ASHLAND, N.H. - Endicott Rugby maintained their perfect record this spring as the Men’s Rugby Club swept the competition to win the Plymouth State 7’s tournament, defeating hosts Plymouth State and Colby Sawyer.
Endicott 25 – Plymouth State 5
The opening game of the tournament placed two hard hitting teams against each other. The Gulls speed on the outside was the determining factor as junior Austin Spencer, (North Yarmouth, Maine) and senior Joe Desjardins (North Woodstock, N.H.) manipulated the offense to perfection. Quick hands constantly found the overload as sophomore Brian Sussingham (Yonkers, N.Y.) and freshman Ricky Lydon (Hanover, Mass) constantly found themself in two-on-one situations that lead to a barrage of tries. The well-disciplined Endicott defense lead by junior Pat Cormier (Portland, Maine) and sophomore Ryan Stanek (Cheshire, Conn.) constantly placed Plymouth under pressure eliminating the chance of a scoring threat.
Endicott’s second half progressed the same way as the first, as the Gulls were able to pass the ball through the team forcing Plymouth’s defense to come up staggered. Superior offloads by sophomore Rob Wimpory (Peterborough, N.H.) and freshman Walker Eddelman’s (Weston, Conn.) once again created an overload which found Sussingham crashing through the center for a 50 meter try.
Endicott 25 – Colby Sawyer 10
In the second match Endicott once again encountered a fast hard hitting team. The Gulls started slowly but inspired tackling around the fringes kept the Gulls alive. Creating space, the Gulls quickly worked the ball through their hands to find an overload on the side and Desjardins did the rest racing down the sidelines for the try. Soon after Sussingham juked through the line for another try as the momentum started to show for the blue and green.
A fresh wave of Gulls attacked the second half more determined and focused. The team working together as one, once again saw Endicott attacking a two-on-one situation, and after drawing in the defender, Sussingham found sophomore Justin Klanica (Cheshire, Conn.) darting down the sidelines untouched for the try. Eager to make it to the championship unblemished, the defense, led by Cormier and senior Tom Murray (Hanson, Mass.) made stout defensive tackles to ensure the Gulls victory.
Endicott 30 – Colby Sawyer 15
After Colby Sawyer defeated Plymouth St. in the consolation bracket, the tournament’s championship match pitted a rematch of Colby Sawyer against Endicott. In his first career start for the Blue and Green, junior Ted Andrews (Essex Jct., VT) found the try line as the Gulls unselfish passing creating another two-on-one break-away. Cormier was once again the defensive catalyst, constantly pushing Colby Sawyer back with colossal tackles. Lydon and Murray continued to scurry through the defensive line but countless tackling and work in the loose from Colby Sawyer stopped the threat of scoring through the middle. Working back towards the original game plan Endicott found success once again with quick hands working the ball through the team. Quick phase ball from spencer to the outside found Lydon open down the sideline for another try. The fresh legs of Klanica and Wimpory entered at half as Endicott continued their methodical approach. Colby Sawyer threatened to score midway through the second half to draw the game closer but a monstrous hit by Wimpory eliminated their momentum and secured the lead and their first ever Sevens Championship for the Gulls.
