THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Exiles travelled to Pittsburgh on Saturday and ended up earning a 20-20 draw. Matt “The Hawk” Henderson scored a try and Bob Rosato scored twice. Owen Jones earned a “Jones-Bro” hat trick which consists of a penalty kick, conversion, and a black eye.

The Exiles currently sit in third place but have a home game against Norfolk coming up so it appears that we control our own destiny in our quest for a home playoff game. According to Coach Bill Jalbert we’ve got our work cut out for us and it’s time to grind hard. One up tackling must be our top priority.

Captain Randy Helsman’s view is that it was a tale of two halves. Oddly enough both sides played better/more aggressively against the strong winds because you had to run it out instead of relying on the foot. Though it’s not an ideal outcome a tie allowed us to come home with some points from one of the tougher spots to travel to.

The Troop had a clear mission on Saturday, travel to Happy Valley and get a win in order to qualify for MAC playoffs, and I am happy to report that thanks to our emphasis on friendship the mission was accomplished in a 41-17 victory. Coach Michael “Arizona” Clark’s win streak has already crossed international and state lines and now he can add Centre County PA to the municipalities that have felt the wrath of his victory march.

Try scorers in this match includes Sea Isle’s Finest Frank Feola X2, Austin Lucas, Tim Lowe, and John “Hines” Hines Jr X2. Dan Callahan’s foot was golden as he added 4 conversion and a penalty in very difficult conditions.

According to Coach Arizona, after struggling with kick offs and the winter conditions, the team was able to come together and get an early lead by working our system and playing stingy defense. We were able to make up for our mistakes with our strong scrumming and our ability to move the ball.

Captain Dan Callahan stated that Troop’s ever rotating ensemble of players looked good this weekend. We overcame adverse weather conditions and a long drive to get the win and Captain Callahan thinks this team looks ready for the playoffs. As a Kutztown Golden Bear Dan has less than fond memories of Penn State so it also felt good to get a victory on their campus.

The Nomads travelled to North Penn on Sunday and tied 15-15. According to Coach JB both teams fought to the end in sloppy conditions. The tie brings the Nomads record to 1-1-1 (2-1-1 overall). Scoring for the Nomads were Keyon McCloud X2, and Alandy Fleury (1/2 on conversions, 1/1 on penalty kicks). Congrats to David Barksy on being named Nomad of the Match. His leadership in the back 3 really shined through.

The Otters unfortunately were snowed out this weekend against Warwick and are looking into make-up dates.

THE WEEK THAT IS
Friends and Family Day is this weekend!
At Pennypack on Saturday we’ll have an Old Boys game against Harrisburg followed by D3 hosting North Penn and D1 hosting Baltimore. This will be a family friendly event so please make an effort to be there and spread the word to your loved ones.

On Sunday the Nomads are home against Blackthorn and the Otters travel to Elizabethtown.

THE WEEKS THAT WILL BE
The Exiles have a big home game on April 30 against Norfolk and could use as much support as possible on the sidelines. Troop has qualified for playoffs starting May 7 so we’ll be sure to update everyone once we know where that match is taking place. We are hosting a 7s tournament on May 21 for High School, College and Men’s sides and anyone who is interested in entering a side can reach out to me directly.