The Water Dogs’ postseason hopes were dashed on Saturday by a comprehensive 69-22 loss at Park City Haggis. Despite braving blizzard conditions and crack-of-dawn flights just to make it to the pitch, the Dogs came up short once there. The Denver men did manage to collect a try bonus point from the loss, securing them at third place on the table at the end of the fall season.
Having shipped out in the wee hours for a long day of travel to Salt Lake City, the Water Dogs kicked off into the bright sun of a beautiful autumn afternoon. Park City knocked the ball on in the Dogs’ half early on, but turned over the ensuing scrum and bounded in for a try in the second minute. Another strong Haggis scrum after the restart won them a penalty, from which they kicked into the Dogs’ 22-meter zone and scored another try a few minutes later. Finally, an errant Haggis pass offered the Dogs a lineout opportunity deep in their own territory, but a ferocious line break by center Johnny Ryberg and support from fullback Jacob Goeppner quickly carried the Dogs up to the attacking 22; deft hands across the back line in the next phase saw captain Chris Wiessing get over the try line in his right-side channel.
A series of handling errors and loose passes by the Water Dogs saw them concede two more tries in the next ten minutes. The Denver men managed to reassert themselves briefly when tighthead prop Duncan Frost intercepted a Haggis pass and sprinted 40 meters upfield into the Park City half before being caught; a few phases later, his front row partner, loosehead Zack Jessell, sniped from the base of a ruck and set off on a 40-meter run of his own to make it over the try line. Haggis managed another try from a set-piece play a few minutes later, but the Dogs struck back when Johnny Ryberg charged down a Park City kick, collected the loose ball, and dashed in for a try from 60 meters out. Despite the slow start, the Dogs felt like they were still in the game as the halftime whistle blew, the scoreline at 31-17 in Park City’s favor.
The Dogs defended staunchly for most of the second half before running out of steam in the final stretch. The scrum battle evened out for a time and the Dogs’ defensive physicality forced turnovers and penalties from the Haggis men. Pressure from the kickoff after a Park City try in the 59th minute won the ball back and then earned a penalty, from which a quick tap-and-go play soon sent forward Jace Jackson over for a try. Over the remainder of the match, though, fatigue from the day’s travel and from having been on defense for the vast majority of the match took its toll on the Denver side; the Haggis men scored four tries in the last 15 minutes, driving one nail after another into the coffin of the Water Dogs’ postseason hopes.
Despite the disappointing result, the Water Dogs suited up valiantly for a few periods of 10s rugby to get additional competitive minutes for the players who had trekked out but not started in the first match. That more than a full squad of Denver men made the journey despite the conditions was a silver lining on the day; and, reflecting as the season winds down, the camaraderie the Water Dogs displayed in the face of adversity on Saturday is itself a meaningful win, and a spirit the Dogs will carry with them into the off-season. The Water Dogs thank coaches Scotty Smith and Kevin Mann for their leadership throughout the campaign; the many fans who turned out to support at match after match; and the broader RMR community for an exciting and well-contested season.
Water Dogs Travel Squad
Zack Jessell
Rodney Cordova
Duncan Frost
Jace Jackson
Andrew Sroczynski
James Fuller
Austin Dozier
Chris Wiessing (c)
Tyler Ingram
Scott Nies
Sam Patterson
John Ryberg
Juta Vakabuta
George Bristow
Jacob Goeppner
Yared Belay
Matthew Anglin
Colton Schilling
Kelab Zewedu
Adam Satz
Trevor Wilder
Francis Goonan
Zach Clark
Allen Gonzalez-Lopez
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