Second half surge propels Belmont Abbey past RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BELMONT, N.C. - Host Belmont Abbey College began the second half with 24 consecutive points and pulled away for a decisive 39-17 triumph over the University of Rio Grande, Friday afternoon, in non-conference rugby action at Alumni Field.
     The Crusaders, ranked No. 7 in the National Collegiate Rugby Division I coaches' Top 20 poll, improved to 4-1 with the victory.
     Rio Grande, which was ranked 20th in the same poll, slipped to 1-3 with a third consecutive loss.
     The RedStorm took a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick by junior Thibault Carrere (Dax, Landes, France) just under six minutes into the contest, but BAC countered with a try by Michael Brennan with 28:42 left in the half and never trailed again.
     The Crusaders extended their advantage to 15-3 thanks to tries by Riordan Sweet and Will Rimes with 14:28 and 4:50 remaining before halftime, respectively, while Rio Grande closed the gap to just 15-10 as time expired in the first half on a try by graduate senior Mikey Grice (England) and a conversion kick by Carrere.
     Then came the second half onslaught by Belmont Abbey.
     Successful tries by Sam Patch and Ka'Ron Young - and a conversion by Hugo Taylor Jones - inside the first 6-1/2 minutes of the second stanza extended the lead to 27-10.
     Another try by Rimes and subsequent conversion by Taylor Jones pushed the cushion to 34-10 with 31:35 remaining and the Crusaders closed out their scoring with 21:20 left on a try by Kevin Barboza.
     Rio Grande tallied the final points of the day with 1:47 showing on the clock thanks to a second try by Grice and conversion kick from freshman Amo Mosupye (Pretoria, South Africa).
     The RedStorm are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11, when it hosts Indiana Tech for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Red Valley Pitch.