Jefferson City RFC is a rugby club for high school rugby players in the Jefferson City area.
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Nightmare Win District Championship Emphatically

5/5/2015

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Saturday was a great day to play some rugby, and an even better day for the Nightmare to play their last regular season match. We faced off against Park Hill at home in what was also our final District match and decided the District champion.

The Nightmare came out strong and put up an early try off an 8-man pick from the back of the scrum in the 8th minute by junior captain Joseph Bustamante. Emran Babak converted to give the Nightmare and early 7-0 lead. The Nightmare continued to drive down the field, and after backing Park Hill up to their own try line Sean McGrail was awarded a penalty try in the 12th minute when a Park Hill player he was tackling in the try zone purposely threw the ball forward out of the try zone. The match settled down after this until the 22nd minute when the Nightmare were awarded a penalty and flyhalf Alex Walker took the pass off the restart and galloped down the pitch for a try. Park Hill put up an impressive defensive effort for the remainder of the half, taking advantage of sloppy play from the Nightmare; but in the final minute of the half some quick passing by the backline off a ruck freed winger Patrick Romph and he took the ball in for a try from the Nightmare's own 22m line. Babak converted the kick, giving the Nightmare a 24-0 lead going into the second half.

The Nightmare were far from done, however, and got right back to it in the second half. In the 36th minute, the Nightmare kicked the ball to give them some breathing room and a mishandling from a Park Hill player gave them the ball back. The ball was quickly passed out to center Bobby Kalvans following in support, who took it to the try zone. Another conversion from Babak brought the score to 31-0 in favor of the Nightmare. A short time later, another mishandled ball off a kick from the Nightmare resulted in an impressive bit of passing from the backs, culminating in center Adam Schmitz squeezing through the defensive gaps for a try in the 40th minute. On the ensuing kickoff, captain Joseph Bustamante made a great run through the Park Hill defenders for his second try of the day. The conversion by Babak brought the score to 43-0.

At this point an injury to a Park Hill player left them with only 14 men, and the Nightmare began bringing on substitutions. The game calmed slightly for a time, but in the 52nd minute center Kalvans made a bruising run through the Park Hill defenders for his second try of the match, and Babak's conversion gave the Nightmare a 50-0 lead. Walker then made a great solo run off the kickoff for his second try of the day as well. Bustamante finished off the Nightmare's scoring in the 65th minute, when an offensive drive down to the 3 meter line allowed him to pick the ball off the back of the ruck and dive in for the try. Final score 60-0 in favor of the Nightmare.

This match was an important one. Not only did it decide the District champion, but it also decided our seeding for the state tournament. The boys knew this, and with this win made a statement to the rest of the state that they are not to be taken lightly. The District championship gives us a leg up in the first round of the tournament when we will play a second place team from another District. Throughout the season we have emphasized to the boys that they need to work together and implement the things us coaches have been teaching them. While we had been winning our matches, it felt like something had been missing and we could be so much better. In the last two matches, the players have started listening and doing all of those things the coaches have been driving home at practice. The results are unbelievable. While in the past we have been winning by small margins, this newfound attitude of teamwork and unselfishness has elevated our play to a whole new level. We have put ourselves in a great position for the state tournament, and we look forward to competing for a state championship next weekend at De Smet High School. Our first match will be at 10:00am on Saturday against either CBC or Priory.
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Jefferson City Wins Big in First District Match

5/2/2015

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The Nightmare traveled to Kansas City to take on Park Hill South for the second time this season, with this go-around being a District match that would go toward qualifying for the state tournament. The conditions were sloppy, and the weather was not cooperating, but the Nightmare seemed not to be bothered. They struck early after marching down the field from the kickoff, and in the 2nd minute scored their first try off of a quick-tap penalty by scrum-half Michael Townley. Josh Stinson converted the kick, giving the Nightmare a 7-0 lead. This was followed in quick succession by an impressive bit of passing out to center Adam Schmitz, who galloped down the pitch for a 60 meter try in the 4th minute.

Park Hill South seemed to collect themselves for a bit after this, and began an attack of their own. However, some hard defense by the Nightmare and excellent scrumming got them the ball back, and they drove back down the pitch. In the 12th minute Captain Joseph Bustamante scored his first try of the day with a pick off the back of the ruck from the 3 meters out. A successful conversion by Josh Stinson brought the score to 19-0 in favor of the Nightmare.

