BYU men's rugby is up and running.
Friday, the Cougars hosted the UVU Wolverines and wasted no time entering the win column, putting up an impressive 115-0 victory.
Energy was high at Helaman Field and things got intense as soon as the first whistle blew. Both teams had sloppy possessions to start the match, but it only took two minutes for the Cougars to get on the board after Darian Tulikihihifo was able to find the end zone and score the first try of the season.
After three scoring possessions, the UVU defense started to find a rhythm and began forcing turnovers. However, its offense couldn't make any progress against a strong BYU defense. Neither team seemed to have an answer as the players fought a back and forth battle on the pitch. All the sprints and scrambles were finally rewarded when BYU's Zach Maughan found a gap and showed off his speed to weave through the backfield and find the end zone.
The Cougars continued to showcase their impressive strength and endurance, beginning an onslaught of open field tackles and overall dominance. Their creative passing and relentless attacks carried them to a 56-0 lead at halftime.
UVU started the second half with possession, but the BYU defense was still a force to be reckoned with. The Wolverines couldn't get the ball moving, so it didn't take long for the Cougars to force a turnover and go on the offensive. After a couple passes, Victor Mataele found the end zone and scored his third try of the day.
Just a few minutes into the second half things started to get chippy. The referee had blown his whistle and put the game on pause after seeing an injured UVU player on the field, and yet two Wolverines decided to team up and lift Zach Worthington up into the air before slamming him to the ground.
Worthington jumped to his feet all fired up and he, as well as the rest of the Cougars, immediately had words to say to the opposing team.
"This year we're not gonna be a team that backs down," said Worthington. "If somebody hits one of our boys, we're gonna be a team that gets fired up because of that. We're gonna come back and hit them harder ... we're gonna do it the right way, but we're gonna come back with more intensity."
Worthington was right, as the Cougars had more intensity when the game was resumed post-scuffle. They only needed three passes to score and increase the lead.
After that the game was as good as over. It became an offensive playground for the Cougars. Cameron Connors made a great run and capped it off with a superman dive into the end zone to make the lead 82-0. A couple of possessions later he had a perfect drop kick to open space down the field, and Tulikihihifo was there to catch the ball off the bounce. When he turned toward the end zone, there was only one defender in his way.
"As soon as I caught the ball, I saw him and he was close enough where I just knew I had to dip my shoulder and be able to go over him," Tulikihihifo said.
Tulikihihifo would not be denied. He lowered his shoulder and left the defender sprawled out on the ground, evoking that special "ooh!" that only comes from the crowd after a monster hit has been witnessed. It was all cheers from there as Tulikihihifo marched into the end zone for the fourth time.
By the time the field lights were turned on, the Cougars had already lit up the scoreboard. Coach Steve St. Pierre was impressed with the way his team played in its first match of the season.
"I think the effort was great ... really pleased with how they played," he said. "I think there's still a lot of room for improvement in our execution ... but it's early in the season and we'll keep working on it every practice going forward."
BYU now looks toward its next game against Weber State, at home on Sept. 26.