White Side Downs KC Blues at Ruggerfest

April 14, 2007 - St. Louis, MO

The St. Louis Bombers White side knocked off their cross-state rivals Kansas City Blues in opening round play at the 2007 St. louis Ruggerfest. That would turn out to be the highlight of the weekend for the Whites as they went on to drop two close matches to Tulsa and KCRFC and miss out on the semifinals. The Bomber's side that downed the KC Blues had an average age of just 23. The Bombers should feel very optimistic about the next generation of players vying for the black jersey.

The Bombers received strong performances from several up-and-coming players. Hooker Matt Viox was very active around the park, and props Canaan Craig, Brendan McClarney, Seamus Gilligan and Chris Loftquist were dominant in the set play all day. Craig scored a very powerful try against Tulsa for his team's only points. Lock and captain Ben Schwab led by example from the engine room, along with partner Sean "Kingpin" Gunnell, who was strong in the lineout and tackle. Backrowers Jim Hoffmann, JP Shen, Kyle Manley, Brad Beardon and Kevin Brown were quick to the breakdown on a day designed for forwards. Rookie Chris Jaeger also saw action at lock.

The Bomber backline was very solid in the wet conditions. Halfback John Erlich and flyhalf Jim Morrison did great jobs directing traffic, and centers Joe Mertz and Eric Hinson ran straight and hard. Wing Tim Stolarski was once again a handful to stop with ball in hand, scoring the winning try against the KC Blues. Dan Schwartzmeyer and Marc Dethloff also went well at wing. Fullbacks Justin Mastroianni and Steve Bosse were very smart and safe on a busy kicking day. In reserve were wings Andrew Bell and Shawn Staley.

The scores:
Bomber White 7 KC Blues 6
Bomber White 5 Tulsa 17
Bomber White 5 KCRFC 12