16 May - Shanahan vs St. Gregory's - W- 37-34
15 May - Shanahan vs Burrell HS - L - 12- 28
9 May - Shanahan vs Cumberland Valley HS - W- 35-17
This match was for the Pa State Championship Quaterfinals to qualify for the state championship semi-finals. Shanahan traveled as an underdog to Cumberland Valley's high school pitch on a very windy and chilly day for the contest. The Shanahan players came out very determined to win the match and advance to the next round in the State tournament to be hosted at Shanahan. While Shanahan came to dominate the match in the 2nd half things were not so assurred in the 1st half. While Shanahan took an early lead Cumberland Valley fought back time and again to try and kepp the score close and the match in reach.
2 May vs Cumberland Valley HS- W- 37-25
3rd place match for the EPRU championships tournament. Shanahan shrugged off their semi-final loss determined to take 3rd place for the 2nd year in a row in the EPRU tournament. With a skilled attack by the seniors and some great punting by flyhalf John Shine, great conversion and penalty kicks by Greg Ireland and Brad Harrison the team soundly defeated CV.
2 May - Shanahan vs Salesanium - L 19-17
This Semi-final EPRU tournament match was a tough match from begining to end with Shanahan matching themselves against a very determined and large sized Salesanium team. Again and again the match was in reach for Shanahan but the team was simply not able to pull together enough determined concerted scoring efforts and the result was a difficult loss.
29 April - Shanahan vs St. Gregory's - W-19-17- EPRU Qtr-final Tournament match
Shanahan in the entire seventeen year history of the program has not witnessed such a magnificant and miracleous ending to a rugby match as occurred at the St. Gregory pitch. The match was played fairly evenly throughout the entire first half but St. Gregory's received again and again tremendous kicks from their flyhalf and halfback to obtain excellents field position. Shanahan would drive into their attacking side past midfield and be kicked back on the defensive. The first score of the macth was a drop goal about 18 meters out, directly in front of the posts. St. Greg's then later scored a try and conversion to bring the score to 10-0 at half. Shanahan came out prepared to use the wind in the 2nd half and continued to press into scoring position but St. Gregory's stubbornly held their ground and eventually answered with another excellent kick fielded by a rushing St. Greg's player who jumped into the ball and broke free to bring the score to 17-0. With about 8 minutes left in the match big Matt Liebel finally drove the ball into the in-goal area and Shanahan had their first score of the match with a conversion kick by Greg Ireland bringing the score to 17-7. Then Shanahan again scored with a 15 meter run by Brad Harrison and a conversion kick by Brad to bring Shanahan to within 3 points with one minute left in the match. Shanahan received the kickoff and drove the ball to within 15 meters of the try line when St. Gregory's won the ball. As St. Greg's attempted to kick the ball out of bounds it was blocked by flyhalf John Shine and Shanahan won control of the ball in the ensuing ruck. Philllipe Indeque was able to get the ball and pass to John Shine who run through three St. Gregory defenders and with two defenders hanging on him managed to dive for the final winning try. Two scores within two minutes!! This was truly a miracle to come from behind the entire match; to be behind by 17 points and not to give up or give in to despair!!
25 April - Shanahan D1 vs Downingtown - L- 5-27
25 April -Shanahan D2 vs WC East - L-5-24
18 April - Shanahan D1 vs Bonner - L- 17- 31
15 April - Shanahan D1 vs Conestoga - W 31-0
In the first half of play Shanahan went ahead 14-0 on scores by Allen Synder and Officer John Shine. Allen Synyder received an excellent pass off scrum half Philippe Indeque from 15 meters out from the try line and scored with an agressive run between defenders. Brad Harrison followed up the score with a very strong and accurate place kick for two additional points. The next scoring opportunity came with Vinne Laurento driving a hard 10 meters near the try line setting up John Shine to score from two meters out.Brad Harrison added another accurate kick and Shanahan lead 14-0.
