Nate Overfield of the Marysville Rhinos rugby team skies for the ball out of the lineout. The Rhinos placed third during a recent season-ending tournament. (Photo submitted)
With a 27-17 overtime victory over Ft. Wayne, the Marysville Rhinos rugby team finished third in the area finals of the USA Rugby National Tournament.
As such, the local team won’t move on to the Chicago Regionals.
The Rhinos recently dropped a 52-14 verdict to Findlay, the team that advanced to the regionals.
With less than 24 hours to rest, the Rhinos returned and beat Ft. Wayne.
The game against Ft. Wayne was hotly-contested throughout the 100 minutes of action.
There were scoring opportunities for both squads as the match progressed.
Ft. Wayne tied the game near the end of regulation to bring overtime.
The extra session saw a valiant effort by both teams.
As time wound down, the Rhinos led by five.
A Try (TD) by Ft. Wayne would tie the score and the kick would add the winning points.
Ft. Wayne drove on the Rhinos and entered the red zone.
A tackle was attempted near the right boundary.
Out of the pack and racing the other way, Marysville’s Nick Fredericks sewed up the victory with a 70-meter steal and run for a Try.
The final whistle sounded shortly after the steal with the Rhinos sealing the win.
“Marysville finished a well-deserved third with an exhausting win over a very good team,” said club president and scrum-half Dan Stevens said. “During overtime, I kept repeating to myself, ‘When you dig deep, you gotta keep digging deeper.’
“I’m pretty sure that same thought was running through all the guys’ heads,” he said. “Such determination showed in their scrappy performance.”