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.
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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