Pitty fools.

1400 Hudson Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124

We are moving here because we will have a half pitch for the first hour and the full pitch for the second hour. This is ideal for our team runs, and will not be possible at Crocker. Also, you can take the T line about 3 blocks from the field. If you are taking BART or are in the city, get off at Embarcadero and take the T outbound to 3rd and Hudson. You can also take the T back to church and market and walk 5 blocks to Danny Coyle’s, so let’s have some more guys show up to drink next Thursday.

Tonight, Tuesday, October 18

CROCKER AMAZON
7pm-9pm
FIELD 2, C/D

3pm kickoff (boots on at 2pm)

Pity some fools!

This match up was a tough one b/c we had been sitting waiting for about 2-3 hrs before we could play. Once we did get the chance to play, it was middle of the day in the Palo Alto hot sun! The match started out well with trys from both sides, however through a few missed opportunities, misalignment on defense, and having a group of “7s first timers”, we walked away with a loss. Score: 19-14 (i think)

Game 2 vs. Cal Poly

What a match…we came out guns blazing with 3 trys (2 for Justin, a 7s first timer) and looked to capitalize on Cal Poly’s lack of 7s experience and excellent communication. Second half started out with Baracus continuing to dominate the Cal Poly side, however the tide changed when Cal Poly decided to throw in 3 ringers from the very, very talented Sac Capitals team. This change lead to 3 unanswered trys by Sac Capitals and another loss for Baracus. Despite the final score, this was a won match in my mind as CP had the numbers to play us and simply were looking for a win to make a run at the National Tournament. We out played, out hustled, out skilled the CP team in every phase. So a “W” in my mind. Score: 4 trys to 3 trys technically

Game 3 vs. Fresno

After a clear cut beat down last PA tournament, Fresno came with a few more bodies looking to avenge their loss against the Baracustan Nation. Note this game was played at 5:30pm, but would have been played about an hour later had the quick thinking of Sleeper and Royal w/ Cheese and the collaborative efforts by Fresno to simply take the field after one of the matches ended. After all the fun and games, we took the field with business in mind: BEAT FRESNO.

The match started out quick and aggressive with both sides actively moving the ball and playing sturdy defense. Baracus struck first and second (I believe) and looked to run away with another big win against our divisional enemies. However Fresno took advantage of some loose play and kept the game close going into the half. Second half, Baracus saw ourselves behind most of the period scratching and clawing our way back to take the lead with about 2 mins left. The final minute saw a great effort by both sides leading to a heartbreaking score by a Fresno player, who converted the game winning conversion.

The ref quoted this game as “the best match to end the day on” as it was VERY evenly matched all the way through. Though I was upset that we could have walked out of the day with 2-3 wins, I thought the improvement in our game spoke louder given all the inexperience, both 7s and rugby in general, as well as the new faces we had. Great match, Great day, Great way to spend a Saturday in the summer! Score: 26-24

Now with most of the 7s season in our rear view, let’s look forward to continuing touch Tuesdays (and Thursdays?) and not losing the skills we developed. Finally, I’d like to get feedback on whether you’d like to continue with 7s practice starting next Thursday Aug 4th since we do have the Sept tournament. If not, I will definitely start 7s practice again Aug 25 to get us ready for SLO.

The first match of the day squared Baracus against a younger squad from Monterey. Sensing the inexperience opposite their numbers, the BAs came out aggressive and struck early with a familiar-looking Royal Gentry try on the outside. This time he managed to fight his way to between the posts and converted, BA 7-0 early. Monterey, with a range of sizes and ability levels, managed to create havoc with an oversized center who required too many BA tacklers to bring down. He was able to offload in front of the try zone for an unconverted score. 7-5 BA at the half. Early in the second half BA put pressure on the Monterey defense with several breaks in the middle of the field. Greg nearly scored after 2 Monterey players tackled him just shy of the try zone. Quick ball was cycled out to a streaking Pauly D who shed a tackler and scored an unconverted try. 12-5 BAs. BA struggled to put together much offense in the remaining few minutes, going away from the clean 7s they had played up until that point. In the end the BAs were relieved to pull out a 12-5 win, our first of the season.

For the second consecutive tournament, a key back (this time Paul) was rewarded for his proper tackling technique with a shoulder sting that set him out for the remainder of the day. It was a tough loss as Paul’s tackling and tackler-shedding play had helped us pull out the first match. After again shedding some crocodile tears (Mr T does have a sensitive side), the BAs recollected themselves for the match against SJ Seahawks A. Inspired by their hard-running teammates injury, BA managed to strike first asGreg Mohrman crashed through a gap an managed to reach across the line through the tackle for a self-converted try. The Seahawks responded quickly with their own converted try and the rest of the half was dominated by a series of back and forth penalties upon which neither team could really capitalize. Halftime 7-7. Out of the half, the Seahawks scored 2 quick tries, one a breakaway off a bad bounce, to put us down 17-7. After BAs regained their composure, a series of breaks and finally a penalty in front of the try zone led to a quicktap try to put the BAs down only 17-14 with significant time left. However, the Seahawks managed to pin Baracus back inside their own defensive zone and capitalized on an errant pass to seal the game. 24-12 Seahawks.

After a very long wait, BA took the field in impending twilight well after 5pm against a Fresno squad who faced a long ride back to the central valley. Eager to end the day on a high note, BAs came out focused and scored 4 consecutive tries in less than 5 mins to start the match. The shell-shocked Fresno youngsters fell apart after that, allowing a total of 8 tries. Highlights included a Royal hat trick, Comet’s first sevens try in 10 years, Akio chasing down a Fresno player to seal the shutout, and significant fist pumping and whooping from Racer throughout the match. BA 48-0. Pity those fools.

A strong performance left the BAs smiling and high hopes for the remaining two tournaments of the year.