The unveiling of black jerseys just moments before a game proved to give another Bobcat team a boost.
Or maybe it was the fact that Ohio’s club rugby team had a win-or-go-home scenario Saturday against Ball State. The Cardinals were the ones to go home as the Bobcats won the match, 31-26, at the intramural fields on South Green.
With the win, Ohio clinched the Ohio Rugby Union Division II Championship. The Bobcats also earned a No. 1 seed in the Midwest playoffs next Saturday in Pittsburgh. For the second straight year they will play West Virginia.
The Bobcats struck early with a Pat Van Horn penalty goal that gave them a three-point lead. Shortly after, Troy Keener scored a try — the equivalent to a touchdown — and Van Horn made the conversion to put Ohio ahead 10-0.
The home team dominated most of the first half, but that did not intimidate the Cardinals. With mere seconds remaining in the half, the teams skirmished on the goal line.
The Cardinals managed to score a try and made the conversion with no time on the clock.
The late score shifted the momentum in Ball State’s favor and opened the door for a Bobcat collapse. But Ohio head coach Willie Griffes told his team what he has been telling them all year long at halftime: “The score is zero to zero.”
The team’s closeness was evident as the match continued.
“Our captain told us to keep our composure. We were a man down, and we had to play for each other,” junior Ryan Miranda said. “The motto for the year has been ‘Play with heart and play for each other.’”
And that is exactly what Miranda did. He scored an early try in the second half while Ohio was a man short because of a penalty.
Miranda broke his nose on the play, but he set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Bobcats scored twice more in the second half on tries by Christian Addis and Chris Schade.
Ball State scored three tries in the second half but missed one of the conversions. Ohio’s early penalty score would prove costly for the Cardinals.
The Bobcats had four tries and four conversions. Ball State had four tries but only two conversions. The Bobcats managed to wear the Cardinals down mentally and physically throughout the game.
be375607@ohiou.edu
