October 16, 2004
It was a cold and windy Saturday in Duluth as the Pigs took on Twin Ports. The cold was not that bad, but the wind would in fact play a significant role in this match. Going against the wind in the first half, the Pigs found ourselves back on our heels to start the match, as Twin Ports used an effective kicking game early on to pin us in our own end. Their pressure continued, and when Grant Dietrich was called for holding on to the ball after making a try saving tackle, the TP scrum half was able to take a quick restart and touch it down for the game’s first points. The conversion was missed, 5-0 to Twin Ports. The pressure continued, and 10 minutes later a TP penalty increased the lead to 8-0. At this point, the Pigs began to solidfy the defense, and started making more frequent forays into enemy territory. This possession was capped off by a series of nice driving mauls involving our entire forward pack, the last of which pushed all the way into the try zone, where Mike “Buca” Lundberg touched it down. Jason Naber’s conversion was good, and the score stood 8-7, and soon after the half ended.
The second half was a different story. Having weathered the storm and the TP pressure, the Pigs began to attack straight from the second half kickoff. Using the now much friendlier wind to our advantage, a kick to the corner led to a lineout inside the 22, solidly pulled down by Ryan “Hightower” Backman, the ball was then passed out to Jake Hodgson who crashed around the end of the line and broke through the first line of defense before passing off to Luke Utting, who broke the last tackle and touched down for the try. Naber’s conversion was again good, and it was 14-8 in favor of the Pigs. After taking the lead, we continued to hold solid possession, and 10 minutes or so later, found ourselves with another lineout just outside the 22. Another clean win, and another driving maul, which TP finally stopped after it had gone 15 meters forward – a little over 5 meters from goal. Ponch took the ball from the back of the maul, passed out to Leprechaun, who switched to Buca crashing back inside. Buca was not to be denied, and broke through 3 defenders to cross the line and touch it down for the try. Another Naber conversion, and it was 21-8 for the Pigs.
At this point Twin Ports showed some life and advanced deep into the Pigs’ end on a couple of occassions. Our defense held firm, however, and a single penalty was all they could score, making it 21-11. Finally, on what turned out to be the last play of the game, our pack stole a TP lineout inside their 22, and when a Twin Ports player knocked the ball back into his own goal in an attempt to stop our attack, Grizzly Malchow was the first one there and fell on the ball for the final try and the bonus point victory. The conversion was no good, but it didn’t matter, as the match ended with a 26-11 Pigs victory, and the season ended with a 6-0 record (5-0 in league play), and another league championship for the Pigs.
Lineup:
1. Luke Utting 2. Danny Kieffer 3. Troy Midboe 4. Grizzly Malchow 5. Jason Naber 6. Zac Bauer 7. Ryan Backman 8. Jake Hodgson 9. Jason Rombalski 10. Steve King 11. Brett Carter 12. Mike Lundberg 13. Mike Hankee (Captain) 14. Jeff Zweber 15. Grant Dietrich
Scoring:
Tries: Lundberg (2), Utting, Malchow
Conversions: Naber (3/4)
B-Side
Having travelled up to Duluth with 20-some players, we again played a shortened B-Side match – thanks to all the new guys who came out, and also to those who played a full 80 in the first game and then played in the B-Side game as well to make sure everyone got to play.