Ohio State Upsets Michigan with Comeback 34-22 Victory

OSUThe Wolverines traveled down to Columbus, Ohio this past Saturday, November 8th, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in a pivotal grudge match that would determine who moves on to the Big Ten Championship. Michigan was poised to defeat their rivals and secure their place in the title game and for 50 minutes it appeared that would be how the story played out, but OSU stuck in and were able to pull off a comeback 34-22 victory that won them the right to compete for the Big 10 title.

Ohio State opened the scoring at the tenth minute with their 14 Joseph Eramo placing the ball after a strong run. The conversion was missed, but the ball was returning to the Buckeyes. The Wolverines, however, had a quick answer. Number 6 Chening Duker was able to break through the line running it down to the 5-meter line. From there number 3 “Violent” Jordan Ulmer slammed through the line and placed the ball down to tie the game. Joel Conzelmann would miss the conversion from the far left hash mark. The Wolverines got the ball back and made quick work of the Buckeye defense. Six Minutes after the last try Chening Duker got one of his own this time, putting the ball down over the try line after a great run. The Wolverines were up 10-5 and were starting to roll. Ohio State answered with a penalty kick putting the game at 10-8. The Wolverines had the final say in the first half with forward Drew Vecchio scoring the try after a series of picks near the goal line. Conzelmann was good for this conversion putting the Wolverines up 17-8.

The Second Half opened with a flurry for the Wolverines. In stunning fashion fullback Andrew Cargill ran the kick return back for a try. The Wolverines were up 22-8 after Conzelmann missed the conversion. However, this would be the last time the Wolverines would see the try zone. The Buckeyes quickly scored three minutes after Cargill, taking advantage of a couple key penalties in the Wolverines’ territory. At the 59 minute mark the Buckeyes would come within two after another try and conversion. However, the Buckeyes were rolling and two minutes later they would take the lead at 27-22. Michigan fought back hard, but the Wolverines weren’t able to get  anything going as the momentum had shifted against them. The Buckeyes put the nail in the coffin at the 78-minute mark after winning a scrum and a couple tough runs to go up to 34 points. Michigan fought desperately to come back and score; however, a late disputed touch call ended the game, and Michigan’s hopes to move on to the championship match. It was a sad day for the seniors who wanted to walk away victorious over their bitter rivals and have a chance at the championship, however the fire was ignited for those first time players in this great college rivalry. It was a stinging defeat that will fuel the program for years to come and will stick with the players as they strive to become better and better athletes and players. The Wolverines are hungry for their next chance at the Buckeyes and can’t wait to redeem themselves in 7’s play this spring.

(Written by Jacob Clode)

  1.  Nick Fehrman (Azzopardi 58′)
  2. Jackson Wagner (Sawyer 40′)
  3. Jordan Ulmer
  4. Zack Burns (So.)
  5. Drew Vecchio
  6. Chening Duker
  7. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
  8. Cole Van Harn
  9. John Palladino
  10. Joel Conzelmann
  11. Cooper Smart
  12. Jared Bosma
  13. Zack Burns (Jr.)
  14. Tohy Rakotovololona
  15. Andre Cargill
  16. Nick Azzopardi
  17. Travis Sawyer
  18. Jeremy Reid
  19. Jesse Fenno
  20. Mike Shay
  21. Albert Foo
  22. Matt Kasten
  23. Juan Aguirre

The Academy game unfortunately did not go any better for the Wolverines with OSU taking the win with a 53-14 score. The Buckeyes took first blood with an early penalty kick 8 minutes in, but scoring would be sparse for the first 20 minutes. However, Jeremy Reid kicked off the try scoring with a hard run through the OSU line to score. Meng Shi converted to make the score 7-3 in Michigan’s favor. This is the last time they would hold the lead however. OSU scored tries of their own in the 26th and 29th minutes, quickly racking up points with two successful conversions, swiftly taking a 17-7 lead. Michigan tightened up their defense however and would close out the half down by 10. In the second half, the length of the day took hold and OSU began to score faster and more frequently. The Buckeyes picked up tries in the 44th, 48th and 55th minutes, but only managed to convert one, putting them up to a commanding 34-7 lead. Reid struck again with another punishing run that took him into the try zone with a conversion from Meng, bringing the score to 34-14. However OSU was still a powerful offensive force and picked up another 3 tries in the 69th, 73rd and 77th minutes with two made conversions, tallying up a final score of 53-14.

Overall it was a very disappointing day for the UMRFC. However, every club faces adversity, and the players are treating this tough series of losses in Columbus as both a lesson and as fuel to work even harder and be even better. This is not the end of Michigan’s season. Though Michigan and Ohio State earned the same amount of points in the Big 10 standings, Ohio State won the head-to-head, so they will go on to the Big 10 Championship next week with the Wolverines playing for third. UMRFC is looking to come out hard and fast with a point to prove. Though they may have lost their most recent match, the players refuse to let that loss define them and are looking to show the Big 10 just how good they can be.

 

  1. Jeremy Reid
  2. Nate Fisher
  3. Alex Carson
  4. Mike Shay
  5. Chris Byer
  6. Jason Anthony
  7. Jesse Fenno
  8. Brian Chu
  9. Albert Foo
  10. Justin Malin
  11. Tomer Chen
  12. Jacob Clode
  13. David Caputo
  14. Juan Aguirre
  15. Meng Shi
  16. Nick Azzopardi
  17. Kyle Gruebnau
  18. Sam Cipriani
  19. Travis Sawyer
  20. Ben Cotsarelis
  21. Guy Burke
  22. Reed Hostrander
  23. Dylan Aiken

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