2nd Half:
Phillippe Indeque tackled the Conestoga scrum half at a contested scrum winning the ball for Shanahan at the 5 meter line. Zac Barbera picked up the loose ball off the pitch and scored from 3 meters out. Brad Harrison completed his trird accurate kick of the evening and Shanahan went ahead 21-0. The next score was a sight to behold as the legion of Conestoga defenders shrank in size and their ability to stop the Mighty Michael Kitchens who ran into to score a try with a mighty roar to bring the score to 26-0. The fierceness of this gentle person is exposed on a rugby field. The next score was a series of beauty for a backline rugby coach. John Shine received an supurb pass from scrum half Phillipe, began to run and move the backs forward as he passed to inside center Chris Cusick who faked a pass and then broke free into open space before being confronted by Consestoga defenders. St. Christopher then passed the ball to sophomore Zepka who dashed in for the final Shanahan score of the evening, settling the score at 31-0 Shanahan.
Freshman/Sophomores - B side match
Conestoga: 14
Shanahan: 10
Shanahan comes back from 14 – 0 deficit but falls short against older Conestoga team. Scott Siefert 40 meter run gets strong support from Mario who takes pass and scores try 14-5. Tommy Williams takes ball off of Shanahan Lineout takes the ball across the entire width of the pitch and scores from 22 meter mark. 14-10
Shanahan D2 - vs VFMA - W -24-5
11 April 2010 - Shanahan D1 vs Coatesville - W-44-0
The day was picture perfect for a rugby match with the temperature was in the low 70's with the sun beating down to keep the spectators warm. Coatesville players and coaches arrived ready to play, in a rebuilding year, and played with honor and goodsportsmanship thoughout the entire match. The Shanahan team looked coordinated, excited and ready to play from the first kickoff - on the best field used for school sports. The Shanahan flags were waving in the breeze urging the Shanahan players on to play their best.
Within the first five minutes of the match senior Nick Green took the ball from five meters out on a pass from Tony "Vendetta" Chilla and drove agressively and low into the ingoal to score his first try of the season. The team had rucked and run the ball very well to get Mr. Green into position with excellent support and communication. It is rumored that Nick is being recruited by the University of Scranton to play rugby but that while Nick has an interest in that potential outcome he is more focused on studying pre-med in college than having a good time. Vendetta is argubably the most improved player for the team from the 2009 season. Congratulations to Tony Chilla!
Through the opening sequences of play and then throughout the entire first half junior Allan Synder successfully secured the ball for rucks, scrums and mauls and acted as the focal point to provide the ball to the backs for open field attacks. Alan also made several kicks to open space to enable Shanahan to go on the offensive and obtain better field position.
The next scoring opportunity came minutes later when Shanahan pressing the attack was about 10 meters out and senior Farrell pop passed the ball to John Shine who looped around Farrell and ran into the ingoal carrying 2 Coatesville players. Excellent communication, support and team play allowed for this try to be scored. Another hard run by Farrell - playing outside center - ended with a pass to wing Matt McKay who ran back against the Coatesville opposition to the center of the field and managed to score between the posts. The pass from Farrell was his second of the match that directly led to a score by Shanhan. Prehaps Farrell is truly a back line player?
The first half ended with two more scores based on excellent passing and team support. The most famous of them was a 5 meter diving score by senior Michael Kitchens off a first rate pass from Morality Officer Matt Seifert who, as usual, played an outstanding match. "Father" or "Friar" Kitchens may be so named because of the Christian kindness, fidelity and fervor with which he plays the game of rugby. An exciting player to watch playing the game of rugby Friar Kitchens would have been a celebrity in medieval England. The last score was a fierce run by Center St. Christopher Cusick off a perfect pass by Flyhalf John Shine who followed Chris all the way in for the try in support.
