Red Wolf Rugby Defeats Arkansas, 31-19
LITTLE ROCK — Five different players scored and tough defensive play kept the opponent scoreless until late in the second half to give Arkansas State University’s rugby team a 31-19 victory over the University of Arkansas Saturday afternoon at the Little Rock Rugby Club.
The Red Wolves opened a solid first half when, one minute into the game, Valentin Balande from Bordeaux, France, scored the try under the posts to get the early lead for A-State. Brock Roper of Cocoa Beach, Fla., was successful on the kick to make the score, 7-0. Nine minutes later, Christian Schulze of Dallas, Texas, scored off the interception to up the lead to, 12-0.
Following a try by John Scotti of Daytona Beach, Fla., and a conversion by Roper, Arkansas State took a 24-0 lead into the half.
Jake Ray of Concord, Calif., rounded out the A-State scoring on the day with a try under the posts. Roper made the conversion to elevate the lead to 31-0.
“Our team played well,” said first-year head coach Blake White. “Calvin Gentry (Memphis, Tenn.) had a good game all-around and a great game on defense. So did Patrick Meagher (Brisbane, Australia). He was the team captain today and leads by example, both on offense and defense.”
Arkansas State, ranked sixth by D1ARugby.com, travels to Grand Rapids, Mich., to play Davenport University (17th) in a key Mid-South Conference game. Game time is noon CT at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex.
