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UPublish story by rugbyreporter
POSTED: 04:54 p.m. EDT, Sep 16, 2008
Behind one of the greatest single match performances in Akron Rugby history, the Akron Rugby Football Club got back on track in the Midwest Playoff race this past Saturday. After an losing their Eastern Division league opener to the Cleveland Eastern Suburbs, Akron had their backs against the wall while facing another tough opponent in the Cleveland Rovers. Akron flanker, Cory Langenbeck led Akron to a huge 44-10 win over the Rovers. Langenbeck, scored an unheard of five tries in what may be an Akron Rugby single match record. The win over the Rovers was huge for Akron as they now have their two toughest league matches out of the way. As long as they take care of business in the remainder of their league schedule, Akron will advance to the Midwest Playoffs for the third straight season.The match was played at Akron's facility located in Copley under extremely poor conditions which made Akron's performance that much greater. Playing in soggy and wet conditions is never conducive to quality rugby. Further stacking the deck against Akron was the fact that they were playing without three starters as flyhalf Grant Johnson, inside center Andrew Martin, and flanker Kevin McClain all were sidelined with injuries. Akron was bolstered by the return to the lineup of hooker Luke Hillebrecht and back Steve Karlovec who hadn't played since the clubs trip to the Can-Am Tournament in Saranac Lake, NY. Hillebrecht had missed last week's match with a hand injury and was vital in Akron's scrummaging efforts.
With the extreme weather conditions, Akron stuck to a very simple game plan that focused on the basics. It paid off big time for Akron as they ate up the lion’s share of the possession and kept the Rovers on their heels all match long.
Akron came out with intensity and immediately put the Rovers under pressure. Akron would dominate the scrums and lineouts the entire match and use the excellent platform to launch their offensive attack. Langenbeck would cross over for the first score after taking a pass from inside center Bryan Rector deep in Rovers territory. Eightman, Ted Hardy would be next to score for Akron after getting a nice offload from prop Jamie Keeney near the Rovers line. A handful of Akron penalties would give the Rovers a shot at getting on the scoreboard. After pressuring the Akron goal line for a few minute, a Rovers player broke through for a sure fire try only to be met by Hardy at the goal line. Langenbeck would follow up and knock the ball loose and keep the Rovers from scoring what would have been an important score. Rookie fullback, Brandon Rotili would then slot a penalty goal to give Akron a solid 15-0 lead headed into halftime. Rotili did a fine job filling in with the kicking duties for Akron with both of their main kickers on the sideline with injuries.
Akron would start the second half a man down as scrumhalf Andy Gilbert would be sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. Undaunted by the short numbers, Akron scored first in the second half after Langenbeck ran back a Rover’s clearance kick that did not find touch. The score would prove to be big for Akron as the Rovers used their one man advantage to finally get in the scoreboard and cut the Akron lead to 22-5. Shortly after, Langenbeck would cross for his third score of the match and essentially seal the Rover’s fate. Even with the big lead, Akron did not rest as Langenbeck would cross over for two more scores and rookie wing Pete Kohnen would score as well. The Rovers would add a late score, but it the score was well out of hand at the time.
The effort by Akron energized the fan base. The defense came up strong all match long with plenty of big hits and pressured the Rovers into mistakes that led directly to scores. Flyhalf Steve Karlovec led a very businesslike offensive attack for Akron as he and Rector punched holes in the Rover’s defensive lines all match which opened up room and created scoring opportunities.
Langenbeck enjoyed the type of match that comes once in a lifetime, but he has plans on repeating the effort in the near future. It was a monumental effort in a very important match for Akron, but it shouldn’t overshadow the overall performance of the club against one of their most heated rivals.
Said Akron Coach, Tom Little, “Before the match Cory said that he and Ted (Hardy) would need to take over the match, I just didn’t imagine it would be that huge.”
Final Score
Akron 44 Rovers 10
Akron Lineup
1: Manuel 2: Hillebrecht 3: Keeny (Whitney @ 70) 4: Trunkett (Courson @ 70) 5: Dunchuck (Cody @ 40) 6: Langenbeck 7: R. Karlovec 8: Hardy (Devia @ 65) 9: Gilbert (Stanphill @ 70) 10: S. Karlovec 11: Hampton 12: Rector (Capt) 13: DiFrancesco 14: Kohnen 15: Rotili
Akron Scoring
Tries: Langenbeck (5), Hardy, Kohnen
Conversions: Rotili 3 for 7
Penalty Kicks: Rotili 1 for 1
The Akron B’s side followed the match with a closely fought effort against the Rover’s B Side. The Killer B’s put themselves in an early hole in the first half after giving up back to back scores within minutes of each other. They came fighting back in the second half, but just couldn’t catch up and went down in defeat 27-17. Scoring for the Akron Killer B’s was Pete Kohnen, David DiFrancesco, and Mark Burnett.
Next up for the Akron Rugby Football Club: The men travel to Erie as they continue their Eastern Division League play. Akron defeated Erie soundly last season, but Erie is a wild card in the Eastern Division as they tend to run hot and cold. The one thing that is certain is that Erie plays very well at home and should be a stern test for Akron. Erie is off to a good start having won both of their league matches so far and a win over Akron could put them on the inside track to a playoff spot. Akron will be looking to stay away from a letdown and continue to use their fitness to pressure Erie into mistakes.
