TAMPA, FL — March’s second Saturday provided USA Rugby South’s players with plenty of action and fans an abundance of entertainment. Let’s get started with the games from the Southeast, played on Saturday, March 9.
The New Orleans RFC routed the Baton Rouge RFC Saturday 60 to 11.
Across the USA Rugby South Saturday, two Division-II Women’s contests took place, both in the State of Florida.
In Jacksonville, the hometown Sinners hosted, and subsequently routed, the Indian River Raptors 78 to 3. Jacksonville had already pulled out to a 38 to 3 halftime advantage, with the help of top scorer Sandi Boyington’s three first half tries for the Sinners. In the second half, Jacksonville put 40 more points on the board, with Stacey Nemeth as the top scorer (two tries) after the break. Clarissa Wynn and Kyana Goodman also scored multiple tries in Jacksonville’s lopsided win over Indian River.
Further south in Florida, the Fort Miami RFC 46 remained unbeaten, owning the Orlando Griffins in a 46 to 15 decision. Fort Miami’s Lindsey Koren lead her club with three tries, two before and one after halftime. Trisha Suriano also scored multiple tries for Fort Miami. Alexander Goldfarb, Danielle Palmer, and Dasha Plotnikov each scored a try for Orlando.
Men’s D-II Review
Saturday’s action featured four games, with three of the match-ups played in Florida.
The Naples Hammerheads gobbled up the visiting Orlando Griffins in a 47 to 13 decision. 
Orlando kept the game fairly close in the first half, trailing Naples 21 to 13. But, the Hammerheads scored 26 unanswered points in the second half. In terms of tries, Quintus De Bruyn led Naples with two, both in the first half. For Orlando, Eddie Abreau earned his team’s only try.
In a battle for the domination of Miami, the Miami Tridents squeaked by the Miami RFC 21 to 20. What made the difference? With just tree minutes left in the game, the Miami RFC failed to convert its final try, leaving the team one-point behind. Regarding tries, the Miami RFC’s William Moreno led his club, and the match-up, with two, both in the second half.
Just a little up the road, the Tampa Bay Krewe RFC rallied from a 17 to 12 halftime deficit to beat the Boca Raton Buccaneers 29 to 27. While he did not score a try in the match-up, Dion Opperman’s penalty kick with twelve minutes left in the game gave Tampa Bay the 29 to 27 lead. Boca Raton proved unable to overcome deficit before the contest’s conclusion. Also, Opperman successfully converted three of Tampa Bay’s tries. In all, Opperman scored nine points in the game – more points than any of his teammates and/or any Buccaneer.
In the True South division, the New Orleans RFC rolled over their rivals from the west, the Baton Rouge RFC, with a 60 to 11 beat-down in Baton Rouge. Caleb Myer led New Orleans, as well as the game, with three ties. Anthony Gregory also scored multiple tries (two) for New Orleans.
Men’s D-III Wrap-Up
Florida
This Saturday’s lone Division-III match-up took place in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where the hometown Pelicans clobbered the Daytona Beach Coconuts 68 to 0. Daytona and Saint Petersburg kept the game close through the first half, with just a 12-point deficit (12 to 0) for Daytona Beach at halftime. However, the Pelicans pummeled the Coconuts with 56 unanswered points in the game’s final forty minutes.
