Rugby Cruises to 63-0 Victory Over Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Arkansas State University’s rugby team put on a scoring fest as the Red Wolves defeated Mississippi State, 63-0, on the road Saturday afternoon.
“Today was an improvement from last week which is what it’s all about,” said A-State head coach Blake White. “There is plenty to work on and it wasn’t close to what we want, but our effort is there and we as coaches are very encouraged by that.”
The Red Wolves, now 2-0, have outscored their opponents’ 114-6 after last week’s 51-6 win over Alabama.
A number of newcomers got into the action early with freshman back Louis Neal from Cambridge, England, getting on the board first to give A-State the 5-0 lead. Twenty minutes in, another freshman, Carter Winter of Timpview, Utah, had a successful try to make the lead, 10-0. Shortly after, Neal added his second try to help build the lead to 15-0.
With six minutes left in the opening period, junior Jake Ray scored the try, with another score coming from sophomore Asa Carter. Two good conversions by freshman Zayn Nicholson of Bridgetown, Barbados, gave Arkansas State the 29-0 halftime lead.
“Our scrums looked solid with a strong effort from the front row,” added assistant coach Kevin Ryan. “And, our second rows gave a solid second push to maintain control and dominance.”
Freshman wing Emerson Geissler came out in the second half with a try in the corner, and prop Cam Crane of Frisco, Texas, added a score. Schulze was accurate on both conversions to up the Red Wolf lead to 43-0. A score by Andrew Pretorius raised A-State’s advantage to 48-0 and a second try by Geissler made the score, 53-0.
Freshman Jarrett Reynolds of Star City had a score in the corner on his first rugby try to end the match. Then, Vinny McGuire, another freshman from Lynnbrook, N.Y., sealed the Bulldogs’ fate with a final try in the corner.
“We’re really just enjoying the opportunity to get our young guys on the field and see what they have to offer,” said assistant Matt Guest.
Arkansas State will open the home slate, Saturday, Sept. 22, hosting the University of Mississippi. Starting time is 1 p.m. at Curt Huckaby Field. “We’re looking forward to a great challenge next week against Ole Miss,” concluded White.
