DHS Rugby Club Wins at Home, Qualifies for State Final

Originally published: May 20

The Dexter Devils, the Dexter High School Rugby Club, had good reason to smile on Saturday night, at the end of the first stage of the State playoffs: only on Thursday was the club confirmed as the emergency host of the State quarter- and semi-finals in all three divisions of boys’ Rugby; on Friday ten hours of very hard work by a host of club volunteers -- with the support of the DHS Athletic Department and, in particular, Dexter AD Mike Bavineau -- had four rugby pitches ready at the High School and Creekside Intermediate School, with officials’ tents and other essentials added the next morning; and on Saturday,  in front of big home crowds, the Devils A Team beat reigning State Champions West Ottawa 31-7 and nationally-ranked Forest Hills 21-14, to qualify for next Saturday’s Division I final against Grandville;  in the Division III playoffs the Devils’ first ever true B team, consisting entirely of players who had never touched a Rugby ball before this spring, beat South West Bulls, of Kalamazoo, 17-5 in their quarter-final, before going down to a strong and experienced Rockford B side 21-0 in their semi-final.

At the beginning of the week, many families in the fast-growing Rugby Club were anxiously wondering how to manage Saturday’s big events: playoffs at Farwell Field, Detroit, followed by DHS Prom.  Last year’s playoffs in Grand Rapids had also clashed with Prom night and, after the Devils lost 14-7 to Rockford in the Division I semi-final, several exhausted Dexter players were seen in the parking lot taking camp-site style showers with gallon jugs of water before struggling to put on evening dress in their cars during a mad dash back to Dexter.  This year it was all different – victory in the semi-final, and at home. Devils Head Coaches Paul Burke and Doug Karaska, Assistant Coaches Steve Turosky and Steve Merz, and Club Vice-president Eric Calhoun ended the day tired but very satisfied – a first-ever place in the State final (to be played this year at the West Ottawa High School Rugby Stadium) and many plaudits from the players, families, and coaches of the 23 participating teams, happy that the Devils and DHS had stepped in at the last minute, when the pitches at Farwell Field proved unplayable. 

On Saturday night Rugby coaches from across the State gathered in downtown Dexter’s restaurants, alongside Devils families celebrating the success of both A and B teams, and all seemed to agree: the last-minute organization had been outstanding (due in no small measure to the huge volunteer effort from Club families and the good will of Dexter High).  Local families were also breathing sighs of relief that the transition from Rugby to Prom had been smooth, thanks to the relocation of the playoffs.   The reaction of precisely-coiffed Prom dates that evening, at the sight of tired, bruised, and battered Rugby players, hurriedly and imperfectly transformed into appropriately dressed escorts, is probably best left to the imagination…

At 10.30 on Saturday morning the A team, warming up in the sunshine within yards of the High School, looked a little nervous – against the backdrop of Prom preparations, and with a big home crowd expected (including many of those Prom dates), they had to repeat last month’s victory over West Ottawa HS, where Rugby is now a varsity program, just to progress as far as last year.  In fact, the match could not have started better, as inside center Tony Shiguango (DHS Sr) kicked deep and fly-half Gordon Makin (DHS Jr) sped through the West Ottawa defense, picked up the ball and ran it in under the posts for a first-minute try.  Winger Corey Robinett (Grass Lake HS Jr) proved his outstanding ability with the boot yet again in converting the try.  But then things got a little tougher: the Devils lost inspirational flanker Keoni Koch (DHS Sr) and hard-tackling fullback Adam Haas (DHS So) to shoulder and leg injuries, respectively, and Dexter’s forwards began to struggle, while there were handling errors among the backs.  Fortunately, Dexter’s substitutes stood tall: Jonah Hancock (DHS Jr) came in at tight-head prop, with Tony Esposito (DHS Sr) going from prop to flanker, while Shiguango replaced Haas at full back and Chris Bryson (DHS, So) came in at center. However, a tight first half ended badly for Dexter. Just before half-time a booming kick from behind the West Ottawa 22-metre line was misplayed on the right wing inside the Dexter half and an opposing back was able to gather the ball and steam in for a try, subsequently converted. 

Seven-all at half-time looked ominous, and when Robinett missed an attempted penalty goal early in the second half the numerous Dexter supporters on the touchlines had reason to be very worried.  But intense pressure from the Dexter pack, led as ever by loose-head prop Zac Wallace and no 8 Spencer Flannery (both Grass Lake HS Srs), recovered the lead as Esposito touched down for a try. Then, as time began to slip away for the opposition, Makin sliced through the middle of the West Ottawa defence,  kicked over the onrushing backs, caught his own kick and ran in to score his second try of the match; Robinett converted.  Suddenly the flood gates were open, and Shiguango and star winger Matt Kasten (DHS Sr) added tries, the first converted by Robinett.  The final score of 31-7 flattered Dexter, but West Ottawa’s failure to build on its first-half try did reflect the hard work done in defense by the starting XV and the substitutes.  The return of hard-working, sure-handed lock Viktor Morris (DHS Jr), who missed the narrow victory over Dearborn last week while recovering from a concussion, excellent work throughout the match by hooker Ryan Calhoun (DHS Sr), intense forward play from flanker Alexis Berberio (DHS Sr, French exchange student), and lock Nick Person (DHS Sr), all contributed to the victory, while scrum-half Guy Burke (DHS, Jr) and outside center Eddie Alexander (Grass Lake HS, Sr) were equally strong among the backs as tackle after tackle held up the men from the West.

