When the final whistle blew this past Saturday, the Doylestown Dragons solidified their second consecutive undefeated season. The game was never in doubt. The Dragons truly came ready to play on this perfect day for rugby. Overcoming some missed calls early in the game, the play was dominant from the men's team. Early trys were scored in either corner by Aaron Green and Eric French. This was the second consecutive game with a try from Aaron Green whose really been finding his form as of late. Eric French, business as usual. Flyhalf Dylan Hamilton was unable to connect on two difficult attempts but was orchestrating the offense nicely.
The single strategic low point of the game was a series of breaks on the right flank by Lehigh Valley backs. This ultimately led to a hard won try by a streaking LV back with a conversion to boot. 10-7 Doylestown. The remaining minutes of the first half were thoroughly dominated by Doylestown. Two trys from Kevin Reilly Jr., one more from Eric French. Paired with a 3/3 showing by Hamilton on his remaining kicks, the score at half time was 31-7. Lehigh Valley were consistently frustrated at their inability to develop any type of phase play, with the Doylestown defense just too much for them.
The second half kicked off much like the first. Solid defense, big runs, and lots of points for Doylestown. In his second game with the Dragons, outside center Bruce Dolan dotted down twice. Both converted. Dolan's scores sandwiched a great score by captain Dave Kornock. His leadership has been a huge part of the continued growth the team has consistently shown this season.
Hamilton, who demonstrated a superior ability to create opportunity for his team, with deft touch and solid decision making, scored his own second half try. This try was the largest chunk of his 21 points on the day. The final two trys of the day came courtesy of Kevin Reilly III, who was playing at flanker by this point in the game, and Max Compo. Final Score 71-7 Dragons.
With the #1 seed in the MAC North, the Dragons next host the MAC North #4 seed, Lancaster Roses. The game will be played this Saturday at home at 1PM. On the other side of the bracket, #2 seed Old Gaelic host #3 seed Philadelphia-Whitemarsh. The winners of these games will meet at Brandywine's field, on April 27th, to decide who goes to play in the MAC Championship game at Founder's Field in Pittsburgh.
We hope to see you all this weekend. Let's flood the sidelines with Doylestown support. This will be the final home outing for the men's team as they make another run at a National Championship.