Montclair 4/19/08

The Hudson Valley Rebels valiantly lost to the DIII Montclair RFC this Saturday 8 ~ 18.

The 1st-half would favor the Rebels as they striked first with a quick-thinking grab by scrum-half Chris Ray of Glenham followed by a 10 meter scramble for a try. The sun-burnt Scottish arms of "Man of the Match" recipient David "Fooie" Mowen of Beacon allowed the Rebels to dominate lineouts. Newly aquired Eric Nicholson of Glenham and Robert Palmer of Montgomery gave the Rebels two hard-fought halfs under an unforgiving sun. Returning veteran Jim Robinson of Walden along with newcomer Robert Deckert of Highland Mills provided the muscle behind our pack while Damien Brady and Nate Brooks, both of Newburgh, solidifed the pack defense and created several turnovers. The day was highlighted with Jay Kimler of Montgomery engulfing the elusive Montclair fullback which sent a message to the Norseman backs to keep the ball away from the Rebel pack.

The remaining 3 points would come from the reliable foot of Jon Jones of Hyland on a penalty kick putting the Rebels up 13 - 0 at the half.

The second half seemed to give way to exhaustion with some costly turnovers and missed tackles as the Rebels were battling a re-energized Montclair club. Despite the heroic defensive efforts of Nate Conkey of Cornwall, Alresch Jaywardeena of Newburgh, Mike Zentz of Mountainville and Paul Pastorini of Fishkill the Montclair backline found their way to the try zone three times before the Rebels were able to mount their counter-attack giving Hudson Valley their first lost of the year with a score of 8 ~ 18.