SOCORRO, N.M. – The New Mexico Tech Rugby Football Club ended their season on a high note on Saturday, Nov. 16. The Miners mounted a stout defensive stand in the final minutes to secure a 21-17 win.

The match was not only the final match of the fall semester, but also the end of a three-game series against National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) opposition.

The Miners began the series against Colorado College, running rampant to a 55-12 victory in Colorado Springs on November 2. They followed that with a disappointing loss to Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in Golden, Colo. The Miners’ hopes for reaching a playoff position in the NSCRO Challenge Cup depended on them securing a victory when CSM visited Socorro.

Pictured above are (back row, from left): Coach Gearoid Dunbar, Niko Crosato, Steffen Albritton, Everson Cruz, Lucas Ford, Scott Toomer, Tadeo Herrera, Dane Robergs, Julian Brittain, Dillion Civetta-Thomas, Joshua “Bear” Ward, Nathan Carpenter, Zane Frazier, Mikey Nolastname, JR Hart, Faculty Advisor Dr. Taylor Dotson, and assistant Logan Blake. In front (from left) are Riley Willingham, Tommy Diaz, Elijah Naranjo, Rufino Njuguna, Willie Unruhe, Dillion Mann, Miguel Luna, and Timmy “Jimmy” Chavez

These hopes seemed distant in the minutes prior to kickoff. CSM’s rugby team arrived with a full complement of 23 players, while NMT had only to managed to cobble together 18 (15 players take the pitch from each side). Injuries and school commitments had taken their toll. And the team had been forced to hold practice at 6:30 a.m., given the absence of lights on Tech’s athletic fields and ever shorter days in the winter months.

The first half proved to be a tightly contested arm-wrestle, with neither team able to put points many on the board. The Coloradoans employed a blitzing “hammer” defense, disrupting many of Tech’s attempts to get the ball out wide. CSM was the first to have a real scoring opportunity, opting to kick for posts after a penalty infringement by Tech. CSM winger Emilio Boffelli showed off his cannon of boot, easily lobbing the ball 40 meters, but directing the ball wide of the uprights. An identical miss came another 10 minutes later.

Possession continued to change hands repeatedly, with Tech’s major weakness being found in the lineouts. The Miners frequently kicked themselves deep in CSM’s half, only to have the ball stolen. NMT broke the deadline in the dying minutes of the half when center Colin Slade was judged to have held onto the ball in the ruck (in rugby a tackled player must release the ball when brought to ground). Tech quickly tapped the ball back into play. Flanker and Santa Fe-native Julian Brittain committed his opposite defender and put rookie winger Elijah Naranjo into the gap. Naranjo sidestepping his way into the try zone. A successful conversion kick by rookie hooker Lucas Ford put NMT up 7-0.

Content not to end the half scoreless, CSM regathered their own kickoff. The Miners put up a spirited defense, managing to steal the ball out of a ruck, with hard running junior flanker Dane Robergs gaining considerable meters. A dropped ball, however, gave CSM a final attacking opportunity. After a Tech player infringed, failing to roll away after a tackle, Boffelli found more success at the tee, landing a penalty kick to reduce the deficit to four points at 7-3.

In the second half, all things seemed to point to a large Tech victory. Five minutes in, senior fullback Dillion Mann picked off a lazy pass from CSM center Slade, running in for an easy try, with Ford having no trouble with the conversion. Moments later a pass from fullback made it to the ever-elusive Naranjo, who tip-toed down the touch line into the try zone, further twisting the knife. The scoreline now read 21-3.

But the rugby gods are fickle. Momentum in the game easily and very often does shift rapidly. Senior flyhalf J.R. Hart accurately placed a kick for winger Dillion Civetta-Thomas and fullback Mann to chase. An unfortunate bounce instead put the ball in the arms of CSM’s Boffelli, who found a near empty field between himself and the try line. He converted his own kick to narrow the score to 21-10.

The Miners succeeded in regathering their own kickoff. But when judged guilty of holding onto the ball in the tackle, CSM flanker Michael Leitch threaded his way through a disorganized defensive line to put yet another try past the Miners, narrowing NMT’s lead to 21-17.

In the final minutes of the match, Tech enjoyed very little of possession. NMT was penalized for illegally putting their hands in the ruck in the attempt to disrupt CSM’s play. The game ended with a goal line defensive stand, with Tech showing determination to see the match out on top. Pick-and-go’s from the Coloradoan forwards could not break Tech’s line, and the Miner’s backs rushed to quash attempts to get the ball wide. CSM eventually broke under the defensive pressure. 

Scrumhalf Tommy Diaz was voted “Man of the Match” for his crisp passing and aggressive play. Despite being the smallest man on the field, Diaz showed no hesitation in tackling some of the largest players, forcing a number of turnovers as a result. Head coach Gearoid Dunbar was pleased overall with his players’ performance.

“We changed our game plan a bit to counteract the quick line speed of the CSM defense, and the boys were success putting it in practice,” Dunbar  said. “But NMT’s lack of fitness and subs showed in the last 20 minutes.”

The NMT Miners will continue with off-pitch training and kick-off the spring season in February.  

Video footage of match: https://youtu.be/OGKDHVgMOZU

 

– NMT – 

Taylor Dotson/New Mexico Tech