BYU Rugby Steamrolls Utah Valley University 69-7

With strong performances from Ben Keith and Jonny Linehan the Cougars knocked of the Wolverines for the third time this year.  With a 69-7 win on Saturday, BYU continues their strong push towards another Varsity Cup.

First Half

The Wolverines came out strong against the Cougars and scored the first try of the game at the 3:30 mark taking a 7-0 lead. The Wolverines marched up the field on the Cougars with big plays from their flanker Zach Burr that would eventually lead to their first score.

The Cougars came marching back after a few costly turnovers to get on the scoreboard with a diving score from Jared Whippy to tie the game at 7-7. The Wolverines would not go quietly and played some stingy defense against the Cougars. They keep forcing the Cougars to make mental mistakes by causing knocks and catching them off sides.

Jonny Linehan helped extend the Cougars lead 10-7 by drilling a deep penalty kick despite having a bloody face. UVU came back with some big time hits from their backs and forcing another turnover. The Wolverines would eventually get into place to try a penalty kick to tie the game, however it would be short giving the Cougars the lead.

After a long and difficult defensive struggle from both teams the Cougars were able to find the goal again with a tough nosed score from the Cougars Lock Kyle Lontine. BYU would miss the extra point giving the Cougars a 15-7 lead over UVU.

The Cougars finished the first half strong and scored two tries in the last minute of regular of play extending the lead to 22-7 with Ben Keith scoring the first. Then BYU scored one more try by keeping the ball alive in extended minutes with good cuts from the backs that eventually led to a score from Josh Webber to give the Cougars a 29-7 led going into the half.

Second Half

The Cougars continued the second half just like they finished the first and scored early. The Cougars Fly Half Jonny Linehan accounted for the score giving the Cougars a commanding lead of 36-7.

Within a minute the Cougars scored again with a quick attack from the backs. Ben Keith kept the ball alive with a gnarly assist to Jordan Lowry to extend the lead to 41-7. Keith would eventually get his chance to score again at the 10 minute mark to extend the Cougars lead to 46-7.

The score of the day came from the reserve Ryan Blaser when he broke a tackle while catching the ball to run half the field shedding multiple tackles easily to give the Cougars a 55-7 lead over the Wolverines.

Josh Whippy helped the Cougars get over the 60 point mark by scoring off of a kick from UVU giving the Cougars a 62-7 lead. Josh Whippy also scored the last goal of the game finishing off the Wolverines 69-7.

The Wolverines came out strong in the first half and played some good defense to prevent the Cougars from scoring. However towards the end of the first half and all of the second half the Cougars proved why they are the #1 ranked team in the nation by dominating the entire second half. BYU looked sharp and well-conditioned as the Wolverines could hardly catch their breath in the second half.

About Utah Valley Rugby

The UVU Wolverines started as a club in 1996. Over the decades they have improved the quality of their club and even went to the Division II National Championship in 2008 taking second overall. The Wolverines have been improving their coaching staff and players over the years in order to become a competitive Division II team.

The Cougars will play again at South Field on March 26th against Cal Poly—SO at 7pm and again on March 29th against San Francisco at 1 pm. Come out and support BYU as they work towards winning another National Championship.

The Cougars will also host rival Utah April 4^th for the Wasatch Cup at 7pm. You can also watch all of BYU Rugby games online at the teams Youtube page.