43
REPEAT DENIED
Avon Lake ends East’s dream of another title
By Tom Williams
AVON LAKE
Forty-three unanswered points ended the East High School rugby team’s dream of a return to state.
“Just sad,” East senior D’Marcus Carr said after Sunday’s 43-7 Division II tournament loss to top-seeded Avon Lake (10-0) that ended his varsity career.
“Coming back to state [tournament contention], it felt amazing,” Carr said. “We became a family.”
Sunday’s loss ended East’s second rugby season, one year after the Golden Bears won the Division III state championship. This season, there are only two divisions.
“When we first started, we were fresh,” said Carr, who wants to play rugby in college next year but hasn’t made his decision. “We didn’t know rugby at all.
“So it feels amazing to be able to communicate with each other, to become family, to become brothers,” Carr said
Carr admitted disappointment that the Golden Bears (7-1-1), coming off their 103-0 victory over Canal Fulton Northwest on May 10, did not put up more of a fight against the Shoremen.
“[We] could have done way better,” Carr said. “It’s been amazing — I’m proud to say I’m a Golden Bear.”
The Golden Bears took the lead about 10 minutes into the first half when Timmy Bowser, a student at Boardman High School, scored for a 5-0 lead. Hunter Mathie’s conversion kick made it 7-0.
Seven minutes later, the Shoremen tied the game.
“Big bodies,” Bowser said. “They all know the game, better than us at least.”
Bill Burton, East’s interim head coach, call the Shoremen a “traditional power.”
The Golden Bears held their own until the final minutes of the first half. Josef Knelp scored for a 12-7 lead (Hunter Simons’ conversion kick failed). Then as time expired, Simons’ successful kick made it 15-7.
Traci Cain, East athletic director, said it was the first time this season that the Golden Bears trailed so late into a game.
“It’s a great group of kids,” Burton said. “There’s been a big whirlwind around them all year and they’ve played through it.
“Today just wasn’t their day.”
Burton, who is Chaney’s head coach, led the Golden Bears in 2018. He took over the Golden Bears earlier this month when East head coach Tamara Gandy was suspended after the Ohio Rugby Union, the governing body for rugby in Ohio, notified East that she did not have a Level 200 coaching certificate.
“I give credit to the kids on how they’ve pulled together all year long,” Burton said. “They played hard, did the best they could.
The Shoremen dominated the second half. The lead grew to 24-7 about four minutes into the second half with Jack McCrum’s try and Simons’ conversion kick.
Simons, Abud Salem and Quentin von der Leith scored to seal the victory.
“I knew they were going to play well,” Burton said. “Sometimes the ball bounces for you, sometimes it doesn’t.
“It did not bounce our way.”
Bowser said the Golden Bears have room to improve even though they played nine times before losing.
“Next year, we’ve just going to have to learn the game a lot more,” Bowser said. “We’ve got to come back, maybe try a little harder practice-wise, stuff like that.”