The second half saw senior Phillipie Indeku enter into the match as scrum half and within the first ten minutes received another excellent pass from Farrell, playing as outside center, from just iutside the 22 meter line and ran in for the score. Farrell tiring of always passing the ball to his teamates for scores then returned a pop kick from Coatesville for his own personal score to make the day complete. The final effort of the day belonged to sophmore Joseph Zepka who continued his agressive running and scored a try from 15 meters out off a line out. The big change however on the day for Joe was his significantly improved tackling. We all wish him well in that area for the rest of the season.
More to follow later...
8 April 2010 - Shanahan D1 vs Malvern Collegiate HS, Toronto Canada - L-18-17
An excellent match was played by the Shanahan D1 squad against the 2009 Toronto City Champions resulting in an unfortunate 17-18 loss. The Toronto Malvern team played very well against a determined Shanahan team in strong winds on a warm 78+ degree evening. Summer in spring was upon the Shanahan team!! and parents enjoyed the warm weather. Prehaps the best story of the match was the ability of the Shanahan team to come back from a 15-0 defecit in the first half when Malvern had the wind at their back. Shanahan scored three tries in the second half with one two point conversion by Greg Ireland to bring Shanahan within one point of victory. The team showed excellent resolve, dedication and unity as they fought back from the defecit under the leadership of their captains, officers and seniors. Unity, Courage & Faith - the team Motto - was evident in their play as the team almost managed to pull out a win.
Shanahan early on in the first five minutes of play drove deep into Malvern territory and brought the ball over th try line for a score which was disallowed by the ref since the ball was deemed as being "held up". You must touch the ball down in order for a Try to be scored. From this point on the Shanahan teram had several other scoring opportunities in the first half but simply sould not get the ball over the try line. Malvern used the wind to kick themselves into scoring position and used a "quick throw in" for their first suprise score of the evening. A "quick throw in" is allowed when no one touches the ball which has gone out of bounds and the manuever by malver caught the Shanahan team offguard and the score was 5-0. Unfortunately the conversion kick went into the girls JV softball field but was fielded by the Shanahan 3rd base player with her softball glove!! Shanahan freshmen tried to kep the ball from going into the girls field but to no avail due to the wind and the strong kicks from the Malvern flyhalf.
Entering thre 2nd half with the wind and a renewed determination the Shanahan team moved the ball deeply into the Malvern defensive side of the field with excellent rucking by our forwards - Captain Zac Barbera, Morality Officer Matt Seifert, sophmore TJ Seifert, Matt Liebel, Matt Miller, Tony " Vendetta" Chilla, Hooker extronaire Vinne Laurento and 8 man Ben Anstrand. The backs took full advantage of the forwards winning the rucks and pressed hard with runs by Shine, Cusick and Ireland and wings Pippin and Merry McKay aka John and Matthew McKay. MadEye Moody continued to make excellent runs to position our wings for sprints down the pitch but it was the final strong run by flyhalf John Shine for 15 meter run which brought Shanahan their first try anfd five points of the match. Greg "MadEye Moody" Ireland then added the two point conversion to bring the team to a 15-7 score.
To those of you who do not understand the naming conventions of certain players let me be clear - they are earned usually by virtue of a players actions and the head coach's enjoyment of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Harry Potter series. Greg Ireland has the uncanny ability to thrown passes behind his back and be spot on to the intended receiver - (usually) hence "MadEye Moody".. Christopher Cusick - a new player to the Shanahan team in 2010 showed a "miraculous" ability to pass the ball to teamates in November Skills training, hence "St. Christopher" and Tony Chilla played the first match of the season vs Unionville with a "vengence" making excellent tackles, covering the field and rucking to win the ball. John Mckay as deemed a Hobbit by his behavior, manner and appearance. When his brother Matthew showed up last season for the team he became Hobbit #2, Merry. Last season we also had our first Ent, but that is another story... and of course we do have a "BootStrap Bill" from Pirates of the Carribiean fame...