Next up, just two hours later, was Forest Hills, the only Rugby team from Michigan – single-school or club – to have a national ranking from rugbymag.com (at 31).  Head Coach Paul Burke had reminded his charges of a series of semi-final defeats in previous State tournaments – now, he said, was the time to take the next step, and Dexter supporters were delighted to see Koch and Haas return to the lineup (although Koch was soon to leave again, with a recurrence of an old injury).  When Kasten picked up a loose ball early and used his searing speed to beat the opposition defense, it looked good for Dexter (Robinett converted).  But the Forest Hills forwards had other ideas, and took no quarter as they pressed Dexter’s pack, with the opposition scrum-half adding to the intensity.  There was no shortage of play on and beyond the edge of legality, but it was one of Dexter’s flankers who caught the eye of the referee and by half-time not only had Forest Hills equalized, with a converted try resulting from excellent forward pressure, but the home team had also gone a man down after a red card for a deliberate kick to the head.  Hopes among the Dexter faithful that the referee might find a way to even things up proved groundless, and the Devils played the rest of the match with only 14 men.  Nonetheless, Dexter found a way to counter the pressure.  A brilliant cross-field kick from Shiguango, splitting the Forest Hills back line, equally brilliantly fielded by Kasten in his own half and then taken in under the posts with jet speed, put Dexter back in front (Robinett converted again), but Forest Hills came back hard again, parked for what seemed like an eternity just outside the Dexter try line.  The home team finally buckled when Makin’s attempted clearance from within the Dexter in-goal area was charged down for an equalizing try and conversion.  Now it was 14-14 with time slipping away – anyone’s match.  But only one team had Matt Kasten, who, late in the game, took a pass from within the Dexter 22-metre area all the way down the touchline, untouched and untouchable, to run the ball in under the posts (Robinett converted).  A hat trick of tries from the Dexter Senior who is heading to the University of Michigan this fall; no wonder every representative of the UM Rugby club present at the playoffs seemed to want a word with him (they showed some interest in other Dexter players, too, as did men from the MSU club, while rumor has it that Davenport University’s varsity program has shown strong interest in Dexter’s star prop). When the referee blew for no side the joy among Dexter players, coaches, and supporters seemed limitless – a 21-14 victory ensured that there would be one more day in the Dexter season, as the A team heads to Holland next Saturday to play Grandville, another powerhouse from the west side of the state, for the State championship.

This year, for the first time ever, the Devils have been able to field two full sides, and the very inexperienced B team, consisting mostly of underclassmen, ended their season with great credit in the Division III playoffs.  They beat newcomers South West Bulls 17-5 in the quarter-final, despite spirited play from the opposition, playing three men short because of injuries (tries from fullback Derek Wittenberg, scrum-half Erick Leon, and center Jake Rayer, all DHS sophomores, one conversion from no 8 and captain, German exchange student and DHS Senior Thore Sibbel).  In the semi-final the Devils B team faced the B team from Rockford, where, as at Grandville, the Rugby program is very well established (middle-school Rugby, a long history of success).  Despite valiant efforts and plenty of fight to the very end, Dexter went down 21-0, but the home coaches were full of praise for their entire team, and spoke with especial warmth of the two half-backs, Leon and fly-half Tristin Staebler (DHS So), who both ended great seasons with huge performances on offense and defense alike.

On Sunday Coach Burke wrote to all the Rugby families with thanks and praise for their support and reminded his players that everyone should practice throughout the coming week – injuries and that red card mean that places in the A squad for the final will be up for grabs.  On Saturday night he had reflected with satisfaction not only on a first final berth, but also on the fact that, while this year’s A team will end the season with just six players who played Rugby last year, 2014 should see at least 22 returning players.  After two successive years unbeaten in Division I East and with a place in the State final this year, little Dexter has every right to see itself as one of the State’s centers of Rugby excellence. As for Saturday, Coach Burke had the final words, “It was an awesome day”.

Dexter’s squad list, with further details of the Dexter Rugby program, may be accessed here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p0a7fu4nkfkc3i9/DRFC%20Team%20Sheet%202013.pdf.

For more information on Dexter Rugby, go to the Facebook page for “Dexter Rugby 2013” or to the club web site: www.dexterrugby.com. 

Follow DRFC on twitter @DexterRugby.

The Michigan Youth Rugby Association website has more information about the playoffs: http://www.rugbymichigan.com/.