Delmarva Rugby overcomes deficit to win home opener
Delmarva Rugby was able to overcome a difficult start in the season opener by scoring 22 unanswered points to win a thrilling opening game, 22-19, over visiting South Jersey.
The game started out well enough, with Delmarva forwards Justin Lopez and Keith Jones breaking off long runs in the first 10 minutes. But sloppy ball handling at the end of the runs resulted in turnovers. South Jersey was able to take control of the game shortly after those runs, capitalizing on a penalty 40 meters from the try line. They kicked the ball into touch, won the line out and then went on an 18-meter maul that resulted in the first try of the day. Several other penalties against Delmarva created even more momentum for South Jersey, and within the first 30 minutes of the game, Delmarva found itself in a 19-0 hole.
Delmarva slowly began to change the game, mainly driven by excellent substitutions by head coach John Burke. By the end of the first half, Delmarva was knocking at the door and Jones was able to drive through four opponents to score the first try of the season. A successful conversion made the score 19-7 going into the half.
Several more substitutions were made at the half and the effects really started to show. A try by Lopez at the 55th minute was followed 13 minutes later with a try by Casey Strohmeyer. The conversions were not successful in either case, and Delmarva was looking at a 19-17 deficit going into the last 10 minutes of the match.
After the kickoff, South Jersey was able force a knock on by Jones. At the scrumdown, Strohmeyer forced a bad scrumhalf throw and hardy defense by Spencer Powell forced a knock on by South Jersey, to get the ball back into Delmarva's hands. A great run by Justin Coleman off the back of the scrum was smartly supported by Lopez then Jones and resulted in a 50-yard gain. Several other players hustled after the play and provided great support. Another long run by Desjire Beach got Delmarva within 10 meters of the try line. Four more passes found the ball back in Jones' hands and he did not disappoint, converting an 8-yard run over one of the defenders.
Five minutes of defense and Delmarva was able to take home the victory 22-19.
Delmarva will travel to north Philadelphia to play the Hibernians Saturday, Sept. 16. Delmarva’s next home match at Rehoboth Elementary will be Saturday, Sept. 23, hosting Harrisburg.
