Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Walking up to the field, on Oct. 26, any viewer would have felt pumped and ready to battle — the Western Oregon Men’s Rugby team was ready to take on Oregon Institute of Technology. 

Within the first five minutes, the Owls scored their first try, shocking the entire Wolves’ defense. Many onlookers first impression of what was ahead was not good. But, a quarter of the way through the first half, the Wolves answered the Owls’ point with their very own Anu Kanoho, a junior, who intercepted the ball while on defense. Following the try, Braedon Etagonde, a sophomore,  kicked the extra two points — making the score 7-5.

Two minutes were remaining in the first half when Gabriel Wai, a junior, scored the second try, ending the half seven points ahead, a true battle to come back.

Western wasn’t done yet; coming into the second half they wanted more. And ten minutes later Eltagonde of the Wolves scored the third try, making the score 17-5.

The Wolves defense put up a strong fight, but not enough to keep the Owls out of their endzone — Owls added five more points to the board making the score 17-10 with the Wolves ahead and still united.

OIT gave high pressure close to Western’s endline, calling for a scrum and causing the ball to be passed back to Kanoho who then punted it forward and away to get the attack out of their half.

A perfect pass from Eltagonde to Robert Cummings, (RC) a transfer to Western, gave the Wolves a lot of yards on the counterattack. The Wolves kept up solid sportsmanship amongst themselves and the opponent, while the Owls continued to put each other down and talk back. 

The battle raged on and the ball was carried back and forth between both teams, never finding either end zone, which led to a “pushy” fight between the Wolves and Owls.

Minutes later, the Sir blew the whistle and concluded the game.

Western brought home another win, leaving the scoreboard 17-10 and their record jumping to a 4-0. The Man of the Match was given to Anu Kanoho for his defensive skills throughout the game and willingness to leave everything on the field to help propel the Wolves forward.

The Men’s Rugby team have a Semifinal game on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. on the home turf. Come out and support these men and be prepared to see some gnarly tackles and excellent runs.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene