They came. They fought. And they bled scarlet and gray.
Claiming the Midwest Championship title for the third consecutive year, the undefeated Ohio State men’s rugby team handed the Bowling Green Falcons their first loss of the season on Sunday.
History repeated itself, as the Buckeyes (11-0) emerged from the tournament with a 33-25 win over BGSU (9-1), the same team they defeated in last year’s finals.
OSU – which hosted the event – is a No. 5 seed heading into the NCAA tournament, which will be held in the spring. Also earning a berth in the national championship were BGSU and third-place finisher, Indiana.
After a tight 28-19 victory over Purdue in Saturday’s second round, the Buckeyes were put to the test by an aggressive BGSU squad.
“It was a hard-fought battle out there today. We were going back-and-forth a lot because we had two really well-matched teams,” said junior hooker Brian Yeager.
What they lacked in size, the Falcons made up for in strength and fierce determination, answering the majority of Ohio State’s scores. Several controversial calls near the goal line and numerous OSU penalties kept the Buckeyes on even ground.
“BG gave us the best competition we’ve had all year. You can only play up to your opponent’s level, and they definitely made us work hard for the win,” said Kurt Nienberg, a senior prop and team captain.
OSU men’s rugby coach Dan Porter agreed that after a season of regional play which often did little to test the club, the back-and-forth battle with BG was a welcome challenge.
“It was a lot closer than we’d hoped and a tougher game for the guys than most of the ones we’ve had all season,” Porter said. “Bowling Green did a good job of holding us close. They had us sweating to the very end.”
Although OSU held the lead throughout the entire game, BG kept the pressure on. After opening with an unanswered 14 points, the Buckeyes let a BG score sneak by in the 19th minute, putting the Falcons on the board with seven.
A one-two punch from the scarlet and gray pulled OSU out in front with a comfortable lead, after a blocked kick deep in Buckeye territory gave the home team another score.
Junior flanker and wing Tim Tonderai’s run into the end zone in the 33rd minute and the kick raised Ohio State to 26-7. A BG kick added another three points to the score.
The teams pulled back and forth as the Falcons closed in on OSU’s lead. A full-team effort by OSU in the 63rd minute pushed the ball past the goal line and a tough BG defense, giving the Buckeyes a 33-20 advantage.
After answering with a score of its own, BG made a last-minute drive, but was forced out to the backfield by the Buckeye defense.
In a win much closer than last year’s victory over the Falcons, OSU left the field with trophy in hand for the third year in a row, but the team still has unfinished business.
“We need to get some hard playing time in this winter to get ready for nationals in the spring,” Porter said. “We tend to make mistakes sometimes that usually go unnoticed, but good teams like BG capitalize on the mistakes and push us harder. We have to be ready to face even more of that in the NCAA tournament.”
