May 14th
  The Canton Rugby team traveled to Michigan this past Saturday to take on Battlecreek. The Maddogs came away with a comeback victory, scoring in the final minute to win 29-28. Scoring try's for the Maddogs were Chad Menegay, Matt Carmany, Eugene Naude, and Aaron Traugh. Eugene Naude also converted two goal kicks.

  Coach Dan Sturtz said "This is a typical Ohio-Michigan rivalry, but we also have mutual respect for each other. It was a hard fought game for the entire 80 minutes. We stayed in the game throughout, and we were able to capitalize right at the end to get the victory. This is another great win for the team this spring."

  The Maddogs final spring game is this Saturday against Steel Valley RFC. They will be playing at Austintown Fitch High School stadium as part of a fundraiser for fallen Youngstown police officer Mike Hartzell, with proceeds going to a scholarship fund in his honor. The match is set to begin at 5pm.

May 7th
  Canton Rugby Club was proud to host a full day of rugby Saturday May 5th with Middle School, High School, and Mens Club action at Weis Park. Club President Dan Sturtz was very pleased with how the event turned out. "It was a great day for Canton Rugby. We had a lot of new fans out today to watch some good rugby with all of our teams. We had players as young as 12 and as old as 51 out on the field today. I am proud of every single one of those players that were out there today."

  To start the action off, Dover and Oakwood combined to make 3 teams to face Hudson's 2 teams and Medina Highland in tournament play. The final match came down to Oakwood Black vs. Hudson #2. Hudson ran away in the second half to secure a 54-24 victory over Oakwood. Coach of Dover and Oakwood, Jason Board, said "It was a great opportunity for our teams to play another school. Hudson is a very well coached team. It was a great experience. We will see them again this season, so we'll learn from this and improve our skills for the next match."

  In the High School Match, the Stark County Maddogs hosted Cleveland St. Ignatius Warriors C side. It was a back and forth match the entire 60 minutes, but the Maddogs were able to pull away in the final minutes for a 17-12 victory. Scoring try's were Brendan Boxler (Hoover), Neil Bernard (Lake), and Japheth Thomas (McKinley). Alan Miller (Lake) converted one goal kick.

  Coach Chad Menegay said "These guys improve every week. They listen really well to our instructions, and they see the success out on the field. Ignatius brought a good team today, we are very happy to secure this win today. The players are ecstatic."

  Captain Sam Fenton reflected those feelings. "We played an experienced team and came out on top. Me and my teammates couldn't be happier. We all started out this season as rookies, and now we have 4 victories under our belt over good teams. We hope to build on this next year and for years to come."

  In the final match of the day, Canton Mens Club hosted Cleveland Eastern Suburbs. After hanging tough to a 12-12 tie in the first half, the Maddogs were unable to keep the Suburbs in containment in the second half. Cleveland came out on top 41-12. Scoring try's for the Maddogs were Kyle Albaugh and Chris Wright. John McMullan converted one goal kick.

  McMullan, Cantons Fly Half and kicker, said "Cleveland is a very good Division II team, and we hung with them for most of the match. We had our backs against the wall most of the second half playing defense. We just couldn't seem to get anything going offensively like we did in the first half. But we are all proud of how we played today. We keep improving as a club, and we will reach the Division II level."

  Middle school action continues this week with Oakwood hosting Dover at 11:00am Saturday at Weis Park. The Mens Club travels to Michigan to take on BattleCreek at 1:00pm.



High School Rugby Updates