Utah Valley Has Physical Encounter With Snow College
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Many in the Utah Valley Camp considered this the biggest game of the year, even though it fell in the second week of the season. But it didn’t fail to disappoint as the two finalists for the Utah Rugby Union Championship from a season ago battled it out in their first match since Snow College advanced onto the Pacific Coast Playoffs. Things were different this time around though and the new blood that has joined the Utah Valley team helped pull out a 12-7 victory in what is quickly becoming a rivalry game for both teams.
Right from kick off both teams tried to enforce their style of play and it was Utah Valley that was rewarded early with a penalty following a yellow card to a Snow player for a high tackle. Kicker Joe Carnation was unable to connect and the scores stayed at zero with Utah Valley now having an extra man for 10 minutes. Utah Valley failed to capitalize though and when the Snow player was reinstated in the 15th minute, both teams had nothing to show for their hard work. Utah Valley kept applying pressure though and in the 20th minute, halfback Ethan Timoko took a quick tap on a penalty and passed to a fast charging Fotu Katoa Jr who crashed his way through a handful of Snow players to score a fine try 15 meters to the right of the uprights. Joe Carnation’s attempt to add the extra two points was unsuccessful and Utah Valley had a 5-0 lead.
Utah Valley's Johnny Schumacher evades would be tacklers
Immediately from the ensuing kickoff, Snow College settled into the match and started the dynamic attacking that any who have played them know all too well. After a number of crash phases, quick ball resulted in a line break that was stopped by inside center Malakai Tuakimoana. The referee however deemed the tackle to be high and Utah Valley was reduced to 14 men for ten minutes. Snow College took the penalty quickly, but the Utah Valley defense stood resolute. The first half continued much the same way, with Snow College keeping the ball in hand and trying to use their players significant size advantage to bash through the Utah Valley line. Utah Valley had sparse opportunities that they were unable to convert due to some messy backline exchanges. Carnation had another couple of penalty kick attempts for Utah Valley, but was unable to find his rhythm in the first half and the teams went into the break with Utah Valley holding a slim 5-0 lead over Snow College.
After a stern talking to at the half, Utah Valley rang the changes and put in a new tight five just after half time. The new players took a moment or two to adjust to the physical intensity of the match, but as they started to get a grasp for things, Utah Valley put together their best attacking phase of the match. Holding the ball for 10 + phases, Utah Valley attacked up the left side of the field, inching their way closer and closer to the try line. About 2 meters out from the line and with the Snow College defense being stretched to its limits, a Snow College player was deemed to have deliberately killed the ball to stop Utah Valley from scoring a try. The referee was in perfect position to see this and wasted no time in awarding a penalty try for the professional foul. With the conversion attempt right in front of the uprights, Carnation added the extra two and Utah Valley had a 12-0 lead and momentum on their side.
Utah Valley Prop Fotu Katoa crashes over for the try
But the game isn’t over until the final whistle and counting out a quality side like Snow College can have disastrous results. The Snow players settled into their own style of play and as the Utah Valley defense tired, the holes started to open up and the Snow players started to break off much larger runs and were finally rewarded, scoring 20 meters to the left of the uprights and putting themselves in contention for the win. An excellent strike saw the conversion sail over and at 12-7, we had a tense 15 minutes to go in a tight match. Snow continued to dominate possession, but every time they would break through the line, a Utah Valley would cover the lost ground and make a try saving tackle, desperate defense keeping their slim lead. Snow College looked to have a golden opportunity when Utah Valley winger Miles Sage was sin binned for a high tackle with 10 minutes to go, but the chance was squandered when emotions were at a boiling point in the tense final minutes and a Snow College player was sin binned for fighting. That put the result beyond doubt and Utah Valley controlled the possession to run out the clock and secure the victory.
“It was a very physical game and we expect that from Snow. They’re a quality team that can dominate any opponent with that style of play” said Utah Valley’s Head Coach, Josh Cooper. “We were very happy with the way the boys stood up on defense, but we wanted to see a little more from the backline, play more of our style and attack with the skills and pace that we know we have.” Both teams will have little time to dwell on the result as Snow College will face Boise State this coming weekend and Utah Valley will host BYU Idaho at the West Education Field at 12pm on Saturday the 2nd of October.
