2010 Season
Cheshire Rugby Wins Opener; Simsbury Next
Cheshire’s 2010 campaign opened on Sunday, April 4th with a 6-5 victory over Staples High School. The Rams dominated possession throughout the game but could not capitalize to put the Wreckers away. Senior Aaron Perlroth scored all of Cheshire’s points converting both of his penalty kicks. Junior Ben Phillips scored what looked to be a try but it was ruled he was knocked out of bounds before touching the ball down. The team played well on defense, suffocating the Staples attack and countered well offensive with some nice runs from juniors, Ben Phillips, Tucker Bartone, Jon Urbanski and Dan Barnes.
The final score did not indicate the dominance displayed by Cheshire. The team has much to work on yet should be proud of their effort.
The B-side played an extremely hard in its match against Staples, yet ended up losing 5-0. Individuals who played well were seniors Greg Hoffman, Nate St. Martin and Justin Fournier and juniors Bobby Thomas and Matt Garuti and sophomore Andrew Kaczmarek.
The developmental side played its first game coming up short losing 12-5. Eighth Graders Joe Phillips, Chris Romeo and KC Backus played well in the game.
2009 Season
Cheshire Rugby v. Staples High School
A-side
Cheshire 48-Staples 12
The 2009 spring season started off in a positive way with the Rams scoring a well deserved victory over Staples High School of Westport by the score of 48-12. Cheshire got on the board quickly, withstood a rally by Staples and in the second half scorer 34 unanswered points for the victory.
Try scorers were seniors Max Melillo and Sean O’Halloran; with each scoring two. Senior captain Paul Stellar and senior Travis Wild along with junior Cody Nugent each scored as well. Junior Eric Rothbart scored 13 points making 5/7 conversion kicks and 1 penalty kick. It was a total team effort but some exceptional plays were made by senior captain CJ Sullivan and seniors Elliot Laden and Zach Velcofsky.
B-side
Cheshire 15-Staples 0
Cheshire’s second side was victorous as well with a hard fought 15-0 victory over Staples. Try scorers were sophomore Tucker Bartone, who weaved in out of the Staples defense for a 40 m try and seniors Steve Zullo and Albi Hasku. Playing well in the victory were seniors Geoff Wright and Tom Piccarelli, and sophomores Andrew Horowitz and Ben Phillips.
Cheshire Rugby Club v. Madison Rugby Club
A-side
Cheshire 32-Madison 7
The Cheshire Rugby Club won their second game of the 2009 season defeating Madison Rugby Club by the score of 32-7. The Rams were able to wear out the Madison team by maintain possession of the ball for large amounts of time and constantly putting offensive pressure on them.
Try scorers were Sean O’Halloran with three, Tucker Bartone, and Travis Wild. Eric Rothbart was successful on 2/5 conversion attempts and made the first successful drop goal in the club’s four year existence. Captains Paul Steller and C.J. Sullivan along with Elliot Laden and Cody Nugent played extremely well.
B-Side
Cheshire 42- Madison 7
The Rams played some beautiful rugby on Sunday easily defeating the Madison 2nd side by the score of 42-7. Ben Phillips led the way scoring 12 points on 2 tries and one successful conversion goal. J.P. Higgins, Eric Van Edsinga, Mike Yavorek, Steve Zullo and newcomers to the team Dan Leonard and Sean Murphy all scored for Cheshire. Chris DeMaria, Andrew Horowitz and Rich Pendred all played well.
Cheshire Rugby Club v. Branford Rugby Club
A-side
Cheshire 85-Branford 0
On Wednesday of last week the Cheshire Rugby Club easily defeated Branford by the score of 85-0. The team overpowered Branford, controlled the ball for the majority of the game and used their superior skills and speed to overmatch Branford. Eric Rothbart led the way scoring 21 points going 8/9 on conversions and also scoring his first try of the year.
CJ Sullivan led the way with 3 tries, while Travis Wild, Sean O’Halloran and Max Melillo each chipped in with two a piece. Cody Nugent, Tucker Bartone and Mike Yavorek each also scored a try. Ben Phillips chipped in with 4 points off 2 conversions.
Cheshire Rugby Club v. Greenwich High School
A-side
Cheshire 7-Greenwich 40
On Saturday the Rams tested themselves against a powerful Greenwich team. Cheshire played very hard and gave everything they had against the Cardinals but missed opportunities killed any chance of a victory. The score was not indicative of the intense action that a crowd of over 250 saw at Cheshire High School. Cheshire dominated possession in the first half and trailed only 12-0 with thirty seconds left in the 1st half but a handling error, one of many led to an easy try by Greenwich.
