Behind a staunch defense and punishing attack in the final of the MAC 7s Series finale in Columbia, Md. Saturday, Schuylkill River blew out the Maryland Exiles to clinch the MAC Championship and top CONFERENCE seed going to the National Playoffs. Schuylkill scored six first half tries and their defense stifled the Exiles offense at each turn. When the final whistle was heard, Schuylkill River ran away with the MAC crown with a score of 43-0.

“We are peaking at the right time. From the performances earlier in the day, I wouldn’t have said we could have done this, but every game we got better,” Schuylkill coach Chris Ryan told Rugby Today. “It’s all about defense. Defense LEADS to short tries. Nobody needs to score 90-meter tries. 25-meter tries are just the same.”

The eight top qualifying teams in the MAC CONFERENCE participated Saturday. They were broken into two POOLS: the Maryland Exiles, Pittsburgh, Rocky Gorge, and Baltimore-Chesapeake and Schuylkill River, NOVA, Washington, and Norfolk. Schuylkill and the Exiles were undefeated in pool play and NOVA and Baltimore-Chesapeake advanced to the playoff round. In the semifinals, the Exiles beat NOVA 26-10 and Schuylkill dispatched of Baltimore-Chesapeake 31-7.

The semifinals set up the third championship final in a row between the same two teams. Reaching the final, both Schuylkill and the Exiles further cemented their places atop the conference. With both teams already mathematically qualified for Nationals, the MAC Championship would decide the top seed.

The scoring started with Schuylkill’s Glen Thommes, who ran around the wing to score in the center. A flat pass into a crash inside allowed Bruce Dolan to dart in for the team’s second try. Louis Tulio had his first of three tries in the match when he took control and ran the right gap for the score. Schuylkill was doing an excellent JOB limiting the Exiles’ offense and creating opportunities to score.

Pat Boyle scored his first try of the match after a dummy pass, and Jamie Gregory set up Dolan for his second try with a long pass to an open Dolan on the wing. Tulio scored the last two tries of the match from pick and goes from the back of rucks to complete the shutout.

Maryland Exiles coach Chis Mahony said that his team’s performance was, “incredibly disappointing. We warmed up poorly and we didn’t take it as seriously as we should have. Unfortunately, as soon as they scored their first try we started to panic and we went away from our systems. The disappointing thing was that people started to play the game by themselves. It was a good lesson to have before we go out to Nationals.”

Coach Ryan is optimistic about his team’s chances in the playoffs. “Four years in a row we have been the top seed out of the MAC. We are hoping to repeat the magic of three years ago. I expect to be in the final. No other reason to do it.”

At Nationals in Seattle, Schuylkill River will be in the Pool A with the Seattle Saracens, New Orleans and the Kansas City Blues and the Exiles are in Pool B with 1823 Rugby (OH), Old Blue, and Belmont Shore.

CLUB 7S
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