May 12, 2007

On this Saturday St Paul took on old rivals the Eastside Banshees with an early 10:30 start time. This did not deter the Pigs, however, as we got off to a quick start and had a majority of the possession. Unfortunately, however, the possession advantage was not capitalized upon, and the Pigs were only able to take a 3-0 lead, through a Scott Colby penalty, into the half. In the second half, the Banshees started to gain the advantage, and ended up scoring 3 tries – offset by a Pigs try on a great solo effort by Grant Dietrich who countered from a kick, kicked back, tracked down the ball and outran the Banshee defense to score.

So a good effort ended in a 21-10 loss, but showed lots of promising signs as we build toward our league season in the fall. Following the match, the Pigs Old Boys took on the Banshess, but also came out on the losing end. This was followed, however, by a wonderful Pig Roast with food, bevarage and fun for all, and some good fundraising for the club.

April 28, 2007

The Pigs travelled to St. Cloud to join in the annual All-Saints tournament. With a scheduled first match against the St. Cloud Bottom Feeders, the Pigs were geared up and ready to go. The Pigs came out strong in the first half, with Bill Bridgeman scoring an early try. The Feeders kept the match close in the first half, though the Pigs led throughout. In the second half, the Pigs tightened up play and controlled the ball, increasing their lead to final score of:
Pigs 32, Bottom Feeders 13
(Tries: Bill Bridgeman, Twinkie, Twinkie, Seth Spreadbury, Grant Dietrich, Zach Bauer; Conversions: B. Bridgeman (1))

In a show of gentlemanly sportsmanship, the Bottom Feeders awarded the Pigs with the “Big Ass Brown Jug” traveling trophy, a new tradition.

In the second match the Pigs faced off against Metropolis B, a rematch from the previous week. While the Jazz Pigs were able to keep ball control and spend much of the game in the Metropolis half of the field, Metro managed to squeeze through the Pigs defensive line and capitalize with several tries. The Pigs kept the game competitive to the end, but were unable to slip in enough points for the win.

Off the field, the Pigs made strong recruiting efforts. Pigs players and coaches visited college matches, awarded Pigs t-shirts to collegiate “Men of the Match”, and talked with college players about our upcoming summer schedule. If you’re interested in joining the Pigs during our summer play, contact Ryan Backman at back0102@umn.edu.

April 14, 2007

The Pigs traveled up I-94 to Fargo on a sunny spring day to take on NDSU and MSU Moorhead, and came back with 2 victories. In the first match Saint Paul got off to a quick start through an early Grant Dietrich try and never looked back. 2 more Dietrich tries followed, along with scores by Ben Hanson and Josh Van Gelder, vs. a single try for NDSU. Special credit to Lau Kahonen who took over place kicking duties for the day.

Scoring:
Tries: Dietrich 3, Hanson, Van Gelder
Cons.: Kahonen (3 for 5)

April 9, 2007

In the second match against Moorhead, the same 3 players were at it again, with Dietrich, Hanson and Van Gelder each registering a try. Also notable was the hard running of centers Seth Spreadbury and Jim Mlenek, and the tough pack play led by Danny Kiefer and new Pig Chris Reis.

Scoring vs MSU Moorhead:
Tries: Dietrich, Hanson, Van Gelder
Cons.: Kahonen (1 for 3)

March 24, 2007

The Pigs went 2-1 in this tournament to kick off the spring season.
More details may or may not be available soon.

October 14, 2006

The Pigs winning ways continued with a 40-24 league victory in Rochester on October 14th. It was a cool windy day as the match got underway with St Paul the early agressor. Some good running by the backine was rewarded when Jim Mlenek broke through for his first try of the day. Joe Cera’s kick was good, and the Pigs led 7-0. A few minutes later, it was the forwards’ turn, as off a driving maul from a lineout 15 meters out, Cros Martin evaded a tackle and scored the second try – kick missed, 12-0 lead. The good possession for St Paul continued at this point, and another fine run and score from Jimbo increased the lead to 19.

At this point, Rochester fought back with some hard and elusive running, which together with some Pigs’ defensive lapses, allowed the Rogues to score 2 long breakway tries and cut the lead to 7 at 19-12. Fortunately for the Pigs, we were able to get one back just before half time, as Scott Colby touched down for his first try of the day. Cera’s kick was again good, and the score stood 26-12 at the half.

