Honey Badgers Drown Mermaids in Season Opener

Poised and ready to strike on the hot, humid Norfolk pitch, the Severn River Honey Badgers met their opposition on Saturday and took the first steps towards realizing their team goal of returning to Regionals. With powerful performances by Back of the Match Katie Marshall and Forward of the Match Ashley Chafin, the honey badgers showed their determination from the first whistle.

In the first two minutes, Marshall punched the ball through the back line to Madam President Aly Jost for the first try of the match. The scoring continued with tries from Tina (scrum half), Todo (8-man), and Rayne diving over the line from the wing position (She may have landed on some tree roots and loose rocks, but anything for the team, right?). With excellent kicking from Charlee, the honey badgers found themselves up 33-0 at the half.

The scoring continued in the second-half with tries from Sweet Dee, Madam President, and Chafin. Shelly, our newest rookie, notched her first try by dusting the competition in an 80 meter sprint to the middle of the uprights to finish the match. With a solid conversion from Captain Casey, the honey badgers finished with a 60-0 victory over the mermaids. 

The match was not without its blunders as two players received yellow cards for Severn River. The first was a justifiable call after a high tackle, while the second was a bit more suspect when a veteran player received a card for causing two of her teammates to put their hands in the ruck. I have yet to look up that particular rule, but clearly the force is strong with Jedi master Farrah. 

Overall, the honey badgers have a lot to be proud of, but also have room to grow. After the match many of the players recognized the need to improve the connection on defense and to be even quicker to the rucks to support each other. Overall, the positive communication kept them focused on each moment of the match.

The Honey Badgers will be away again to face the DC Furies Division 2 side on September 15th.

Tries:

A. Jost - 2, K. Todorovich - 2, R. Trouwborst - 1, K. Schafer - 1,  D. Crovo-Denton - 2, A. Chafin - 1, S. Freeman - 1

Conversions:

C. Bryant - 4 for 7

C. Hartzell - 1 for 1

R. Trouwborst- 0 for 2