Match Reports
9-0 Hammerheads Flex Some Muscle Against St. Pete
Naples Rugby remained undefeated, improving their record to 9-0 with a convincing victory over the St. Petersburg Pelicans on Saturday. St. Pete traveled light on numbers, while Naples benefited from a deep bench and the home crowd. Naples dotted down a season high 8 tries while converting 7 and kicking 1 penalty, all while keeping St. Pete off the scoreboard. The 57-0 final score was the largest margin of victory for Naples in several years.
The Hammerheads asserted their dominance early, using tactical kicking and disciplined ball decisions to repeatedly pin the Pelis deep in their own half of the field. It wasn't long before the pressure resulted in points. Ryan Young [IX] started the scoring for Naples on a pick and go after several phases of play, and the scoring didn't stop for the remainder of the half. Ryan Shore [X] scored the next 2 tries, converting each of the first 3 and adding a penalty. Before the halftime whistle blew, Brandon Pierson [XI], Carl "Sweetness" [I], and one other Hammerhead found the try zone. Shore converted all but the last try to give the home side a 42-0 halftime lead.
The second half scoring started quickly for Naples. The opening kickoff was fielded cleanly, hit up the middle of the field, and spun out to the backs. Shore put a probing kick toward midfield which took a gratuitous Hammerhead bounce, and was tipped out of the air by Liam Blake [XIII] to Jack Schuh [XII]. Jack turned up field, broke a tackle, and ran 45 meters for the try. Minutes later, Shore added his third of the day on a 50 meter sprint to the corner, and converted his own try to give the Hammerheads a 57-0 lead. Those would prove to be the last points of the day.
The last 20 minutes saw a resurgence of energy from St. Pete, and several players from the Hammerhead roster seeing playing time. The Pelicans challenged the line numerous times, but Naples held strong and made some huge tackles led by Sweetness, Keith Hopkins [III], and Mike Davis [VI]. At the final whistle, Naples had secured the statement victory that they had been looking for.
Naples beats Orlando in Battle of Undefeated Teams
2/11/12 - Estero, FL
The 8-0 Naples Hammerheads outpaced the previously unbeaten Orlando Griffins to control their own destiny heading toward the South Playoffs. Naples fell down early following an Orlando try, but then scored three of their own converted tries to seal the victory 21-10. The fiercely contested match was held on a new pitch in the same park the Hammerheads normally play on, and was the first match and victory since the passing of club founder, supporter, and lifelong fan of the game, Dave Sweet.
Naples started the game with a strong wind at their backs, which dictated much of the first half of play. Initially, both teams stayed deadlocked around midfield as the forwards exchanged blows and the backs tried to find a soft spot in the opposing lines. Orlando was the first to break through Naples back line with a couple of strong runs through the centers, the latter of which put the first points of the match on the board. With increased urgency, Naples dug in and started implementing their game plan, relying on tactical kicking, maintaining ball posession, and clinical set pieces to pin Orlando deep into their own end. The stiff wind and defense caused problems for Orlando, forcing most of the rest of the 1st half into Orlando's 22. Naples challenged the line several times, but mistakes and Orlando's own brand of stingy defense kept the Hammerheads at bay. It wasn't until a set piece move saw Liam Blake [XII] find Mike Stoll [XIV] slicing right through the middle of the defense that Naples got on the board. Ryan Shore [X] converted the try from in front of the posts, giving Naples their first lead 7-5.
Naples kept the pressure on and kept play in Orlando's end for most of the remainder of the half. Just before halftime, the pack produced a turnover against the head in the scrum, seeing Johnny Lindsay [VIII] pick from the back, draw a defender, and pass to Shore. Shore stayed on his feet long enough at the next tackle to find Scott Lewis [VII] bursting through the gap off his inside shoulder. Lewis outpaced all defenders to the try zone, scoring under the posts giving Shore an easy conversion to make the halftime score 14-5, Hammerheads.
