Palmer Match Report

The Ramblers traveled North this weekend to play a three way game against Palmer College and Iowa State.  The first 40 minutes saw the Ramblers play a well coached and athletic Palmer side.  The Ramblers started physically and competed well up front against a very physical Palmer pack, holding their own in scrums, rucks and mauls.  Credit must be given to our new front row combination of Matt "Rudy" Chaidez, Patrick "Nasty" Conaty and Todd Lunow, who were able to stand up to the well drilled Palmer front row. As the first half progressed the Ramblers found themselves spread thin on defense, mainly due to overcommitments to the rucks and maul and this resulted in several scores from some free flowing passing and running by Palmer.  Palmer ran in 5 tries in the half and the Ramblers were able to pick up a consolation try through Nick Moyneur after a chip over and good pressure on their full back. 
 
The Ramblers then had a 40 minute break as Palmer played Iowa State in a hard fought half that finished with a missed penalty and a final score of 0-0.
 
The Ramblers then faced off against Iowa State.  The Rambler second half was a much improved performance that saw the backs having a lot more ball and room to move.  The combined skills of Justin Vogt and Leo Polson saw some excellent play calling and breaks that resulted in three tries.  Patrick "Nasty" Conaty scored a fourth for the backs (after switching from Hooker to center) from 3 meters out after some strong running and a nice off load.  I believe Chad "Mac" Mcdermott scored a fifth try for the Ramblers, however concussion has blurred the final part of the second half.  The Ramblers finished with five tries to zero. The game was dominated by great backs plays and particularily Nick Moyneur's strong running and Leo Polson's leadership and play calling.
Both games were intense, physical encounters against two very good sides and we thank Palmer and Iowa State for the invite.
 
Special mention must go to Chris Hrdina who was moved from prop to the back row in an attempt to utilize his speed, Brian Haley and Pat Nasty for helping the back line out with some strong running and tackling, Chris Wiggins and Jeff Bosaw for not looking too lost on the wing.  Man of the match(es) was awrded to Justin Vogt.