Cheshire did get on the board to make it 26-7 in the second half, when Max Melillo scored and Eric Rothbart followed with a conversion but the well conditioned Cardinal team scored 14 points in the last five minutes to stretch the led to the final margin. Cheshire will hopefully see Greenwich again on May 9th at the Connecticut Cup tourney.
B-side
Cheshire 0-Greenwich 33
The B-side was defeated by Greenwich but played hard defensively as Greenwich maintained most of the possession. Ben Phillips, Artie Sides, Will Droheim and Chris DeMaria played well in the loss.
C-side
Cheshire 5-Greenwich 35
Cheshire jumped out early on a try by Conor Bemis but Greenwich scored 35 unanswered points. Dan Leonard, Shaun Bowman and Sean Murphy played well in the defeat.
Cheshire Rugby Club v. Springfield Rugby Club
A-side
The Cheshire Rams Rugby Club got back to its winning ways with a 48-17 victory over a game Springfield, MA side. The Rams raced out to 24-3 halftime lead only to see Springfield close the gap to 31-17 with 10 minutes to play. Cheshire was able to get the ball out to their speedy backs and regain the momentum at the end with 17 unanswered points. The team is still working on being more disciplined, less sloppy and better on defense as it prepares for the NRU Qualifying Rounds to be held May 2-3 at West Point.
Max Melillo played outstanding scoring 3 tries. He’s becoming a threat to score every time he touches the ball. Co-Captain Paul Steller and Cody Nugent’s work rates were outstanding and both chipped in with 2 tries. Eric Rothbart and Tucker Bartone each chipped in with 4 points a piece each putting through 2 conversion kicks. CJ Sullivan, Jon Sheehan and Albi Hasku all played well.
B-side
Cheshire Rugby Club v. Simsbury Rugby Club
The club’s B-side traveled to Simsbury and were defeated in a close, well played match by the score of 33-20. Mike Yavorek scored two tries and Ben Phillips added 10 points off a try, a penalty kick and a conversion. Dan Murray, Russ and Eric Van Edsinga played well in the loss.
NRU Qualifying Game
Union, New Jersey 10 v Cheshire 7
The Cheshire Rugby Club looked to capture their first trip to the USA Rugby National Championships when they took on the Union Rugby Club out of New Jersey. The game was played at the picturesque United States Military Academy at West Point. The Rams came out flat as the game beginning and Union was quick to capitalize on Cheshire’s handling mistakes by scoring a try two minutes into the match. Union extended their lead to 10-0 with another try off a Cheshire mistake. Down 10-0 the Rams finally realized they were in a game and put consistent pressure on the Union defense. Cheshire could not take advantage of their continued possession of the ball due to the good defense played against them and also because of their many handling errors.
As the 2nd half began it was more of the same with Cheshire dominating possession, gobbling up yardage yet coming away with nothing until Sean O’Halloran scored a push over try with no time remaining. Tucker Bartone kicked the conversion and the game ended with Union victorious 10-7.
Travis Wild, Max Mellilo, Jon Sheehan and Paul Steller all played well in the loss. Union would go onto qualify for the Nationals with a win on Sunday.
NRU Consolation Game
Morris, New Jersey 27 v Cheshire 18
The Rams were a new look squad on Sunday’s consolation game against Morris, New Jersey. The team with only 1 senior and 3 juniors playing was a look to the future of Cheshire Rugby and although the team lost the future is bright. Eric Rothbart scored 13 points, hitting a penalty kick, drop goal, scoring a try and hitting the conversion. John Urbanski scored on a beautiful run of the side of a ruck but in the end the more experienced Morris team came out a winner.
Kyle Bickel, Meekail Afzal, Jon Sheehan, Ben Phillips, Tucker Bartone and Artie Sides all played well in the game.
Connecticut High School Rugby Championships
1st Round
Cheshire 17 v Simsbury 0
The Cheshire Rams opened up the 2009 Connecticut High School Rugby Championships, which took place at Yale University with a sloppy 17-0 victory over fellow CT Valley league member Simsbury Rugby Club. The team was paced by the good play of Jon Sheehan, Alex Chen and Zach Velcofsky. Try Scorers were CJ Sullivan, Paul Steller and Alex Chen with Eric Rothbart going 1 for 3 on conversions.