The second half looked to be more of the same, as Colby got his second try of the day to increase the lead to 33-12. Once again, however, the Rogues fought back with 2 more tries to again cut into the lead at 33-24. As the game wound on however, the Pigs continued to hold possession, and finally put the game away when Colby broke a number of tackles for his 3rd try of the day and the final margin of 40-24.

Lineup:
1. Joe Exner, 2. Alan Martin (Danny Keiffer), 3. Lau Kahonen, 4. Ryan Backman, 5. Mark Fredrickson, 6. Nathan Riedel (Ben Hanson), 7. Zac Bauer, 8. Josh Van Gelder (Captain), 9. Jason Rombalski, 10. Scott Colby, 11. Brett Carter, 12. Jim Mlenek (Steve King), 13. Nate Wagner (Bill Bridgeman), 14. Eric Anderson (Grant Dietrich), 15. Joe Cera

Scoring:
Tries: Colby 3, Mlenek 2, Martin
Cons.: Cera (5 for 6)

September 30, 2006

A gorgeous Saturday saw the Pigs come out strong early and built a 19-0 half time lead on tries by Brett “Pebbles” Carter, Jim Mlenek and Joe Cera – with Joe successfully hitting 2 of 3 conversion kicks.

Another Cera try early in the second half made it 26-0 before Faribault scored twice to cut the lead to 14 points. That was as close as the Boksprings would come, however, as a final insurance try from Scott Colby sealed the 33-12 victory for the Pigs.

Scoring:
Tries: Cera 2, Carter, Colby, Mlenek
Conversions: Cera (4/5)

September 23, 2006

The Pigs made the long trek up to Thunder Bay a bit shorthanded and came out on the wrong side of a 52-17 defeat. Read a match report from the local paper in Thunder Bay.

September 16, 2006

The Pigs lost a close one to the Feeders in this match. No further details available at this time.

May 6, 2006

On a beautiful rugby afternoon in Rochester, the Rogues play host to the Pigs in a spring friendly. After kicking-off, St. Paul’s defense forces a Rochester kick. Grant counters combining with MOTM Jammer and Hightower to bring the ball into a maul. The Pigs role the maul deep into the Rogue half of the pitch where Josh breaks away for the first try of the match. Rochester answers quickly with a tap-and-go penalty exposing an over-lapse in the Pigs’ defense to take a 7-5 lead, their only lead of the day. The pigs continue with strong defense. A penalty kick for touch puts the line-out eight meters out. Quick hands from fly-half Billy cycles through the backs to Grant touching it down for the second St. Paul try. The Pigs, now on a role, earn another line-out. The ball is spun out to MOTM Jammer who glides over the goal line. St. Paul phases deep into Rochester territory. A try comes after a pop to MOTM Peaches off a ruck and a run of ten meters. The Rogues narrow the gap with a breakaway try. Unwaught by the miscue, the Pigs continue to drive toward the Rochester goal. MOTM Jammer passes the ball to Eric on the wing who pops the ball inside to the sprinting Gitch scoring as the half expires. Pigs 29, Rogues 12.

Early in the second half, MOTM Jammer intercepts an errant Rochester pass. He runs down field and dishes to Hightower who scores between the posts (only to attempt the conversion himself and miss). Rochester scores right away after charging down a scrum- half kick. The Pigs drive again when aggressive play from Ike and Josh results in a try. Another great decision by MOTM Jammer gives the ball to Chachi who sprints in from 22. The scoring keeps coming when MOTM Peaches takes it in (heroically on his own) from 15 meters out. The Pigs’ final try is scored by Billy after a successful eight-man pick by Josh. Co-men of the match medals are awarded to both Jammer and Peaches.

Lineup:
1. Troy Midboe (Joe Exner), 2. Alan Martin, 3. Ike Muringai, 4. Ryan Backman, 5. Jose Costa-Kramer (Mark Fredrickson), 6. Danny Keiffer, 7. Tommy Jokinen, 8. Josh Van Gelder, 9. Jason Rombalski, 10. Billy Bridgeman, 11. Ryan Driessen, 12. Bill Roberts (Gitch Onsongo), 13. Jamarr Johnson, 14. Eric Anderson (Jeff Zweber), 15. Grant Dietrich

Scoring:
Tries: Van Gelder(2), Dietrich, Johnson, Kieffer (2), Onsongo, Backman, Driessen, Bridgeman
Cons.: Bridgeman (5 for 9)
Referee: Larry “Trinny” Mendez (Trinidad)