(Kelley Cox-Cal Media Relations photo)

As the dust settles on the Round of 16, coaches and players are digesting the results of Friday’s games in Albuquerque, NM, and getting set for Saturday’s matchups.

ARN managed to catch up with some of those involved to present a collage of quotes and comments.

San Diego State 32-15 Arkansas State:
“We haven’t been beat like that in the scrum all year and they [Arkansas State] beat us, that’s exactly what they did,” San Diego State head coach Dan Payne told us. “They have a good solid pack and they took it to us scrumming.

“We won the game for SoCal, which is very important to us. We’re representing San Diego State, but we’re representing Southern California and we want to keep our seed in the national tournament for next year.”

Kutztown 27-23 Bowling Green:
“It came down to inches,” said BGSU flyhalf Nick Viviani. “One play here and one play there could’ve changed the game. Everyone contributed together.”

BYU 48-22 Dartmouth:
“They [Dartmouth] didn’t lie down and were hungrier around the breakdown than we were,” commented BYU head coach David Smyth. “They were smart and they were prepared.

“Once we got into the things that we planned, we were able to do what we wanted to do.”

St Mary’s 52-40 Air Force:
“We did some nice things, but our midfield defense on multi-phase ball was non-existent,” added St Mary’s head coach Tim O’Brien. “We just got caught looking in the midfield.”

Cal Poly 51-27 Army:
“I’m thrilled with the way the boys played,” remarked Cal Poly head coach Nick Massman. “We had a couple of flat spots, let a couple of soft tries in there, but the rest of the day was just hard work and we capitalized every chance we had down in close. Can’t complain, it was a W.

“We matched up all the way through and for the most part I think we handled our game plan.”

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