The match slowed down at this point due to some heavy rain, with the Nightmare making some sloppy penalties that culminated in a suspect yellow card being issued to prop Sean McGrail for not retreating on a quick penalty. Even without the hard-hitting loosehead prop, the Nightmare came charging back in earnest, driving the ball down the pitch and scoring another try when Joseph Bustamante picked the ball off the back of the ruck again. With that, the half ended and the Nightmare had a commanding lead of 24-0. 

The Nightmare wasted little time expanding their lead in the second half, with Joseph Bustamante scoring his 3rd try of the day with an 8-man pick off the back of the scrum in the 39th minute. Park Hill South answered quickly though, taking advantage of the ref's placement and field of vision to encroach offsides and intercept an ill-advised pass, with the interceptor running down the pitch for a Park Hill South try in the 43rd minute. This brought the score to 29-5. Not to be outdone, in the 45th minute center Adam Schmitz intercepted a Park Hill South pass and ran it back down the pitch for his second try of the match. A conversion by Michael Townley increased the Nightmare's lead to 36-5. 

The Nightmare continued to dominate the remainder of the match, scoring an additional four tries - two by scrum-half Michael Townley (bringing his total to three on the day) and two by Joseph Bustamante, increasing his club record for most tries in a single match from four to five. Other notable moments included a yellow card to a Park Hill South player for repeated high tackles, and Nightmare newcomer Mohammed Babak from the Missouri Military Academy scoring his first points for the Nightmare on a conversion kick. The final score was 58-5 in favor of the Nightmare. With this victory, the Nightmare have qualified for the state tournament. They will face another District opponent, and fellow state-qualifier, Park Hill this coming Saturday, May 2 at 1pm, in their final home match of the season. The winner will take the top seed for the District in the state tournament.
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Nightmare Top Eureka

5/2/2015

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The Nightmare took the field Saturday afternoon against the Eureka Wildcats under threatening skies. Jefferson City came racing out of the gate as junior captain Joseph Bustamante fielded the kickoff, broke a tackle, stiff armed another defender then outran the rest of the Eureka defenders to score a try in under 30 seconds. The conversion kick went wide. Nightmare 5 – Eureka 0. The match continued with more even play from both teams. Jefferson City’s defense was in top form. The Nightmare had a several periods of strong play that put them in positions to score, but at key moments, individual players lost their patience and made poor decisions that allowed Eureka to turn the ball over and relieve the pressure. About midway through the first half the rain started which slowed down the offenses. The first half ended without any more scoring. Halftime Score Nightmare 5 – Eureka 0.

The second half started with several substitutions for both teams. Jefferson City kicked off to Eureka and played strong defense and forcing a turnover. The Nightmare tried to get the ball wide to its speedy players but Eureka intercepted a pass and ran 40 meters for a try under the posts. The kick was good giving Eureka a 5–7 lead. Jefferson City regrouped from the mistake to push their way deep into Eureka territory. After sustained pressure Andrew Field picked the ball from the base of a ruck and dove across the tryline from 3 meters out to take back the lead. The kick missed low. Nightmare 10 – Eureka 7.

The game resumed with more solid defense from Jefferson City. The Nightmare caused a turnover at a ruck and quickly got the ball out to Alex Walker who ran around several defenders to score in the corner. The conversion from the touchline was no good but the Nightmare pushed their lead to 15–7. Late in the match Eureka worked down the field and punched in a second try which was converted. Nightmare 15 – Eureka 14.

Jefferson City spent the final minutes of the game slowly moving up field while protecting possession dearly. When they got word from the referee that time was out they kicked the ball out of play to end the match. Final Score Nightmare 15 – Eureka 14.

Overall the team played well. They were aggressive on defense, made their tackles and counter-rucked excellently. The offense needs to work out some kinks which will help us convert more of our scoring chances into points. Sean McGrail was Man of the Match for his effort. He consistently lined up against Eureka’s strongest players and won the contact on both offense and defense. We will continue to work at practice to improve the execution of our game plan. The next match is Saturday April 25 in Kansas City against Park Hill South. The next home match is Saturday May 2. Kickoff is at 1:00pm. See you all there. 




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