Pam Smortchevsky (photo)
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Scoring eight tries, the West dominated all aspects of the game.
“They have a very good team,” Falcons coach Ray Lehner said. “You allow them one missed tackle and they will use that against you every time. However, I really think there was more in us than that. I don’t think we played very well at all.”
Canada West had opened up a 17-0 buffer after only 20 minutes and the writing was on the wall for the Falcs. The Falcons' defense continued to hold firm for 15 minutes until Adam Kleeberger was once again able to break the gain line, this time close to a ruck near center. The Canada West captain showed his pace as he was able to beat fullback Jone Naqica to score his second try of the half.
The conversion was charged down and deflected wide; leaving Canada West with a 22-0 at the break.
Early in the second half, the Falcons were able to get into Canada West's half, where they earned advantage in front of the posts. Knowing he had a free shot, flyhalf Zachary Pangelinan dropped a goal to get the Falcons on the board at 22-3. That was the only scoring the Falcs could manage.
“We put a lot into our comeback,” Lehner said later. “The guys were unable to get much offensively out of all that effort and I think that’s when they started to let themselves down.”
With a record of 3-0, Canada West finish top of the heap heading into the semifinals in Colorado. The Falcons, at 2-1, will carry the #2 seed into the semis.
Earlier, the US Hawks finally got off the snide by downing Canada East 32-5.
“It’s really nice to leave Canada with a ‘W’,” Hawks coach Marty Wiggins said. “But more than that, it seems the pendulum has finally fallen. We were able to see a step up from everyone, individually, which really was a positive step forward for the team.”
The Hawks maintained their first possession after kickoff and marched steadily down the field about 80 meters before being awarded a penalty right in front of the uprights. Mike Graham easily converted and with only five minutes down for a 3-0 lead.
The East would get their own chance at a penalty kick within reasonable distance, but missed. The Canadians regained possession, however, and a well-placed a kick to the Hawks corner put the East in a great position to steal the ball and touch down their first try of the match. Chauncey O’Toole was the player awarded the try and the East led 5-3, after a missed conversion.
The game went back and forth with several missed opportunities and somewhat erratic play on both sides until Graham made his second penalty kick of the day to put the Hawks back in front at 6-5.
The Hawks weren’t done yet, however, and winger Justin Boyd was able to make a clean break down the sideline just as the first half wound down. Graham converted and the Hawks went into break up 13-5.
The Hawks came out looking a bit more comfortable and were able to score quickly after Phil Thiel took advantage of a five meter lineout and rucked one over the try line. Graham wasn’t able to convert from the corner angle, but the Hawks were sitting comfortably with their largest lead of the tournament, at 18-5. Ten minutes and several recycled opportunities later, Mike Petri took the ball on his own, pushing over to get the try near the posts. Graham easily converted this one and the Hawks were ahead 25 -5.
The East did their best to put some sort of offensive effort together, but their fate was sealed when Keiki Misipeka managed a short grubber kick, which he was able to touch down under the posts. Justin Hundley converted for a final score of 32-5.
“It’s always nice to come away with a win,” Co-captain John Van der Giessen said. “We’ve always known what we were capable of and we’re confident in our abilities. It just took us until now to finally to put it together.”