Rockville, MD - (25-Oct-03) - PAC played a confident game against a resilent Maryland Exiles side, posting a 33-17 victory. PAC broke out to an early lead, powering ahead 14-0 on tries by prop Aaron Bheuring and fullback Al Martinez (conversions - Fabling). PAC also dominated large passages of play but failed to finish on a number of other opportunities.
The second period opened with PAC adding a third try and extending the lead to 21-0. Bheuring added his second try of the day on a long run after stealing a loose ball 35 meters out from the line (conversion Fabling). PAC seemed to then relax and were content with the 21 point lead. The next 15 minutes were played fairly even with no team gaining much edge. It was the Exiles who caught the next break. PAC misplayed the ball during an attempted counter attack and the Exiles swooped in grabbing a quick 7 points and propeling themselves back into the game. (21-7)
This seemed to re-kindle the fire for the DC club. PAC responded with two quick tries at the 65 and 70 minute marks. First, #8 Randy Stephens punched over after a full line out drive from 5 meters outside the MDX line. The fellow veteran backrower Mike "Killer" Kowalski finished the attack with a driving try after the 6th phase (converted Fabling). PAC 33-7 Exlies.
PAC was seemingly lulled into a fals sense of security once again. Meanwhile the Exiles were not ready to head to the bar. From the restart, the Exiles backline slipped into the PAC lines and picked a pass off for a quick try. (PAC 33-12 MDX) Just 5 minutes later, the Exiles added another try to narrow the game to 33-17. The narrowing of the lead served as another wake-up call for PAC and they closed out the half with solid defense, taking home an undefeated record with only one match to play. A number of strong showing by both backs and forwards could not outshine Aaron Bheuring for the Bottom Line Man of the Match.
(There was also a second match, featuring both MD Exile players and PAC players against a determined West Potomac side. The combined PAC/MDX side came awy with the victory.)
Thirds goto Happy Valley; Come home sad
A hardy group of PAC men headed to the heart of Pennsylvania to take on Happy Valley. The squad was close but came up one try short at 17-10. Playing into strongly gusting winds for the first half, PAC played sound defense for the majority of the half. Happy Valley definitely had the territorial edge but could only put over a single-converted try. PAC 0-7 HV. Against the run of play, the visitors moved into the Valley's end of the field and #8 Ian Speight horsed over a late try. PAC 5-7 HV.
Before the half would close out PAC would manage to strike again. At 31 minutes flyhalf Justin Prudhomme cleverly stabbed a kick through the defense, picked it up and flew 50 meters to the goal, pulling out the grasp of the last defender and touching down. Again kicking into the wind proved nearly impossible and the conversion was missed. The 10-7 score was outstanding under the conditions. Happy Valley began exploiting defensive breakdowns and managed a try just before the half ended. PAC 10-12 HV.
The second half saw a reverse of the first, this time the PAC forwards dominated all phases and had an enormous territorial advantage, but were consistently turned away at the goal line. Late in the half, with just a couple minutes left Happy Valley began attacking from deep within their territory. Then one of their break-outs produced a try, edging the lead to 7 points. PAC continued to maintain possession, but they could not manage to get to the line, leaving the final score at 10-17.
Much credit goes to the guys who travelled up and gave it their best. Unfortunately, while doing much to win, they were done in by some impatience in the second half and by some defensive lapses. Nonetheless, the trip was enjoyable and the players were good PAC embassadors to the collegiate players engaging in the next match between Penn State and University of Maryland. Flyhalf Justin Prudhomme earned Bottom Line Man of the Match honors for a great individual try and outstanding leadership from the #10 slot.
Welcome, today is 9/6/2010. PAC Hotline: 202-659-9414 Email: info@PACRugby.com