Semi-finals
Fairfield Prep 24 v Cheshire 7
In one of, if not the best game of the tournament Cheshire was eliminated from contention with a hard fought aggressive encounter against Fairfield Prep. In what is becoming a recurring theme for the Cheshire games, the Rams allowed their opponents to get out of the gates quickly with Prep scoring two quick tries. Cheshire composed it self and marched back down the field scoring a try on a great individual play by Paul Steller, who seemed to take on the whole Prep defense before scoring. Eric Rothbart followed up with a conversion and the 1st half ended 10-7.
The 2nd half saw increased pressure from the Rams as they moved the ball down to the Prep goal line but where unable to get the ball in after multiple attempts. A penalty against Cheshire allowed Prep to counter attack and counter attack they did as they raced down the field to score. The Rams came back at Prep but an intercepted pass and follow up score seal Cheshire’s fate 24-7. Everyone played their hearts out and gave everything they had in a valiant effort.
3rd/4th Place Game
Fairfield 20 v Cheshire 0
Cheshire met their fellow CT Valley member Fairfield in the 3rd/4th game and decided to play many younger less experienced members who came down for the tournament. Fairfield used their superior size and skills to win the game 20-0 but not with out some good play from Cheshire players, Tucker Bartone, Dan Barnes and Connor Bemis. Cheshire meets Fairfield in a league game next Saturday one that will determine the league championship.
The players should be congratulated for the hard play and the future is bright for rugby in Connecticut. With new programs on the horizon, the state tourney will become bigger and bigger in the years to come.
Local Media Coverage on State Tournament:
May 10th 209 article
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/05/10/sports/high_school/10-rugby_state_championship.txt
May 7th 2009 article
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/05/08/sports/8-rugby.txt
Cheshire Rams 12 v Fairfield Prep 92
A side
In a game that was suppose to be a highly contested affair the Cheshire Rams were routed by Fairfield Prep 92-12. The first fifteen minutes of the match was everything both sides thought it would be with Prep scoring first but Cheshire countering with a score of their own knotting the game at seven. What happened in the next 50 minutes was something no one expected to happen; Prep scored 85 unanswered points, breaking long run after long run; going over, around and through a porous Ram defense. Cheshire was able to score one last try as the game ended.
Paul Steller played extremely well scoring twice and Eric Rothbart slotted the conversion for 2 points. The team finishes its season with two league games on Saturday against Fairfield and next Wednesday against Simsbury.
Cheshire Rams 32 v Fairfield Prep 53
B Side
Cheshire was defeated in a high scoring match losing 53-32 to Fairfield Prep. Try scorers were Rich Pendred, Brian and JP Higgins, Mike Yavorek, Sean Bowman and Kyle Bickell. Ben Phillips converted one conversion for two points. Steve Zullo, Eric and Russ Van Edsinga played well in the defeat.
Cheshire Rams 15 v Fairfield Prep 17
C Side
Cheshire was up by three with thirty seconds left with the ball but could not retain possession and Fairfield Prep was able to score with no time remaining to win by two. Ben Phillips, Dan Barnes and Mike Yavorek each scored in the match.
Cheshire Rugby v. Fairfield Coop
A-side
Cheshire 3-Fairfield 22
Cheshire traveled to Fairfield and played the Fairfield Co-op Rugby Club in a game to determine the Connecticut Valley League Championship. The team fought hard but in the end couldn’t take advantage of the many opportunities that they had throughout the game.
Tucker Bartone scored the only points for Cheshire with a penalty kick. Alex Chen, JP Higgins, Max Melillo and Travis Wild played well in the loss.
B-side
Cheshire 10-Fairfield 17
The B-side continued to show their improvement this year but in the end came up short against a determined Fairfield side. Ben Phillips scored both tries for the Rams but Mike Yavorek, Sean Murphy, Russ Van Edsinga and Connor Bemis played well in the game.
Cheshire Rugby v Simsbury High School
A-side
Cheshire 15-Simsbury 29
The Cheshire Rams Rugby Club ended their 2009 season with a loss to Simsbury High School by the score of 29-15. The game was played with a lot of intensity and determination and was a see-saw affair until Simsbury scored two tries in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Try scorers were Max Melillo, Ben Phillips and Travis Wild. Cody Nugent, Paul Steller, Sean O’Halloran and CJ Sullivan gave it their all in the loss.
B-side
Cheshire 10-Simsbury 0
Finally…after many close calls in the past few weeks the B-side was able to squeak a 10-0 win against Simsbury. Ben Phillips and Russ Van Edsinga each scored tries for the Rams. Chris Donnelly, Dan Leonard, Meekail Afzal and Ben Carroll all played extremely well in the victory.
Thank you to everyone who played and supported the team this year. GO RAMS!
