Through endless rain and 40-degree weather, the Pleasanton Cavaliers rugby team put up a strong fight against the De La Salle Spartans on Feb. 13 in their last pre-season game.
Despite the conditions, morale was high till the bitter end when junior varsity ended up losing 5-7 and varsity 7-17. Even with a number of injuries on their lineup, the Cavaliers managed to apply defensive pressure on De la Salle mostly inside the 22-meter area. Maintaining force throughout the game, the team came together in a unified effort to play their best. While JV players Angel Irizarry and Jake Isabe, significantly contributed to the score, Teddy Gatanis, Austin Pederson and Thomas Silliman orchestrated several close drives during the varsity game.
Working with his new lifters, Joshua Parr successfully stole the ball on a number of occasions and pressured De la Salle’s lineout during the scrums.
The club, which has players participating from across the Tri-Valley area, was founded by Paul Bretz, Kevin Miller and Ken Burnthorn. Recently, the Cavaliers played in the 25th Annual Kick Off Tournament (KOT) in Granite Regional Park, Sacramento. More than 130 rugby matches were played from Feb. 6-8. Among the 62 matches on Saturday alone, the Cavaliers played well in defense and achieved several goals–moving forward to the new season.
The team left Sacramento with an overall 0-3 match score, but exposed new players to the game and improved throughout the day. In their first match the team collaborated well with each other, while in the second they managed to get in some impressive tackles. Overcoming a few injuries, the Cavaliers kept up against a league opponent in their third and final match, despite the losses.
Overall, this year’s KOT was a great success. The tournament has grown 20 percent over the past three years and this year drew in 93 sides to compete.
Anne-Marie is a student at Amador Valley High School and writes for the Amadon.
