LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Over the weekend, Kutztown University men's rugby traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada and competed in the D1A National 7's Qualifier. The Golden Bears where joined by the University of Utah, University of Colorado, St. Bonaventure University, Utah Valley University, New Mexico University and the Air Force Academy.
The Golden Bears started their pool competition on Thursday with a 56-0 shutout victory over New Mexico University, members of the Mountain West Athletic Conference. A host of Golden Bears crossed the try line but were lead by
Kobie Tuckson (Washington, D.C./Bishop McNamara), who dotted down twice in the game. Also joining the scoring barrage was
Ryan Nolan (Drogheda, Ireland/Drogheda),
Augustus Delinger (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg),
James Jacques (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin),
Tai Kauwe (Orem, Utah/Pleasant Grove),
Daquan Perry (Philadelphia, Pa./Conestoga) and
Brock Stinson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado). Stinson was also perfect on conversions, slotting eight-for-eight.
The next pool game, saw the Golden Bears take on a strong and well-respected Utah Valley University from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Wolverines have given Kutztown some of their most fierce competition in past tournaments. The game started off with a great deal of anticipation but the Golden Bears where off to the races when
D'Montae Noble (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) surprised everyone by breaking to the sidelines in what looked like a tight rope walk and broke free to scamper sixty yards for an early score. Utah Valley was persistent and constantly attacked with ball in hand but the Kutztown defense tightened up when it counted the most, coming away with a well deserved 26-14 victory. The other Golden Bears that contributed to the scoring were Stinson, Perry and
Alex Schlager (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity).
Thorne O'Connell (Johannesburg, South Africa/Jeppe) was three for four on conversions.
On the third and final pool game of the day, Kutztown took on the University of Colorado. The Buffaloes are a member of the PAC-12 Conference and have recently been on the rise in collegiate rugby. They were responsible for knocking off Kutztown in the 2019 semi-final of the D1A National Qualifier, on the last play of the game. This year's contest took on a different storyline as the Golden Bears dominated Colorado 38-0. Once again Tuckson led the charge with two trys. Kutztown dominated every facet of the game and the Buffaloes also conceded trys to Noble, Perry,
Samuel Devine (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and Kauwe. O'Connell was one for three on conversions in the first half. Stinson came into the game for O'Connell and remained perfect on the day with three more conversions.
On the next day, Kutztown moved to the Quarter-Finals where they received a bye. In the Semi-Finals, Kutztown faced St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic-10 Conference.St. Bonaventure and Kutztown are also familiar as co-members of the Rugby East Collegiate Rugby Conference. The Bonnies have never beaten the Golden bears in a rugby competition and in spite of a very strong effort, they came away short once again, 19-10. Kutztown took the lead at the midpoint of the first half when Perry found a seam in the Bonnie defense and powered his way to the try line. St. Bonaventure moved the ball well and fought back to tie the game but moments later, Noble took a pass that sent him knifing through the defense for a seventy yard score that ended the first half with Kutztown on top 12-5. The game clincher was late in the second half when Dellinger took a well executed off-load from Schlager and scored to seal the victory. O'Connell was two for three on conversions and Kutztown was onto the championship match.
On Saturday, the cup finals were played inside the University of Las Vegas, Sam Boyd Stadium. The opponent was the United States Air Force Academy of the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons had also gone undefeated on their side of the tournament bracket, defeating Utah, St. Bonaventure, Bye, New Mexico and Utah Valley. The stage was set, which team was going to qualify for the upcoming national tournament. Kutztown took the pitch in their traditional hooped jerseys against the backdrop of the sky blue and white jerseys of Air Force. Kutztown kicked off and Noble streaked down the field and rocked the Air Force receiver as the ball touched his fingertips. Noble sprang to his feet, grabbed the bouncing ball and before you could blink, Kutztown was on the scoreboard. From that moment on, the Golden Bears never took their foot off of the accelerator. Kutztown dominated the contest both on attack and defensively. Air Force never passed the middle of the field as Kutztown swarmed on defense, shutting down every Falcon attempt to move the ball. Offensively, Kutztown was a juggernaut. They scored on most every possession and played champaign rugby. The Kutztown attackers seldom went to ground and the Golden Bears were an unstoppable force while offloading and moving the ball on their feet. It was a joy to watch as the Golden Bears took down the Air Force Academy 43-0 for their biggest margin of victory in the three day tournament. The leading scorer in the Finals was Kauwe, as he sidestepped, sliced and bullied his way to three tries on the day. Perry was just as impressive with the ball in hand, as he ran over the line for two tries. Tuckson and Jacques chipped in with one try a piece. In the first half O'Connell was two for four on conversions. In the second half, Stinson converted two out of three attempts.
Kutztown has now qualified for the National D1A 7's Championship Tournament on May 29-31, 2020.
RUN WITH THE BEARS !
