A Statement Victory In East Lansing
This past weekend, both the A and B sides delivered wins over Michigan State. The A side dominated with a 51-10 performance and shut out the Spartans in the second half, thanks to an inspiring defensive effort from the entire 23-man roster. The opening phases of the game set the tone for the whole 80 minutes, as the Wolverines drove the Spartans back over 50 meters, making dominant defensive tackles behind the gain line until the ball was coughed up. Michigan capitalized on the Spartans’ mistakes and went up 10-0 early. Michigan State eventually put together a few offensive phases and scored, capitalizing on the few errors made by the Wolverines that day. However, opportunities would be few and far between for Michigan State thanks to the iron grip the Wolverines had on the entire match.
The forward pack continued to dominate the lineout, like they did against Illinois in the previous match. Sophomore hooker Thomas Olaveson scored 2 tries on the day, along with making several dominant tackles. The entire back row of Mike Crismale, Nate Cumming, and captain Max Nelson all put in inspiring shifts, each scoring and making big hits. Center Jack Cummings scored his first try of the season off a set-up from captain and flyhalf Jack Regan. The rest of the set piece was firing on all cylinders for the Wolverines, as they scored a beautiful try off a backline scrum play, with fullback Ty West drawing in defenders and putting sophomore wing Ryan Beske through for a 40-meter try of his own. The maul wasn’t the only thing working in the lineout that day, as sophomore scrumhalf Noah Alvarez received the ball off a lineout and fired a pass to captain Luke Zana. After that passing sequence, Zana gave a perfectly timed tip ball to wing Regan Plank, who then proceeded to do the same as Mike Crismale ran a beautiful support line and dove over the try line for his 4th of the year.
What’s Next?
After taking care of business against Michigan State, the Wolverines have played themselves into the top bracket for the Big 10 playoffs. They will have a date with the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington on November 1st at 4:00 pm. The winner of the match will go on to play in the Big 10 Championship the following week against the winner of Notre Dame and Wisconsin. Stay tuned for more updates on the Wolverines path towards a Big 10 championship. As always, Go Blue!
