final whistle. West Shore stayed disciplined on defense and held
Calvert Hall out of the try zone. As the final whistle blew, United found itself with a hard earned 10-5 victory and showed that they could win without key players in the lineup.
Game 2 "B" side vs. St. Joe's Prep "B"
The "B" side would play their first game of the day against a strong St. Joe's Prep "B" side from Philadelphia, PA. The game was played on
a pitch that went up a hill. St. Joe's would strike first going up the hill for a try midway through the first half. Despite the try by St. Joe's the West Shore "B" side looked strong making
several big hits and hard runs led by first year and first game player Mike McCullough. This tenacity would pay off as Dustin Hicks scored a try at the half time whistle to tie the game at 5 a
piece. St. Joe's would sore first in the second half as well, but the United killer "B's" would come right back with Elliot Warrenfeltz scoring his first try to even the score at 10. West Shore
would continue to pressure with Rodney Keller, Andy Inch, and Jeff Lancione making some nice runs. Going up hill for the second half caught up with United and a clearing kick by St. Joes rolled all the
way down the hill and one of their players won the footrace for the winning try and a final score of 15-10.
Game 3 "B" side vs. Calvert Hall "B"
This game was played
on the same hill of a pitch with lines that were quickly washing away due to the steady rain. The boys played well and I honestly don't know what the final score was because I counted Mark Donadee's
try that the ref disallowed because he ran out of the back of the try zone that wasn't really marked…. I was confused too. Anyway, Hicks also scored in the game and I think the other team scored
2 tries as well so I think the final, according to me at least, was 10-10. The important thing is that all of the new players gained more playing experience. Cleveland Marsh played well, getting
involved in a ton of tackles and running hard at the defense. Mike McCullough continued to impress with his tough play.
Game 4 "A" side vs. Wilmington
Game 4
would be the game that the entire United team was looking forward to. A rematch of the EPRU Championship against Wilmington. Both United and Wilmington were a little short handed, but that didn't
take away from the pre-game atmosphere. The United boys were hungry for payback from last seasons EPRU Championship loss to the boys from Wilmington.
West Shore would strike first when Aubrey Moore
took a nice handoff from Dustin Hicks about 35 meters from the try line. Aubrey turned on the jets to out run the Wilmington backline to touchdown for a 5-0 United lead. United would continue to
dominate with their forwards which sucked in the Wilmington defense. The West Shore backs would take advantage of this by getting the ball wide to Jake Fink who scored from the wing for a 10-0 United
lead. The rain and wind made all conversions virtually impossible. Despite the weather West Shore kept up their relentless pressure and Gage Warner would capitalize with a strong run through the
Wilmington defense for another try and a 15-0 United lead. Lee Hoover would close out the scoring after some nice tight passing. Lee took the pass and ran in untouched for his third try of the
young season and a 20-0 half time lead.
The weather got uglier at half time and both teams decided to call it a day and head to warmer, dryer places. Final score West Shore United 20
Wilmington 0.
It was a good day for both the "A" and "B" sides as all players gained some valuable experience despite the nasty weather. The "A" side finished 2-0 and the "B" side finished
0-1-1. The regular season will start next week against Harrisburg High. Harrisburg may lack experience but I guarantee they'll have some tough and talented players. Let's have a good week
of practice and come out ready to play on Sunday!
Sean Robinson
Head Coach
