ROYALS START OFF RUGBY SEASON 3-0

By Shania Bulala

The ISA rugby league has officially kicked off with a full day of varsity matchups on Saturday at the John F. Kennedy Ramsey Field.

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the day, the Notre Dame Royals upset the defending champions, the AOLG Cougars, with a 17–14 victory. Seniors Addison Linek and Aveyani Babauta powered the Royals as Aveyani made the first try with Linek making making the last two.

First Half—Royals Strike First

With new faces and roster changes, the opening day provided the perfect stage for new stars to emerge. “We knew that this season was going to be different. A lot of teams last year consisted of seniors, so predicting the competition was going to be difficult. But, we knew that we just wanted to be able to prove ourselves by going out and being aggressive against other teams because that’s what I feel we’re good at,” said Linek.

The Royals wasted no time pressuring the Cougars, attacking aggressively from the opening kickoff and even putting the first points on the board within minutes.

Babauta managed to break through the Cougars’ defensive line to score the first try of the game for the Royals. “I saw the opening and just jumped for it,” Babauta said. “We worked so hard for that first try. We ran through so many drills in practice strategically for this exact moment, and I’m just glad our hard work paid off.”

The Cougars offense responded immediately with Kylee Reyes scoring a try of her own, and teammate Maya Torre following with a successful conversion to tie the game 7–7.

With tension high and the momentum swinging back and forth, both teams continued to try and push ahead. Before the half, Linek found an opening in the Cougars’ defense and crossed the try line to give the Royals a 12–7 lead. The conversion attempt that followed was no good, but the Royals managed to hold the lead heading into halftime.

Second Half – Royals Hold Strong

The Royals opened the second half with the same intensity and once again found themselves in the try zone on the left side of the field. Babauta capped the drive with her second try of the match, extending the Royals’ lead to 17–7.

Yet, the Cougars refused to go quietly. Adia Benavente sparked the crowd with a massive 70-yard run into the try zone and a successful conversion to close the gap to 17–14, putting the pressure back on the Royals.

With time winding down, the Cougars battled the clock trying to push into the Royals’ territory. However, the Royals’ defense held firm, forcing stops and controlling possession until the final whistle blew.

The Royals officially improved their record to 3-0, while the Cougars dropped to 1-2, also falling short against the Southern Dolphins earlier in the day.

OTHER SCORES
SHS (5)- ND (14)
SSHS (15)- GHS (0)
OHS (0)- AOLG (5)
ND (22)- GW (5)
SHS (10)- AOLG (7)
SSHS (5)- OHS (0)
GWHS (5)- GHS (14)
ND (17)- AOLG (14)
SHS (33)- SSHS (5)
Boys Varsity
GWHS (43)- JFK (0)
SHS (0)- FDMS (38)

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