To learn more about the Akron Rugby Football Club, please visit their website at www.akronrugby.com .
Behind one of the greatest single match performances in Akron Rugby history, the Akron Rugby Football Club got back on track in the Midwest Playoff race this past Saturday. After an losing their Eastern Division league opener to the Cleveland Eastern Suburbs, Akron had their backs against the wall while facing another tough opponent in the Cleveland Rovers. Akron flanker, Cory Langenbeck led Akron to a huge 44-10 win over the Rovers. Langenbeck, scored an unheard of five tries in what may be an Akron Rugby single match record. The win over the Rovers was huge for Akron as they now have their two toughest league matches out of the way. As long as they take care of business in the remainder of their league schedule, Akron will advance to the Midwest Playoffs for the third straight season.
The match was played at Akron's facility located in Copley under extremely poor conditions which made Akron's performance that much greater. Playing in soggy and wet conditions is never conducive to quality rugby. Further stacking the deck against Akron was the fact that they were playing without three starters as flyhalf Grant Johnson, inside center Andrew Martin, and flanker Kevin McClain all were sidelined with injuries. Akron was bolstered by the return to the lineup of hooker Luke Hillebrecht and back Steve Karlovec who hadn't played since the clubs trip to the Can-Am Tournament in Saranac Lake, NY. Hillebrecht had missed last week's match with a hand injury and was vital in Akron's scrummaging efforts.
With the extreme weather conditions, Akron stuck to a very simple game plan that focused on the basics. It paid off big time for Akron as they ate up the lion’s share of the possession and kept the Rovers on their heels all match long.
Akron came out with intensity and immediately put the Rovers under pressure. Akron would dominate the scrums and lineouts the entire match and use the excellent platform to launch their offensive attack. Langenbeck would cross over for the first score after taking a pass from inside center Bryan Rector deep in Rovers territory. Eightman, Ted Hardy would be next to score for Akron after getting a nice offload from prop Jamie Keeney near the Rovers line. A handful of Akron penalties would give the Rovers a shot at getting on the scoreboard. After pressuring the Akron goal line for a few minute, a Rovers player broke through for a sure fire try only to be met by Hardy at the goal line. Langenbeck would follow up and knock the ball loose and keep the Rovers from scoring what would have been an important score. Rookie fullback, Brandon Rotili would then slot a penalty goal to give Akron a solid 15-0 lead headed into halftime. Rotili did a fine job filling in with the kicking duties for Akron with both of their main kickers on the sideline with injuries.
Akron would start the second half a man down as scrumhalf Andy Gilbert would be sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. Undaunted by the short numbers, Akron scored first in the second half after Langenbeck ran back a Rover’s clearance kick that did not find touch. The score would prove to be big for Akron as the Rovers used their one man advantage to finally get in the scoreboard and cut the Akron lead to 22-5. Shortly after, Langenbeck would cross for his third score of the match and essentially seal the Rover’s fate. Even with the big lead, Akron did not rest as Langenbeck would cross over for two more scores and rookie wing Pete Kohnen would score as well. The Rovers would add a late score, but it the score was well out of hand at the time.
The effort by Akron energized the fan base. The defense came up strong all match long with plenty of big hits and pressured the Rovers into mistakes that led directly to scores. Flyhalf Steve Karlovec led a very businesslike offensive attack for Akron as he and Rector punched holes in the Rover’s defensive lines all match which opened up room and created scoring opportunities.
Langenbeck enjoyed the type of match that comes once in a lifetime, but he has plans on repeating the effort in the near future. It was a monumental effort in a very important match for Akron, but it shouldn’t overshadow the overall performance of the club against one of their most heated rivals.
Said Akron Coach, Tom Little, “Before the match Cory said that he and Ted (Hardy) would need to take over the match, I just didn’t imagine it would be that huge.”
Final Score
Akron 44 Rovers 10
Akron Lineup
1: Manuel 2: Hillebrecht 3: Keeny (Whitney @ 70) 4: Trunkett (Courson @ 70) 5: Dunchuck (Cody @ 40) 6: Langenbeck 7: R. Karlovec 8: Hardy (Devia @ 65) 9: Gilbert (Stanphill @ 70) 10: S. Karlovec 11: Hampton 12: Rector (Capt) 13: DiFrancesco 14: Kohnen 15: Rotili
Akron Scoring
Tries: Langenbeck (5), Hardy, Kohnen
Conversions: Rotili 3 for 7
Penalty Kicks: Rotili 1 for 1
The Akron B’s side followed the match with a closely fought effort against the Rover’s B Side. The Killer B’s put themselves in an early hole in the first half after giving up back to back scores within minutes of each other. They came fighting back in the second half, but just couldn’t catch up and went down in defeat 27-17. Scoring for the Akron Killer B’s was Pete Kohnen, David DiFrancesco, and Mark Burnett.
Next up for the Akron Rugby Football Club: The men travel to Erie as they continue their Eastern Division League play. Akron defeated Erie soundly last season, but Erie is a wild card in the Eastern Division as they tend to run hot and cold. The one thing that is certain is that Erie plays very well at home and should be a stern test for Akron. Erie is off to a good start having won both of their league matches so far and a win over Akron could put them on the inside track to a playoff spot. Akron will be looking to stay away from a letdown and continue to use their fitness to pressure Erie into mistakes.
To learn more about the Akron Rugby Football Club, please visit their website at www.akronrugby.com .
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