The teams switched sides at the half, giving the Griffins the wind advantage and changing the flow of the game. Naples did well to keep pressure on, however, and managed to keep play towards the middle of the field with steady defense and opportunistic offense. The next points came from a scrum on Naples own 22 which the pack controlled. The ball was spun out to the backs, who put a grubber through towards midfield. Orlando's wing scooped it up, but was met with heavy pressure and a sure tackle from Blake. Seeing the potential for a costly turnover, an Orlando player tried to throw a pass under pressure, but Scott Lewis stepped into the passing lane, and juggled the ball to himself before sprinting 50 meters with the defense close at his heels. A desperation ankle tap missed, and Lewis was able to center his second try of the day, helping Shore's conversion effort into the wind. The conversion sailed through, and Naples led 21-5.
The remainder of the game was far from easy going for Naples, as they had to deal with heavy pressure and several open field runs, but effective scramble defense and domination at scrum time and around the sides of the ruck prevented more points. Orlando scored once more on a nicely timed weak side scrum move in which the wing brushed off 2 Naples tacklers down the sideline to score in the corner, but the difficult conversion sailed wide keeping it a two try differential. Orlando was unable to break through again, and Naples hung on to win the biggest game of the season so far, 21-10.
Scott Lewis was awarded with Man of the Match honors for his two try performance, and Ryan Young won the big ball for his consistency and accuracy passing the ball in gusty conditions.
Hammerhead legend Dave Sweet was honored with a moment of silence before the game, arm bands during, and pictures after to commemorate his influence on the game and our team.
Hammerhead Win at Daytona!!! (12/10/11)
The Hammerheads travelled to Daytona to take its second win in two DII matches. The guys were able to work with a heavy crosswind and deal with playing a man down for the majority of the match. The final score was 29-12. Ryan Shore (2), John Lurhsen, Walter Gonzalez, and Scott Lewis were try scorers. Lurhsen was able to convert 2 of the tries. Daytona was able to score twice, converting one of the tries.
League Season starts with Win over St. Pete!
Our Hammerheads rolled over the willing host St Pete Pelicans on Saturday 35-5 to kick off the league season. The boys were mostly able to follow through with our game plan with some great kicking by Ryan Shore and a good attack by our backline and loosies. The tight five did their job as well winning set pieces and controlling the center of the pitch. It was a good effort by all!
Tries - Shore 2, Biada 2, Pierson, Lurhsen Penalty - Lurhsen 1 Converstions - Lurhsen 1
Lineup - Walter G, Pato, Curtis, Mike H, Lurhsen, Lewis, Tyson, Bergh, Haupt, Shore, Pierson, Coe, Biada, Blake, Stoll
Reserves - Irvin, R Young, Haas, Coley, Lindsey, Vitelli (Ramon and Franco played in the second match)
In the second match Sarasota travelled well and played tough. They were able to win over the Hammerhead/St Pete/Sarasota combo side 4 tries to 2. Walter and Liam scored our tries in the loss. Lurhsen and Garrett played all minutes in both matches. Thanks!!!
Walter recieved MoM honors (Wayne was runner-up) and Scott L received the Big Ball for a great offload. The Big Stick was not awarded. St. Pete hosted us at a great social!!!
2 Wins vs Miami RFC
The boys pulled off 2 wins on 10/15 vs a visiting Miami RFC. They were troopers in giving us 2 matches with limited numbers.
The first match saw some pretty good open field play with Mike Bergh, Dakota Jack, and Johnny Lindsey (2) putting converted tries on the board vs 1 converted try by Miami for a 28-7 result.
In the following match, Garrett Coe and Ryan Young were able to put it down in the zone. That match finished with a 14-7 result. It also saw returns in the green jerseys by Coach Fox and John "Postal" Healy.
Nick Haupt and Brandy Bartelone received Man of the Match honors. The Hit Stick went to Vinny Market for a great tackle and subsequent ball poaching. Dakota Jack got the big ball, which he needed to later protect himself...
