WHEELING, W. Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals exploded for 48 points in the first half to register a 63-22 victory over the visiting University of Cincinnati Bearcats. The win puts the Cardinal's combined fall/spring record to 10-4-1 in the program's first season.
WJU also honored two seniors in their last match for WJU: Sam Leone (Gallion, Ohio), and Adam Parsons (Wheeling, W. Va.), both of whom picked up the sport of rugby their senior year and have worked their way into leading roles on the team.
WJU Head Coach Eric Jerpe credits the victory to the Cardinals putting together a complete team performance, scoring a total of 11 tries on the day, with four players scoring twice each.
“This is the game we have been building up to all year.” Said Jerpe “I thought we played a great game of team rugby today, and continued to put pressure on Cincinnati while sticking to our patterns.”
Jerpe also added his young team will take many lessons from the victory.
“Considering most of our guys are freshman, this is the kind of game that will teach them how to win. It will also teach them how to play for each other and not just be a group of good individual athletes. That's the beauty of rugby, it's the ultimate team game.”
It didn't take long for the Cardinals to get on the board, however it was Cincinnati who was knocking on the door first. WJU's first try came when the Bearcats turned over the ball and freshman Allan Hanson (Cape Girardeau, MO) finished off an 80 meter counter attack for the Cardinals to go up 7-0 early, and they wouldn't look back.
Wheeling Jesuit added two more quick tries from Luke Titus (Sydney, Aus.) and Brandon Stine (Mechanicsburg, Penn.), to take a 21-0 lead after just 10 minutes of play, and the Cardinals would not look back, running out to a 48-5 halftime lead.
With a comfortable lead, the second half saw the Cardinals rotate in their substitutions, who continued to play to the team's strengths, said Coach Jerpe. “It was important for us to give all our guys plenty of playing time as we look to build the team for next year. The guys who came in did a nice job, which bodes well for us in the future.”
Cincinnati added three late tries to close the gap on the final score line, but the Cardinals came out dominant, with the 63-22 win.
As WJU enters their off-season, Coach Jerpe reflected on the team's inaugural season. “Overall, we couldn't be happier with the job these boys have done this year. It wasn't an easy task for these guys to come in straight out of high school for the most part, and be thrown into not only a high performance varsity rugby environment, but to have to deal with the pressures of college academics as well… That's not easy. I think all our players handled themselves admirably, and we look forward to seeing them develop in the coming years.”
WJU 63
Tries: Hanson (2), Titus (2), Stine (2), Barlow, Walters (2), Santana, Lum
Cons: Titus (4)
Cincinnati 22
WJU Starting Roster
15 Michael Fitzpatrick
14 Jamie Barlow
13 Allan Hanson
12 Luke Titus
11 Brandon Stine
10 Dennis Diza
9 Jordan Saseen
1 Max Lum
2 Julian Santana
3 Nic Chaufournier
4 Zach Reichenbach
5 Corbin McInnis
6 Shawn Wagner
7 Dante Walters
8 Pete Malcolm