But back to the match... After scoring Shanahan took the ball on the kick off by Matt Miller who clearly called for the ball while it was in flight and proceeded down the pitch. The Shanahan team then fought back and forth with Malvern untill Zac Barbera took the ball from about 10 meters out in the cornor - which had been passed by 4-5 Shanahan players before getting to Barbera - and dove over the try line for the 2nd try of the evening. Unfortunately Greg Ireland had to leave the field due to a broken nose and the conversion kick was up to Phillipe Indeque who unfortunately did not make the kicks in the high winds. To be fair Phillipe is know for his punting abilities, squirelly erratic runs, generally good passes, but not conversion kicks. So the team continued on to play and press Malvern for another score which came on a interesting pop kick by John Shine from about 15 meters out. Inside center, Christopher Cusick sprinted into the ingoal area to dive on the ball scored the final Shanahan try. Phillipe tried mightly but did not make the conversion kick and the score ended 18-17 in favor of Malvern Collegiate highschool.
Much praise must be given to Zac Barbera for his rentlesss prusuit of the Malvern players during the match and his agressive runs into opposition; Greg Ireland's onfield leadership and runing ability; John Shine's kicking; Matt Miller, Matt Seifert and TJ Seifert for their excellent agressive play in scrums, mauls and rucks and both running the ball and tackling opponents. Of copurse also Vinnny Lauernto fopr his hooking anf line out throws and Ben A's lineout catches. St. Christopher Cusick also has played mightly in his first year and needs to be commended along with Pippin and Merry McKay. Fullback Brad Harrison has been a blessing to the Shanahan team of 2010. Brad came back to the team after taking his junior year off due to injuries and has consistently proven himself to be an EPRU All Star. Brad is fast, durable, intelligent, an excellent tackler and a consumate team player.
6 April 2010 - Shanahan D1 vs WC Rustin HS - W- 62- 14
This match was played with excellent sportmanship, conditioning, team effort and overall skill by Shanahan. WC Rustin won the Brandywine District D2 regular season championship in 2009 and is rebuilding in the 2010 season. Shanahan came out strong and played from a dominant field position with kicks by John Shine and excellent ball controll by the forwards who won most rucks, mauls, line-outs and scrums. The backs led by Greg Ireland scored multiple times, as did the forwards, and soon everyone who came dressed to the match was able to play in the match. Brad Harrison ran into the line consistently bursting onto the ball and breaking through the Rustin defensive line.
More to follow...
3 April 2010 - Shanahan D2 vs Malvern Prep - L- 13-5
This match was a very strong effort by the Shanahan D2 team against a well coached and agressive Malvern Prep side in their first year of play. Scrum half Allan Synder was brilliant in his effort on the day with a strong showing by flyhalf Ray Gould with strong runs & kicking.
21 March 2010 - Shanahan D1 vs Unionville - W - 19-5
Shanahan took the field for the first effort of the 2010 season prepared for a difficult match vs Unionville high school. From the beginning Shanahan had to fend off an agressive offensive effort by the large Unionville pack and quick back line, but the Shanahan defense held off Unionville till the last minute of play when the Unionville team finally obtained a try. The Shanahan team showed a great willingness to tackle much larger opponents; communicate well with each other on the field of play and move the ball from the forwards to the backs and then back again as required to keep possession of the ball for opportunities to score. Captains Zac Barbera and Greg Ireland lead the team with inspirational efforts as well as verbal encouragement on the pitch. The first Shanahan score of the day came on a brief 12 meter run by new inside center St. Christopher Cusick on a pass from flyhalf John Shine. St. Christopher drove toward the try line bent low and carried the defenders on his back as he crossed the try line and scored. Providing support on his final run into the try line was Greg Ireland, John Shire and several forwards. Greg Ireland kicked the conversion kick and Shanahan was up by 7 points.
