Old White A, 20 -- Cincinnati, 18
Atlanta -- Saturday, April 25, 2009, Bo Marr
When you get to the playoff round of 32, almost every team is evenly matched. Saturday’s matchup between Atlanta Old White RFC and the Cincinnati Wolfhounds proved that was the case.
Down 18-8 midway through the second half, Old White was forced to kick its offense into gear and become more aggressive. Flanker Kevin Warde was able to find the try zone on a "twins" play after several good kicks from Old White to gain field position. After a David Winiarczyk kick, Old White cut the lead to 18-15.
But the Cincinnati defense held strong. And thanks to long offensive drives by the Wolfhounds, the minutes ticked away and it seemed that Old White’s home field advantage was for naught.
With seconds left, the home 15 made a last, desperate drive toward the Wolfhound’s try zone. Old White forced a penalty deep inside Cincinnati's territory. 8-man Cathal Doyle took a quick tap from the 5 meter line and pushed the ball over the line in the right corner. After the Winiarczyk kick, the referee blew the whistle, signaling the 20-18 final and Old White’s trip to the sweet 16.
Early in the match, the Old White backs proved to be the superior of Cincy’s. The first try of the match started after maul off the lineout where the ball was quickly tossed out to the backline. Richie Kanda at flyhalf dished off to Luke Waikamakama, who made several jukes. He popped it back to a looping Kanda, who finished off the play with a nasty stiff-arm and outraced the defense. Atlanta 5-0. However, Cincinnati soon followed up with a try of their own to tie the match at 5-5.
The Wolfhounds had troubles in their kicking game, missing the conversion and two consecutive penalty kicks. But Winiarczyk was on target, putting Old White up 8-5 at the half.
Cincinnati then played a power game by controlling the ball, stretching out phases and keeping play in the middle. This led to two Wolfhound tries at the start of the second half, putting the Wolfhounds up 18-8 before Old White’s ferocious comeback.
Injuries took a toll on the Old White squad from the get go. Starting flanker Charlie McFeaters was a last-second injury scratch, causing Francesco Balsas to make the emergency start. And just minutes into the game, flanker Bo Marr and lock Wally Mlynarski were taken off the field with head injuries. Marr, with a broken nose and possible concussion, was out, replaced by Warde. But despite a deep gash on the top of his head, Mlynarski was able to get taped up and finish the half. Nikolai Ambrosini provided yeoman’s work as the injury substitution and second-half replacement at lock. Fellow lock Hunter Clark made his first start in months, coming off a knee injury.
With temperatures soaring above 80 degrees for the first time this season, coach Riaan Kotze used almost all of his substitutions to provide some fresh legs for the final minutes.
Next up for Old White is a May 16 tilt against Media (Pa.) in Columbia, South Carolina. The winner of that match will play the winner of New Haven (Ct.) and Pearl City (Iowa) for a ticket to Colorado to play in the final four of the Division I National Championships.
Old White Side:
1. Joe Bambinelli (c)
2. Drew Percival
3. Keith Strellis
4. Hunter Clark
5. Wally Mlynarski
6. Francesco Balas
7. Bo Marr
8. Cathal Doyle
9. Chris Kombo
10. Richie Kanada
11. Eric Degree
12. Luke Waikamakama
13. David Wagura Ngamau
14. Caleb Tanui
15. Dave Winiarczyk
16. Joe Lang
17. Lee Kornfeld
18. Kevin Warde
19. Eric Woods
20. Nicoli Ambrosini
21. Ken Ivey
22. Jim McNally
