Poly Downs Army in First Round

“Cal Poly’s loose play was impressive and the Black Knights weren’t able to match them, while Poly’s physicality was uncompromising.” – American Rugby News. Cal Poly was victorious today against Army, overpowering them to win 51-27. The thin air of New Mexico didn’t seem to affect Poly, as seen through their relentless play. Flanker Ben Cannon slammed in the first try only a few minutes into the match. Yet Army answered soon thereafter with a try of their own. Wing Jared “Smiley” Gamm countered, however, with another try for Cal Poly. One could assume that this game was going to live up to the hype of being the best match-up of the first round of playoffs. However, this did not turn out to be true as Poly kept Army on their heels for the most of the game. Prop Gabe “Mijo” Escalera powered in the next try for Poly, diving under the posts for the score. Army did not score another try during the first half, as the ‘stangs slapped one more on the board complements of a hard-fought run by Fly Half Luke Council. Poly lead confidently at halftime, 26-5.

The second half played witness to an Army team that proved they would not go down without a fight. Army scored a couple of trys and seemed as though they were staging a comeback, yet fate had different plans. Fullback Ryan Kaut jetted in for Poly’s next score after a great demonstration of skilled backline passing. The final two trys of the match were scored by Eight Man Alex Murchison and Lock Luke Callahan. Wing Martine Phelan was accurate in his kicking game on the day, nailing 6/7 conversions and one penalty kick. Other game highlights included some crushing hits from Inside Center Stu Sharpe and some big time plays from Flanker Ryder Ross. Cal Poly will be playing Cal Berkeley tomorrow at 3:30 pm (Mountain Time) in easily the biggest matchup of the season. We hope that all of our supporters across the nation will be able to watch the game tomorrow, as it will be webcast on www.usarugby.org