(Bronislaw Grala photo)
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Yep, from now through the national championship next spring, it’s all about collegiate rugby baby.
On tap this weekend, which signals opening day in the New England and New York State conferences, plus the Mid-Atlantic Premier League, there are some pretty good matchups to get things rolling.
In what should be a mouthwatering contest, Penn State is scheduled to host Ohio State in a showdown between two of the top guns from the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest Premier leagues.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 43-0 shutout of Ohio last week and are one of the early season picks to win the newly formed Midwest Premier League, while the Nittany Lions have also begun their fall campaign on a winning note.
Perennial ARN Down Under Endeavours Top 25 team Navy kicks off Mid-Atlantic Premier League action by hosting the Hokies of Virginia Tech. The Midshipmen did pretty well in their very early preseason hit-outs in Canada over the Labor Day long weekend and will be looking to start their 2008/09 campaign on a winning note.
If past seasons are anything to go by, VTech will likely do it tough.
And in other non-conference games, fellow Mid-Atlantic Premier League powers Kutztown and Delaware are due to play Georgetown and St Joe’s respectively. Look for the Golden Bears and Fighting Blue Hens to run roughshod over their opposition.
In New England, two games in particular are fairly mouthwatering. Harvard is at Army and Dartmouth travels to Boston College to kick things off. These four teams are all potential playoff teams come the end of the regular season.
And in New York State, new chums Albany make their Premier Division I league debut against Binghamton. The former DII hotshots could find the going a bit tougher at the higher level.
ARN is pleased to welcome Erin Jones to our staff of writers. Erin will be giving us a hand with our college coverage, and she’ll start by covering the NYS conference this weekend.