Charles River Men vs. North Shore Men
Charles River v. North Shore Match Report
March 30th, 2013, Dilboy Stadium Somerville, MA
A-Side Match
| Position | 1st Period Starter | 2nd Period Starter |
| #1 Prop | Phil Adams | Jeff Garnder |
| #2 Hooker | Alec “Ox” Tolivaisa | Phil Adams |
| #3 Prop | Wes Page | Wes Page |
| #4 Lock | Mark “The Kid” Cassidy | Mark “The Kid” Cassidy |
| #5 Lock | Dave “Andre” Bloom | Dave “Andre” Bloom |
| #6 Flanker | “Black” Grant McAuslan | Alec “Ox” Tolivaisa |
| #7 Flanker | Jeff Gardner | “Black” Grant McAuslan |
| #8 8-Man | Andrew “J-Hole” Jackson | Ray Camahort |
| #9 Scrum-Half | Dana Etherington | “President” Mike Fair |
| #10 Fly-Half | Ricky Friberg (Captain) | Ricky Friberg (Captain) |
| #11 Wing | “Wee” Pat Cavallario | “Wee” Pat Cavallario |
| #12 Inside Center | Corey “A or B” Lang | Corey “A or B” Lang |
| #13 Outside Center | Jerry Kenneally (Vice Captain) | Dana Etherington |
| #14 Wing | Dominic Ferrante | Alex Swayne |
| #15 Fullback | Stuart Dunster | Jerry Kenneally (Vice Captain) |
The Charles River Rats kicked off their 40th season against North Shore RFC. Despite a great second-half effort, the Rats could not overcome an early 15-0 deficit, as they fell to North Shore, 22-7. Due to field permits, the A-Side Match consisted of two 30-minute periods, which did not give the Rats the necessary amount of time to stage a comeback. North Shore scored their first try thanks to an errant pass inside the Rats’ 10-meter line, which North Shore converted into a try, giving them an early 5-0. The Rats looked poised to respond to the North Shore’s score thanks to a stolen kickoff by Jerry Kenneally, however the Rats could not capitalize as they conceded too many penalties, which allowed North Shore to march down the pitch. Another penalty inside the Rats’ 10-meter line allowed North Shore to score their second try, extending their lead to 12-0. The Rats stole the kickoff again, however due to bad scrumming; the Rats could not have controlled possessions. Another penalty gave North Shore a chance to extend their lead, which they after converting on a penalty kick, making the score, 15-0. As time expired North Shore was regained possession inside the Rats’ 5-meter line and their scrum half found a hole in the Rats’ defense, however thanks to a held-up ball in the try zone, North Shore was unable to extend their lead.
The Rats defense improved in the 2nd half thanks to key substitutions and better tackling. Ten minutes into the period, North Shore was primed to score another try due their inside center finding a hole in the Rats’ defense, however Corey Lang made a try-saving tackle and forced a knock-on. The ensuing scrum set the stage for the Rats’ play of the game. After a shaking scrum, Ricky Friberg had too much pressure to successful kick the ball away, so he passed the ball to Jerry Kenneally, who broke the North Shore line and raced 50 meters downfield with Friberg and Corey Lang in support, after an offload to Friberg, the North Shore pursuers where guilt of a penalty inside the 10-meter line. Friberg decide to execute a “quick-tap” at the penalty mark due to a numbers advantage on the wide side, as Friberg attempted to pass to Kenneally, a North Shore player intentionally knocked the ball on, prompting the referee to award a penalty try to Charles River, cutting the scoring gap, 17-7. A big reason for the improved Rats’ defense was the scarcity of penalties they conceded. In the 1st half, the Rats gave up 10 penalties; in the 2nd half the Rats only give North Shore one penalty opportunity. Late in the second half, North Shore finally broke the Rats’ defensive line thanks to an overload, as they scored an insurance try.
FINAL SCORE: NORTH SHORE RFC 22; CHARLES RIVER RFC 7
Man of the Match: Mike Fair. Thanks to his aggressive play and smart defense, Mike Fair was the biggest reason why the Rats clamped down on defense in the second half. He also had the hit of the game when he literally picked up a ball carrier and drove him back five meters.
Honorable Mentions: Dana Etherington, Ricky Friberg, Alex Swayne and Ray Camahort
B-Side Match
Thanks to some Old Boys (Frank and Dan Lewis), some eager rookies (Alex Swayne, Mark
Cassidy, Chris Garnder and Silas Leavitt) and an aggressive defensive effort, the Orange Whips prevailed over the North Shore’s B-side. W.E. David Halbert, Dominic Ferrante and Alex Swayne scored tries for the Orange Whips.
FINAL SCORE: CHARLES RIVER RFC 17, NORTH SHORE RFC 5
Man of the Match: Andrew Jackson. J-Hole was responsible for setting Halbert’s try and provided great defensive intensity for the Orange Whips. Since he is on the sober train, he did not par-take in the Man of the Match boat race, however Jerry Kenneally took his place and the Rats once again won the boat race.
Honorable Mentions: “Keyless” Jerry Calixte, W.E. David Halbert, Dave McVey
Scoring Table
| PLAYER | TRIES | PENTALIES | CONVERSIONS | TOTAL PTS. |
| R. Friberg | .5[1] | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
| J. Kenneally | .5 | 0 | 1 | 4.5 |