The weekend started as all weekends should with a lot of rugby, after all Saturday is a rugby day. The D3 and D4 men of Severn River traveled to College Park to take on the Washington Renegades, who were looking to avenge their loss from last season. The weather was beautiful sunny and mid-60s. The D4 men were excited to kick off the doubleheader action.

Both D4 sides came ready to play with defense, hard hitting, and strong rucking/counter-rucking being the hallmark of the match. The injury bug hit Severn River hard in this match, losing Mike “Butters” Gibson, Bear Carter, and Joe “MoJo” Bennett, and exhausting their reserves before the end of the half. Undeterred by this bad luck, Severn River got on the board first with a hard run from Joe “G.I. Joe” Asselin who carried two tacklers from five meters out into the try zone, putting Severn River up 0 – 7. Just before the end of the first half, the Renegades answered with a try of their own to tie the score 7 – 7.

Early in the second half, Sever River was issued two yellow cards, playing a man down for over 15 minutes and two men down for five. The Renegades capitalized on Severn River’s mistakes to take a 14 – 7 lead. Still playing a man down, Severn River’s strong counter-rucking generated a turnover in the Renegades half, which Karl “Prop Karl” Teague exploited for a huge run, weaving his way through multiple defenders before breaking a tackle to tie the score, 14 – 14. With the score tied and only eight minutes left in the game, James “Boomer” Hester went full Beast Mode from 25 meters out, breaking multiple tackles to put Sever River up 14 – 21. For the next six minutes the ball went back and forth between teams as both teams put on a strong defensive effort. With both teams exhausted from a hard fought match, the Renegades made one final attacking push to score as time expired to bring the score to 19 – 21. However, great effort by James “Boomer” Hester and Tommy Sitar made the conversion too challenging for the Renegades to keep the final score at 19 – 21, Severn.

Final Score:  Washington Renegades 19 – Severn River 21

Man of the Match:  Charles “Farva” Schmidt

Tries: Hester (1), Asselin (1), Teague (1)

Conversions: Leone (2/2), Greenstreet (1/1)

Roster:

1.     Charles “Farva” Schmidt

2.     Joe “Spaceman” Milluzzo

3.    Tommy Sitar

4.    Kevin Cesky

5.    Joe "MoJo” Bennett

6.    Bear Carter

7.    Steve Long

8.    Derek Swayze

9.    Milton “I’m Big in Japan” Greenstreen

10.  Joe “G.I. Joe” Asselin

11.  Brett “Bodhi” Wasser

12.  Mike “Butters” Gibson

13.  Sam “Hot Pants” Leone

14.  Karlar Farley

15.  Max Bennett

16.  James “Boomer” Hester

17.  Michael “Moose” Anderson

18.  Karl “Prop Karl” Teague

Next, the 3-1 Washington Renegades hosted the 4-1 men of Severn River in D3 league match play. The Renegades were seeking revenge after Severn eliminated them from playoff contention in the last match of the season last year.

Severn River came out strong with a few back line punches from the right side. Orchestrated by Erik "Punchy" Dronberger were line breaks from Zach Lammers, Colin Gotimer and Severn's newest addition to the lineup, Murphy Lill. The Renegades would play very physical defense in this early battle for field position. A solid run from Washington's center set up a quick tap penalty within the 5 for a Renegades score. The defense of Severn forced multiple kicks that Severn would retain. One of which Dronberger charged down in a diving attempt. A bobbled line out from the Renegades was taken advantage of when Lawrence McClain cleaned up the scrum half to take possession of the ball. Securing the ruck were Aldo Batubara and Dustin Taylor and in perfect position was Brad McCarty for the pick and go try. Tied 5 - 5. The Renegades held possession for a bit, however, the defense of Severn would not budge. Textbook tackling in the line of defense stood out from Batubara, Nick Stratchko, Eddie Boyer, and Dan Wooddell. Dronberger read the defense of the Renegades who were dialed in on containing centers Lill and Boyer, leading to an open hole down the middle of the pitch. Dronberger drew a 2v1, dished it off to Rich Maldonaldo who then pop passed to Logan Reece in support, evading a defender, and touching it down in the try zone. "Punchy" converts and it is Severn River up 12 - 5 at half.

The second half showcased solid defense once again and plenty of counter rucking. The Renegades started the scoring off with a few quick tap penalties and pick and go's from the pack to tie it up 12 - 12. The powerful counter rucking from Dustin Taylor and Will Paul led to a turnover which kept Severn in the Renegades half. A great open field tackle from fullback Colin Gotimer kept the Renegades from pushing the ball towards into the try zone. Instead, Severn decided to run it out from within 5 meters. Murphy Lill shedded two tackles gaining 25 yards and setting up great field position. At the 64th minute, a set play featured Eddie Boyer taking the ball at full speed through the line of defense for the score. Punchy converts 19 - 12 Severn. The pressure from Severn River resulted in wear and tear on the Renegades as they made several substitutions. They would not score again. The offensive rush poured on when Will Paul drove his way into the try zone. Capping off the day was a play from Mike Blimmel, drawing 3 defenders and offloading to Stratchko for a score. 

Final Score: Severn River 33- Renegades 12

Man of the Match:

#5 - Brad McCarty

#11 - Logan Reece

Tries: McCarty-1, Reece-1, Boyer-1, Paul-1, Stratchko-1

Conversions: Dronberger 4/5

Roster:

1.   Dustin Taylor

2.   Aldo Batubara

3.   Richard Maldonado

4.   Will Paul

5.   Brad McCarty

6.   Nick Stratchko

7.   Lawrence McClain

8.   Mike Blimmel

9.   Dan Wooddell

10. Erik "Punchy" Dronberger

11. Logan Reece

12. Eddie Boyer

13. Murphy Lill

14. Zach Lammers

15. Colin Gotimer

16. Max Bennett

17. Sam "Hot Pants" Leone

18. Steve Long

19. Derek Swayze