Raiders Fall to Warriors in AMNRL Week 2 Action

2008-06-15

Week Two of the American National Rugby League competition saw teams again having to deal with sweltering heat on the east coast for the second week in a row.

This week’s winners included the Warriors, Sharks, Wildcats, Bulls, and Knights.

In the local rivalry game in Philadelphia, and with the Heat Index hovering around the 100 degree mark, the Bucks County Sharks bounced back from last week’s loss to handle the Fight 54-14. The Sharks earned a bonus point for scoring ten tries.

Despite the oppressive conditions, Bucks County’s attack was on song, as was their defense, which was much improved on last week’s effort. Steve Thompson led the way with a hat-trick of tries and was ably assisted by Zach Padget (2), Ice Koreseta (2), Nick Konklin (2), and Sal Ranielo.

Thompson also went 2/3 on kicks at goal, while skipper Phil Shipos was 6/7.

“It was definitely what we needed,” Sharks’ try-scorer Steve Thompson told ARN. “We defended really well, and we bounced back and showed confidence going forward. They were game and had a lot of good players.”

Ryan Sodano was the Sharks man-of-the-match. For the Fight, Joe Bascelli and Jason Beltzner notched two of their three tries.

The New Haven Warriors continued their scintillating start to the season with a 76-0 hammering of the Northern New York Raiders. 13 tries and 12 conversions were tallied by the Warriors, who led 44-0 at halftime and who were without Siose Muliumu serving a one-week suspension for a high tackle in last week’s season opener against the Wildcats.

Luke Carr was one of the stars of New Haven’s show with three tries and all of the conversions for a personal haul of 36 points. Also getting on the scorecard were Ed Reed (2), Adam Hamon (2), player/coach Matt Doeg, and Salesi Tongamoa.

“We stuck to the game plan pretty well,” Doeg told ARN. “Overall I was pretty happy with our defense. It was a good team effort.”

In the nation’s capital, the Connecticut Wildcats got by a determined Washington DC Slayers side 18-12. Three tries to two was the final margin, the Slayers picking up a bonus point for keeping the final score to within six points.

The Cats fielded a young team and were paced to the victory by wing Nick Vornle who scored 14 of their 18 points. Vornle, a Boston University player, scored two tries and booted all three conversions. Curtis Cunz and Nick Isbrandtsen also had big games for Connecticut.

“The heat was oppressive but it was a good game nonetheless,” Wildcats CEO Rich Portale told ARN.

For the Slayers, Mao Sumoli scored one of their tries, while Sione Capu was voted DC’s man-of-the-match.

In a late Saturday afternoon game, the Aston Bulls prevailed 56-22 over a spirited Fairfax Eagles. It was ten tries to four after the Bulls led 36-16 at the main break.

Brian Confer and Ryan Coleman each scored a pair of tries for Aston, while Matt Stauffer of the Brandywine club made his rugby league debut at prop and had an excellent outing. Rick Dortone was 100% on goal kicking, while Liam Mulhall went 5/7 on conversions.

For the second week in a row, Conway Malaki was big on defense. The entire Bulls side was consistent as far as making yards from the ruck was concerned, and the team’s intensity was up.

“We were a little sloppy in the beginning but then we started getting our stuff together,” Aston captain Greg Stelluti told ARN. “Everyone was stepping up and everyone wanted the ball.”

And in the Saturday night contest in New York City, the home town Knights outlasted a gutsy Jacksonville Axemen 48-32. Both teams earned bonus points for tries.

The game was played in very difficult conditions with lots of water on the pitch, although both teams soldiered on. The Axemen identified opportunities on New York’s left flank and pointed much of their attack in that direction, and were fairly successful.

Both teams stuck to their game plans and in the end the Knights emerged victorious. Try-scorers included French hooker JP Martinez, Gareth Baxendale, Beaudie Cullen, Ryan Mulligan, and JC Rocha whose late score sealed the deal.

“We’re real happy as the weather left a lot to be desired,” New York CEO Bob Balachandran told ARN. “Our guys made handling mistakes and missed tackles, but we’ll spend this week working on it.”

Standings (unofficial):

1. New Haven Warriors (2-0)
2. Aston DSC Bulls (2-0)
3. New York Knights (2-0)
4. Washington DC Slayers (1-1)
5. Jacksonville Axemen (1-1)
6. Bucks County Sharks (1-1)
7. Connecticut Wildcats (1-1)
8. Fairfax Eagles (0-2)
9. Philadelphia Fight (0-2)
10. New York Raiders (0-2)