September 21, 2002

On a cool, windy Saturday the Pigs took on the University of Minnesota at the National Sports Center in Blaine. With both teams missing some regular players the match was a bit sloppy. Nonetheless, the Pigs took an early lead with tries by Will Bryant and Joe Lang after some nice backline work. The U came back stong, however, and traded tries with the Pigs before scoring two more of their own to make the half time score 19-17.

The second half saw the Pigs score 17 unanswered points through some strong running and the kicking of Jason Naber, leaving the final score at 36-17.

Pigs’ Lineup
1-Ben Hanson,2-Steve Worline(Chris Kemp),3-Luke Utting,4-Grizzly Malchow,5-Doug Hopp(Kaiyn Nottingham),6-Jaco Swanepoel,7-Zach Bauer,8-Jason Naber,9-Brandon Johnson,10-Bill Bridgeman,11-Grant Dietrich(Steve King),12-Brett Carter,13-Will Bryant(Aaron Koski),14-Jason Rombalski(Kevin Carmody),15-Joe Lang

Scoring
Saint Paul 36 – 5 tries (Bryant, Lang, ??, Malchow, Hanson), 4 conversions (Naber), 1 penalty (Naber)
U of M 17 – 3 tries, 1 conversion

September 14, 2002

This Pigs vs. Metropolis match took place at the National Sports Center in Blaine as part of the All-Minnesota college tournament. This provided for a larger than usual number of spectators on the sidelines for this rivalry match-up. Unfortunately for the Pigs, they witnessed another Metropolis victory. Using a strong wind and some good tactical kicking in the first half, Metropolis outscored the Pigs 4 tries to none for a 22-0 half time lead.

Playing with the wind in the second half the Pigs showed some signs of life and controlled possession inside the Metropolis 22 for a long stretch. This persistent pressure finally paid off when Joe Lang took a quick tap penalty and ran in himself to score from 7 meters out. After the ensuing kick, the Pigs again camped out in the Metropolis end and looked ready to further chip away at the lead. Some untimely penalties turned the tide, however, and Metropolis was able to clear the ball away from danger.

The rest of the second half was mainly played at midfield until a late converted try from Metropolis sealed the win and closed the scoring at 29-5. All in all, it was an improvement on last week’s performance, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

A shortened second match was played, with an unfortunately similar result, as Metropolis won 31-0.

Pigs’ Lineup
1-Tom Rubey,2-Danny Kiefer(Ben Hanson),3-Luke Utting,4-Grizzly Malchow,5-Jason Naber(Leon DeLange),6-Jaco Swanepoel,7-Zach Bauer(Phil Wagner),8-Mike Hankee,9-Brandon Johnson(Jason Rombalski),10-Bill Bridgeman(Pio Piliami),11-Grant Dietrich,12-Scott Colby,13-Will Bryant,14-Jaffrey Blanks,15-Joe Lang

Scoring
Metropolis 29 – 5 tries, 2 conversions
Saint Paul 5 – 1 try (Lang)

September 7, 2002

On an unseasonably hot day at Fort Snelling the Saint Paul Pigs opened their 2002 league campaign with a 22-10 loss to a veteran Des Moines side. After some early pressure by the Pigs mistakes began to take their toll, and 2 Des Moines tries (one converted) held up at half time for a 12-0 Des Moines lead.

The second half started slowly before the action picked up in the last 20 minutes. First Des Moines scored their 3rd try to push the lead to 17-0. Then, after some sustained pressure, the Pigs persistence finally paid off and Grizzly Malchow was able to break a couple of tackles for a try that cut the lead to 17-5. Des Moines came back with their final try of the day a few minutes later, however to make it 22-5. The Pigs continued to pressure, and a strong back line move finally paid off with Grant Dietrich touching down in the corner to make it 22-10.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late, and the match ended with a final score of 22-10.

Pigs’ Lineup
1-Luke Utting(Ben Hanson),2-Danny Kiefer(Tom Rubey),3-Pieter Venter(Jason Kemp),4-Leon DeLange(Jason Naber),5-Grizzly Malchow,6-Jaco Swanepoel,7-Zach Bauer,8-Mike Hankee,9-Brandon Johnson(Jason Rombalski),10-Bill Bridgeman(Pio Piliami),11-Jaffrey Blanks,12-Scott Colby,13-Will Bryant,14-Brett Carter(Eugene Dunn),15-Grant Dietrich

Scoring
Des Moines 22 – 4 tries, 1 conversion
Saint Paul 10 – 2 tries (Malchow, Dietrich)

May 4, 2002

The Pigs rebounded from a tough weekend to defeat the Bottom Feeders in St. Cloud. The Feeders started well defensively and kept the Pigs off the board initially. Too much pressure and possession, however, eventually led to breakdowns, and the Pigs got 3 tries from centers Scott Colby (2) and Will Bryant before half time. Jamie Calvert added a penalty and 2 conversions, making the half time score 22-3.

In the second half the action slowed a bit, but Will Bryant managed another try which was countered by a late score from the Feeders to make the final score 29-8.

April 27, 2002

It was a miserable day, both weather wise and on the pitch, as the Pigs lost 2 games at the All Saints tournament in St. Cloud. Playing one game in rain and one in snow, the Pigs were unable to get much going, and ended up dropping both matches.

April 13, 2002

The Pigs opened the Spring 2002 season with a victory on the road at Rochester. After just 2 outdoor practices, things were a little out of sync, and the Pigs got off to a bit of a slow start, as sloppy handling and some bad penalties killed off a number of promising attacks. We finally broke through, however, with center Scott Colby scoring on a long run up the middle of the pitch. Jason Naber’s conversion was successful for a 7-0 lead, which ended up as the half time score.

The second half saw slightly fewer bad penalties, and some better flow with the ball. This led to tries from center Will Bryant and wing Jamie Calvert. Naber converted both tries and added a penalty to make the score 24-0 in favor of the Pigs. Rochester made a few forays into the Pigs half, but were unable to break through and get on the board, and the final score stood at 24-0.

In the end, it was a nice day for rugby, and an excellent start to our spring season.