Blacksburg Rugby

The charge to the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union Men's Division III territorial knockout rounds continued for Blacksburg Saturday, though they were hard pressed to get by a game Roanoke oufit on the road.

Roanoke got on the score sheet quickly and frequently through a combination of determined play from Roanoke players and some clanger decisions from Blacksburg early on. At half time, Roanoke walked off the ground with a comfortable 20-5 lead with Blackburg's only points coming from an unconverted try by outside back Marc Seiss.

Blacksburg came out keen to right the scoring disparity in the second stanza, but had trouble getting on the board for about twenty minutes before the gates came open. Strong team play, with the forward pack stabilizing the breakdowns and providing good go-forward ball and the backs taking avantage of the stable platforms to gain ground and get over the whitewash, produced an avalanche of points starting with a converted try some twenty minutes from time. Halfback Kurt Goddard nailed a penalty goal a few minutes later to bring Blacksburg within five, and Goddard converted another Blacksburg try less than four minutes from time to earn a 22-20 lead. Blacksburg dotted down one more unconverted try at the death to put a coat of gloss on the win.

After the first match, the sides squared off in a second exhibition match with shortened halves. Both sides got some scoring on the board, but in the end the second match went Roanoke's way despite great work from Blacksburg players new and old.

Blacksburg thanks Roanoke for an excellent pair of contests and plenty of hospitality in the form of a post-match feed at the side's downtown clubhouse. With one autumn match to go and a seven-point September loss to Virginia the only blemish on Blacksburg's record, Blacksburg can lock up the #2 seed from the Virginia Rugby Union with a road win over Newport News next Saturday.