The Cougars took out Utah Valley in Saturday’s rugby game, finishing 69-7 and putting BYU 3-0 against the Wolverines.
This win puts BYU at 11 this season, creating a current five-game winning streak. BYU is well on its way toward another Varsity Cup.
(Photo by Natalie Stoker)
“All in all we stuck to our game plan, we went through the stuff we’ve been working on in practice and there was a fairly pattered approach to the whole game,” said head coach David Smyth.
Utah Valley started the game off with the first try, getting the scoring started quickly. Throughout the entire first half UVU seemed to match the Cougars in every aspect, not letting down on defense at all.
“Was I surprised they came out hard? No. Was I surprised they scored that quickly? Yeah, a little,” Smyth said. “But I knew that they were well prepared. They’ve been working hard, so I’m definitely not surprised by their effort.”
The game remained tied at 7-7 for the majority of the first half. That lasted until 25 minutes in, when sophomore Jonny Linehan scored a penalty kick, moving the Cougars up to 10-7.
During the last three minutes of the first half BYU really began getting into its rhythm and played the game as powerfully as it has all season. Three tries and three successful conversion kicks later BYU finished the first half 29-7.
“I thought it was a good, challenging game there at the start,” Symth said. “UVU came out fired up, but I think once we dealt with that initial pressure from them we settled down well, and I thought all the boys played very well.”
The second half followed this same pattern, with BYU continually owning the field on offense and defense, keeping the Wolverines at their final score of seven for the remainder of the game. Six minutes in, another try from Linehan brought the Cougars up another five points. Another two minutes later a try by junior Jordan Lowry, followed soon after with another try from freshman Ben Keith, brought the score up to 48-7.
BYU found itself multiple times with an open path toward the goal. An impressive retrieval from junior Ryan Blaser, as well as an interception from sophomore Josh Whippy, both led to single-handed scores, Whippy’s try finishing the game 69-7 BYU.
“We were surprised at the UVU team,” Whippy said. “Today they brought it, and they came to play. The boys took some time to get into the game, but once we got going everything just fell into place.”
The Cougars take on Cal-Poly next; the game will take place March 26, at 7 p.m., at the South Field.
