RUGBY: GECKOS SWOOP BULLDOGS

By Paradis Jolie Fejerang

At Guam High School’s field, the GW Geckos took on the Okkodo Bulldogs for an eagerly anticipated sunset game. Many have speculated that the two teams would have an impressive matchup as both lineups are evenly impressive which proved to be true as the first half ended with a tie of 7-7. However, the Geckos pulled through to take the game with a final score of 21-7.

With both teams eager to prove they deserve to make it to the championship, the first half of the game was complete with good defense from both sides. Of the comparable match, the Geckos set the tone in their favor as Jovohn Concepcion scores the first try of the sundown game followed by GW captain, Nizayah Untalan, securing the conversion.

In response, the Bulldogs pulled themselves together to keep from allowing the Geckos to take any potential opportunities from them for the rest of the half. Leading the defensive team for Okkodo seemed to be fullback Deon Apatang, who pulled a lot of weight to ensure his teammates could find their chance to balance the scores as he continuously tackled any offensive break the Geckos got for the rest of the half.

Finally resetting the score, the Bulldogs’ Ezekiel Santos was able to get in-goal leading to Apatang making the conversion before the halftime whistle blew. 

As the game picked back up, the Geckos go from losing their stride with athletes evidently losing focus on the field capitalizing on every mistake the Bulldogs make. 

The first try of the second half came from GW’s Isaiah Hayes making a break right down the center of the field with almost no Bulldogs in tow.

Luckily for them, the Geckos’ simple mistakes were met with just as many, if not more, by the Bulldogs and resulting in Hayes finding himself a pocket past the goal-line once again.

With Untalan making the conversions after each try, the Geckos racked up a total of 21 points by the game’s end.

Acknowledging his team’s errors despite the win, Untalan shares his thoughts regarding their performance and how training will be shaping up until the next game. “The past few games have been rough. We’re going to try to fix it during practice. We’ve got to go 100%, fix our mistakes as soon as possible and perfect them,” he shares. “We need to connect with each other still…We have to get the ball and chemistry [with each other] going.”

“It’s been pretty shaky, but we’re still trying to…sync in to make sure we secure our spot in the ‘ship.” With the missteps getting worked on, Untalan still has high goals for his team and knows they are fully capable of refining what they need to as he ends with, “Right now, our future is looking bright.”

The final season games before playoffs will take place on Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm at the University of Guam field.

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