November 18, 2009 – Fall Awards & Elections for 2010. At the end of season dinner last evening, playing awards for the fall 2009 season were awarded, and new officers were elected for the coming year.
Fall 2009 Playing Award Winners
Outstanding Forward (tie) – Dylan Rohr (Sr, #8)
Outstanding Forward (tie) – Justin Lacy (Sr, #7)
Outstanding Back – Dustin Homer (Sr, Fullback)
Outstanding Rookie – David McDonough (Fr, #13)
Most Improved Player – Phil Powell (Sr, #10)
Alan Chapman Service Award – Aaron Loida (Captain)
Elections for 2010
President – Nicholas Koenen
Treasurer – Luke Wenger
PR/Recruiting – David McDonough & Brian Chingono
November 7-8, 2009 – West Collegiate All-Stars Championships in Dallas, TX. Truman was represented on the Central Collegiate All-Stars team by Dustin Homer, Alex Koenen, Justin Lacy, Aaron Loida, David McDonough, and Jason Ralph. The Central All-Stars were defeated by Texas-1 on Saturday by a 38-14 score. Aaron Loida was named by the hosts Dallas Harlequins as a “Man of the Match” for his play, and he received a Harlequins polo shirt. On Sunday, the Central All-Stars defeated Texas-2 by a 42-17 score. Plans are to hold this event in Glendale, CO in fall 2010.
October 31, 2009 – Truman “ramps it up” to come back and defeat Nebraska 28-15 in last game of fall season. Nebraska got on the board three times in the first half to lead 15-0 with time waning in the first half. Then #8 Dylan Rohr burst through and ran 50 m before being tacked just short of the goal line. Fortunately, #4 Luke Wenger was hustling in support and took a nice pop pass from Rohr to score under the posts. The conversion by Joe Krispin was good, and at halftime Truman trailed 7-15. All season we have had trouble finishing games, and our focus for today was to “finish strong”. We used the wind to our advantage, and #10 Phil Powell continually pushed the ball back down the field. #13 David McDonough scored at 13 min and Krispin converted, bringing the score to 14-15. Justin Lacy scored tries at 21 and 35 min, and Krispin converted both to close out the scoring at 28-15. All the while Nebraska continued to attack, and it was a determined defense that prevented more Nebraska scores, including a nice “held ball” in-goal by #7 Matt Engelbrecht. Thanks to our graduating seniors for their years of dedication to Truman Rugby – Dustin Homer, Scott Boswell, and Justin Lacy.
Index Article Nebraska Game – November 5, 2009
October 24, 2009 – Truman let lead slip in final minutes, losing to St. Louis University 19-24. Truman started well, scoring two tries (Dylan Rohr and Dustin Homer) and a conversion (Joe Krispin) in the first 10 min to take an early 12-0 lead. However, the match leveled-out most of the half before SLU converted a try just before halftime, to close the gap to 12-7. SLU came out and quickly scored an unconverted try in the first few minutes of the second half, to briefly level the score at 12-12. Just minutes later, Truman took a well-executed lineout from the SLU 22 m, and after several slipped tackles, Homer slipped the ball to David McDonough for the score, and conversion. Truman held this slim 19-17 lead until SLU slipped in with less than 2 minutes to play to take a 19-24 lead. The team was very upset with themselves for letting this match slip away. However, there was little help from the referee, of the muddy Forest Park (St. Louis) fields. The bright side is that with four starters out on the weekend, we were able to bring up some more freshman players (we had 7 freshman on the field!), and to put some players in new positions. In the 20 min “B” game Loida, A. Koenen and Rohr (2) scored tries, with 4 of 4 conversions by Krispin.
Index Article SLU Game – October 28, 2009
October 17, 2009 – K-State deals blow to Truman. Truman played well, but not well enough, as K-State scored two tries in the final 6 minutes, to win 29-12. Truman started very well, and were in control. Wing Joe Krispin was able to run onto a nifty box kick from Aaron Loida and outrun the defense for for an early try and a 5-0 lead. However, Truman were unable to capitalize on several forays into the K-State red zone. Instead, K-State pressure resulted in a converted try at 34 min, and a break-away try at 40 min, to give them a 14-5 halftime lead. K-State scored again early in the second half to hold a 19-5 lead, before Truman wing, Nick Koenen scored. Krispin’s conversion was good, and we had a 12-19 game. Unfortunately, we sustained a couple of injuries, and had a number failed attacks. With 6 min left in the game, it looked like we could tie the match, but instead K-State slipped in for a score to make it 12-24. A last second try as time expired sealed the match at 12-29. K-State played hard and effectively. The Truman team was very upset, realizing that they were somewhat sluggish all day and did not play to their potential. We need to review where our game broke-down, and get ready for St. Louis University this coming weekend.
Index Article K-State Game – October 22, 2009
October 10, 2009 – Truman rally late to overcome the Alumni. Heading into the 4th 20 min period, the Truman team lead the Alumni by a slim 17-15 margin. However, youthful exuberance (aka fitness) made the difference in the 4th period. Despite complete domination by the Alumni in scrums, the Truman team was able to score 4 more tries en route to a final 41-15 victory. Note this is the first Truman win over the Alumni since fall 2005! Many thanks to the Alumni who braved the unseasonably “cool and damp” weather.
October 3, 2009 – Truman over University of Missouri. Truman’s developing team took another step forward this weekend, with a 55-7 win over rivals Mizzou. Truman lead 19-0 at half, on three Justin Lacy. Lacy added one more in the second half, while Dylan Rohr added three tries, along with Phil Powell and rookie Joe Krispin (who also and converted 5 of 9 tries). Overall, our lineout work was much better this week, our fitness is improving, and we are starting to understand our pattern of play. We have the Alumni in town this coming weekend, followed by three challenging weeks – K-State, SLU, and Nebraska in a row.
Index Article MU Game – October 3, 2009
September 26, 2009 – Kansas University cancels. KU contacted us early in the week to inform us that they would not be coming to Kirksville for our scheduled league match. We split the team in two, and played 3 x 20 min full scrimmage periods. After 60 min of rugby, and several lead changes, the final score was 29-29. Everyone is eager for this coming week’s match against Mizzou.
September 19, 2009 – Truman fall to Colorado State University 17-34 – but not without a fight! Truman and CSU met for the first time since the consolation match at the West Championships in spring 2006 (Truman won that 26-17). In the intervening years, CSU has continued to improve have consistently one of the top college teams in the West, and they are currently ranked #19 by American Rugby News. Truman scored 3 tries – one by Justin Lacy, and two by freshman David McDonough and Joe Krispin – both playing their first game for Truman. (Note, 5 freshman started the game.) CSU gained the upper hand scoring 3 tries during a 13 min stretch late in the second half when our lack of “match fitness” began to take its toll. Despite the loss, our intensity and commitment, especially the performance of our new players, was very impressive and encouraging. Stay tuned!