Play continued with Shanahan now dominating on the pitch, maintaing control of the ball on our offensive side of the pitch. Shanahan began to win lineouts when Unionville had the throw in as well as winning several Unionville scrums. Primary jumper Ben Anstrand is to be complemented for his excellent effort in the linesout as well as his primary lifters - Matt Siefert & TJ Seifert. Officer Vinny Larento excelled as our new hooker and covered the field showing excellent leadership through his tackles and agressive rucking. The match was a hard fought effort between forwards with the size advantage going to Unionville. Our newly named Morality Officer - Matt Seifert - roamed the field getting to rucks and mauls again and again early on to help win the ball for Shanahan. Matt of course was trying to live up to the legend of being named the new "Gazelle" an honor originally earned by coach Eamon Cantwell.
Anyway moving back to the play after some great placement kicks by John Shine to get the team in position and runs by Greg Ireland, Kenny Leach, John & Matt Mckay it was another 10 meter run by inside center Cusick which brought Shanahan their 2nd score on the day. Again bursting onto the ball and keeping low St. Christopher made it to the try line and collapsed onto the ground. Greg Ireland - aka Mad Eye Moody - made another successful conversion kick and the match ended at half with Shanahan ahead 14-0.
The second half saw only one further score by Tony Chilla who played his best game to date for BSHS rugby. Tony dove onto a lose ball that had been jared from another Shanahan player into the in-goal area. Tony showed great presence of mind and athletic skill in getting to the ball before several Unionville defenders. Tony has received the nickname "Vendetta" for his pay this Sunday against Unionville. Matt Liebel and Matt Miller also both had outstanding efforts thoughout the play continuously tackling, rucking and mauling to stop Unionville players and winning the ball for Shanahan. Both contributed to the Shanahan scores and maintaining possession of the ball. Overall the Shanahan team showed a strong and determined effort over the course of the 70 minutes of play to defeat a large and motivated Unionville side. The highlights of the mact overall were Shanahan's dominance in the lineouts; rucks and scrums as well a fierce tackling throughout the match. Libel; TJ Seifert; Matt Miller added significant efforts to the pack while the back line adjusted when losing John Shine off the pitch to an eventual 22 stitches. Fortunately it was a clean cut and John will return shortly. The only other Shanahan player who was injured on the field of play was Matt Seifert who wiull also return to play this weekend.
Standouts for Shanahan were also our new fullback Brad Harrison & Phillipe Indeque both who returned to rugby for their senior year since they obviously missed playing for the team in the previous year. Brad brings steady nerves when catching high kicks to the fullback and great speed once he has recovered the ball and bringing it back up field. Phillipe simply enjoys a great match of rugby running about the field yelling to the Shanahan forwards to win the ball in rucks and mauls, tackling opponents and spining the ball out to flyhalf John Shine - who we are told now consistently kneels with a straight back at mass concentrating on his prayers to excell at rugby and for all team members especially new Morality Officer Matt Seifert. Sometimes it may appear that Phillipe is singing on the field or laughing but truly he is committed to wining the ball for Shanahan.
More to follow...
21 March 2010 - Shanahan D2 vs WC Henderson - L- 32-15
Well, what can one say about an effort that was expected to produce a win and resulted in a loss?? Prehaps it can be related that within the opening five minutes of play Shanahan took a quick 5-0 lead and then did not execute as a team of 15 players but operates in elements of 5-10 players at a time. The courage, effort and skill shown on the filed of play was considerable but simply did not measure up to a sustained effort of 15 men playing together to win a match. Sophmore "Storm" Brian Gayle played a consistently match along with fellow prop David Hauss as they tackled and rucked their way through out the match. Steve Hoertz aquited himself well as hooker and so the front row put in a valient effort followed by the other forwards and backs. Flyhalf was shared on the day between several players with Ray Gould out in the country side for an academic scientific field trip or a Baptism, cannot remember which it was. It could have been Joe Zepkta who was out for the Baptism??
Anyway, Daniel Mitchell finished at flyhalf doing a fine job with leading the backline who ran the ball hard into the defeners and kicking the ball when required. The Shanahan backs ahd a good day at running but needed improvement on tackling to keep Henderson from making several breaks which they did on the wings.
