Blacksburg Rugby

Blacksburg found the going tough from start to finish against a game Roanoke side, but in the end Blacksburg managed to win their first match of 2010 under sunny conditions at home. The going was even tougher for Blacksburg's developmental side who battled tooth and nail but lost by a whisker to a Radford side primarily composed of reserves.

In the first match, Blacksburg spotted Roanoke the first try but opened up a reasonable lead by half time through aggressive play at the fringes from the forwards and scorching runs from the outside backs. Blacksburg opened the second half similarly strong, but hit a flat spot and allowed a hard-working Roanoke crew to rally back late. Despite a few scares and some inconsistent performance over the course of the 80 minutes, Blacksburg managed to get home by the end with a clear 52-35 win. Among a number of strong performances were a massive debut from halfback Matthew McCarthy, a few tries through line breaks by midfielders Mark Seiss and Noah Thrope, and powerful work leading the charge from front-rowers Eric Gartenberg, Nate Gaertner, Cris Mathew, and Jon Post.

The second match was a tale of two stanzas. The strong Radford reserves, bolstered by a couple of handy first-grade players early on, side piled on the points in the first half. Blacksburg's developmental crew did just the same in the second half but came up just short in a match that was scored 31-28 but could only be described as a contest that either side deserved to win. It would have been a challenge to single out a top individual performance from among a field of hustling developmental-side players who gave their all, almost to a man.

Blacksburg thanks Roanoke and Radford for visiting to play on a beautiful Spring day, and appreciates the services of referee Steve Myers. Next Saturday Blacksburg will be home once more in a contest against an "Old Boys" side made up of former Blacksburg players from throughout the club's recent history.