WSC ruggers dominate in The House of Pain

Sam+Warneke+pitches+the+ball+to+a+teammate+in+last+Saturday%E2%80%99s+match+with+USD.

Richard Rhoden

Sam Warneke pitches the ball to a teammate in last Saturday’s match with USD.

Tiffinie Randall, Staff Writer

This weekend marks the fourth round of games for the Wildcats and they finished it with the sweaty musk of victory clinging to their jerseys.

The women and men took on opponents from South Dakota State University, Chadron, USD, Omaha and Kearney’s rugby teams.

The Lady Wildcats took their first victory of the day by shutting out USD.

The game was originally meant to be the Wildcats’ first Cup match of the season, but USD forfeited and chose to play in combination with the Goats from Omaha.

The Lady Wildcats finished the game with the score reading 58-0. Game two for the WSC women ruggers took place directly after their first, only sparing the Cats enough time to wipe their brows and re-lace their boots before tying down their second win of the day.

Nodaway, who had traveled up to Wayne from Missouri, provided more of a challenge for the Wildcats and even managed to break the shut-out seal WSC had with a breakaway run in the last half of the game.

The Cats stood their ground and finished the game on top 38-5.

The third game of the day for the women utilized the Wildcats’ deep roster of 44 players as they took on Chadron.

Coach Darrin Barner saw the opportunity to give playing time to those who don’t see it every game and seized it readily.

“It’s good for their girls too. They want to play and get that time on the field, that experience of playing and figuring out the game.” The B-side Wildcats would overcome Chadron 25-0.

The men chalked up some W’s on their first games at home this weekend as well.

The first game of the day gave meaning to the rugby complex’s nickname, “The House of Pain,” as WSC conquered USD 78-0. The second game proved useful as an experience builder for younger or still-learning players and was thus played by the B-side of the Wildcats men’s roster, and ended with the men falling two trys short of a victory over Nodaway.

Senior Eric Harvey said, “In just one week the team has really improved. Everyone is stepping up, from veterans to rookies. We’re coming together as one to achieve our goals and become a successful team.”

The Wildcats closed the day with a win over a team composed of Chardon and Kearney combined, leaving the final score at 27-5.

At the end of the day, senior Jonny DeRocha seemed to feel as though the games were a success.

“We’ve corrected many mistakes from the previous week and our B-team improved too. The rookies stepped up, showing us what they could do and proving who really wants the starting positions.”