This past Saturday saw Kenmore Rugby's high school boys play their second round of league pod matches, against Corning and Syracuse. On Sunday, the middle school teams traveled to Corning for Round 3 of the RugbyNY Middle School 7s Series.
The high school boys dropped both of their matches, losing 43-7 against Corning, and 54-0 versus Syracuse. The lone try came from Michael Greene, with Aiden O'Malley hitting the conversion. It was a tough day for the team, with a handful of players going down early on with injuries. Despite only having 15 players for the second match, the team showed the spirit that Kenmore is known for and continued to battle all day. Josh Banaszak took Man of the Match honors for the first match, transitioning from Hooker to Fly-Half and smoothly taking command of the attack and stringing together several sequences of sustained and organized offense. O'Malley earned Man of the Match against Syracuse as he put the team on his shoulders making impact plays on attack and defense from the first minute to the last.
"It was a frustrating day on the scoreboard, but there was much to be proud of. Several boys - across the line-up - were playing out of position and taking on more minutes and responsibilities than they previously have had. Despite tough results, the coaching staff is nonetheless consistently impressed by the team's growth, and more importantly, their continuous commitment and support of one another. " - Kenmore Rugby HS Boys Head Coach Mackenzie Doolittle
Kenmore's middle school sides saw plenty of individual growth this weekend, including two players scoring their first middle school tries! Several players saw extra playing time, including multiple 5th grade boys getting a callup to the U14 team. Due to light numbers, the boys side combined with Syracuse for their first two matches, losing to Corning and McQuaid 40-15 and 30-25, respectively. In the final game, they combined with Corning and defeated Syracuse/McQuaid 35-10. Randy Schaus recorded a hat trick, Sean Krawczyk added two tries, and Zeke Schutt and Daniel Mayfield added one each. It was Mayfield's first middle school try, and the team erupted as he broke away from the defense and raced 20 meters for the score.
Kenmore's middle school girls combined with City Honors for the day, playing three matches against Corning/Syracuse. They won all three, by scores of 45-5, 25-20, and 30-15. Natalie Marzullo scored the game winner in the second match, moments before the final whistle sounded. It was one of her four tries on the day. Briella Macleod added two tries, and Jillian Wing scored her first middle school try. The girls were in high spirits all day, energized from Wing's score, and carried that momentum throughout the tournament.
"This is such an amazing group of kids to work with. Every single one of them has bought into what we're building here, and they continue to earn positive results both on the scoreboard and in their individual games." - Kenmore Rugby MS Head Coach John Bressette
This week once again will see all four teams in action. On Saturday, the middle school sides head to Syracuse for the penultimate tournament this season. Back home, the high school boys host pod matches against Orchard Park and Grand Island. On Sunday, the high school girls travel to Fairport fresh off their bye week and hungry for another win.
Founded in 2004, the Kenmore Rugby Club is WNY's oldest and largest youth & high school rugby club with over 100 active players in grades K-12.
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