Boys End Rugby Season Victorious

Harvey’s boys rugby team capped off their season with an impressive 21-17 win Wednesday, under the lights against the Warwick Highlanders in Orange County.

The Harvey boys dominated the first 17 minutes of possession and territory from the opening whistle. Pounding runs by Charles Treseler, Dan Gasch, and James Miller, coupled with forays from field captain Clayton Collum kept the Highlanders on their collective heels.

It was a physical match throughout the first half, but both defenses were stiff in their resolve. Harvey finally found points in the 32nd minute of play as Collum found Miller, who broke two tackles and touched down. Collum converted, and Harvey led 7-0 heading to halftime.

The second half saw much of the same -- physical runs by both squads with equally physical tackling. Neither team backed down. Miller found points again in the narrow pitch in the 38th minute of play, and another Collum conversion was true to pad Harvey’s lead to 14-0.

The Highlanders would answer back in the 41st minute to cut Harvey’s lead in half.  The Cavaliers narrowly missed an opportunity to widen their lead after Collum deftly kicked the ball left and it was taken, on a bounce, at full speed by Aguilar. Khalil, who was dragged down while dotting down. The referee, however, saw it differently. Undeterred, the boys soldiered on.

In the 50th minute, Collum darted between two would-be tacklers and, with his conversion, upped Harvey’s lead to 21 to 7.

The Highlanders capitalized on a midfield turnover in the 60th minute and scored, but their conversion failed. The host team scored again in the 68th minute of play, and with the conversion, Harvey’s lead was trimmed to 21 to 17.

After the restart, the Highlanders maintained possession, and after a penalty and several phases, they were within 10 meters of taking the lead. The Harvey boys dug deep and prevented the Highlanders from a home victory.

Harvey finishes the season with a 3-4 record.