Severn River faced off against North Bay Rugby last Saturday, in what has been a playoff implicating, hard-hitting affair since both clubs dropped down to Division Three. Severn River was able to secure their first win over North Bay in matrix play since arriving in D3, upending North Bay 24-15. Early on, it looked to be a snake bitten afternoon for the men from Annapolis, as Inside Center Matt Baxter came off with a groin injury in the 10th minute. Baxter has been battling to stay fit all season and while River was disappointed to lose him, Jeremiah Batucan came on as a substitute and immediately made an impact, sticking his nose in with the forwards and scoring on a pick and go just minutes after subbing on. Number 8 Mike Blimmel, doubled Severn’s lead with a trot into the try zone in the 35th minute. North Bay got off to a rough start in the second half, when their strong side wing Nick Webb was cautioned by the referee for tackling Fly-Half Erik Dronberger well after a tactical kick. Severn took the opportunity by the scruff of the neck, quickly scoring twice via set plays with the man advantage. Fullback Colin Gotimer and Wing Zach Lammers both found the corner flag inside 60 minutes. Severn looked like they were coasting to an easy shutout win, but North Bay had a few answers late on, scoring 3 unanswered (and unconverted) tries to finish the match. Severn held on for the win, making it two in a row for the green and blues. Man of the Match honors were taken home by Mike Blimmel and Zach Lammers, for the forwards and backs respectively, both were a force to be reckoned with on offense all day long. Severn look to travel to Northern Virginia after their bye, to take on NOVA and make it three wins on the trot, kickoff is at 1pm on 10/20.
Tries: J. Batucan (1), M. Blimmel (1-2), Z. Lammers (1), C.Gotimer (1-3)
Conversions: E. Dronberger (2 of 4; 12 of 14)
Roster:
#1- Taylor, Dustin, #2- Kirk, Brandon, #3- Maldonado, Richard, #4- Paul, William, #5- McCarty, John, #6- Stratchko, Nicholas, #7- Benson, James, #8- Blimmel, Michael, #9- Dondero, Adam, #10- Dronberger, Erik, #11- Lammers, Zach, #12- Gotimer, Harry, #13- Baxter, Matthew, #14- Wygal, William, #15- Gotimer, Colin, #16- Greenstreet, Jr. Milton, #17- Denton, Philip, #18- Reece, Logan, #19- Swayze, Derek, #20- Gavigan, Taylor, #21- Bilger, Cullen, #22- Long, Stephen, #23- Batucan, Jeremiah