USA Club Rugby produced both extremes on Saturday, September 26, with some of the weekend’s biggest totals sitting alongside a collection of games decided by the narrowest of margins.
Jersey Shore led the way with an 88–5 win over Phoenixville White Horse, while Fort Wayne Rugby and Scioto Valley Rugby both scored 85. Littleton Scots and Palmer College reached 83.
At the other end of the spectrum, three games were decided by a single point and six by three points or fewer.
Life University also picked up a 40–19 victory over Mystic River in the American Rugby Premiership.
Jersey Shore Leads a Weekend of Huge Scores
The biggest total in RFC’s September 26 men’s club results came in Eastern Pennsylvania, where Jersey Shore defeated Phoenixville White Horse 88–5 in EPRU Men’s D3.
It was an 83-point winning margin, the widest among the weekend’s big scores highlighted here.
The Midwest wasn’t far behind.
Fort Wayne Rugby defeated the Detroit Tradesmen D2 side 85–12, while Scioto Valley Rugby beat Detroit Rugby Club 85–14. Palmer College added an 83–3 victory over Lake County Rugby.
Those were winning margins of 73, 71 and 80 points respectively.
Six Games Go Down to Three Points or Fewer
The enormous winning margins tell only half of the September 26 story.
Six men’s games were decided by three points or fewer.
Fayetteville Dragons and Onslow Misfits produced the highest-scoring game of that group, combining for 92 points before Fayetteville emerged with a 47–45 victory.
In the same Carolinas D3 competition, Tobacco Road edged Charlotte Olde Originals 28–27.
Quad City Irish won 38–36 at Iowa Falls in Midwest D4, while the Louisville D3 side beat the Cincinnati Wolfhounds D3 side 26–23.
On the East Coast, Media defeated Philadelphia Gryphons 20–19, and Baltimore Chesapeake beat Washington 35–34 in MAC Division I.
Tobacco Road, Media and Baltimore accounted for the weekend’s three one-point finishes.
Life Beats Mystic River in the American Rugby Premiership
Life University defeated Mystic River 40–19 in the American Rugby Premiership.
The win came seven days after the Running Eagles beat White Plains 53–5 on September 19, giving Life another sizeable ARP victory on consecutive weekends.
Midwest Produces Big Scores Across the Divisions
Chicago Blaze delivered one of the standout Division I results with a 71–5 victory over Metropolis.
There was recent history between the sides, too. Blaze had beaten Metropolis 62–22 on September 12, making September 26 their second meeting in three weeks.
Chicago Lions also won convincingly in D1 West, beating St. Louis Bombers 59–19.
In D1 East, the Detroit Tradesmen D1 side defeated CRC Griffins 33–12, while the Cincinnati Wolfhounds D1 sidebeat Pittsburgh Forge 40–12.
Further down the divisions, CRC Silverbacks beat Peoria Pigs 80–24, while Westside Outcasts defeated the Louisville D4 side 77–31.
Grand Rapids Gazelles beat CRC Westside Condors 61–10, and Buffalo defeated Cleveland Crusaders 50–12.
But the Midwest wasn’t all about large margins. Lincoln Park beat the Chicago Lions D2 side 21–17, Fox Valley Maori edged Chicago Riot 24–21, while Quad City Irish and Louisville’s D3 side each won by three points or fewer.
Littleton Leads the Rocky Mountain Slate
Littleton Scots produced the biggest margin among the Rocky Mountain results highlighted by RFC, beating Denver Harlequins 83–10 in RMRU Men’s D3.
The rest of the regional slate was considerably tighter.
Boulder beat Denver Highlanders 40–31, Queen City Rams defeated Scalliwags 35–28, and Northern Colorado beat Colorado Springs 22–12.
That made Littleton’s 73-point win the outlier in the Rocky Mountain results.
Carolinas Mix Big Margins With Close Finishes
The Carolinas supplied another example of the weekend’s contrasting scorelines.
Columbia Rhinos beat Cape Fear 69–12, while Asheville Iguanas defeated Greenville Griffins 38–26.
Myrtle Beach Man O’ War won 47–33 at Hartsville Hydras, and Johnson City Locomotives beat Boone Hellbender 44–0.
Yet the same region also produced two of the closest games of the day: Fayetteville’s 47–45 victory over Onslow and Tobacco Road’s 28–27 win over Charlotte.
By the Numbers
Big Totals
Combined points in Fayetteville Dragons’ 47–45 victory over Onslow Misfits.
Points scored by Jersey Shore in an 88–5 victory over Phoenixville White Horse, an 83-point winning margin.
Points scored by Fort Wayne Rugby and Scioto Valley Rugby, which won 85–12 and 85–14 respectively.
Points scored by Palmer College and Littleton Scots. Palmer won 83–3, an 80-point margin; Littleton won 83–10, a 73-point margin.
CRC Silverbacks’ total in an 80–24 victory over Peoria Pigs.
Westside Outcasts’ total in a 77–31 victory over the Louisville D4 side.
Chicago Blaze’s total in a 71–5 victory over Metropolis.
Close Finishes
Men’s games decided by three points or fewer.
One-point finishes: Tobacco Road 28–27 Charlotte, Media 20–19 Philadelphia Gryphons and Baltimore Chesapeake 35–34 Washington.
