Knights start fast, upend RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - A check of the watch - not to mention a blazing sun shining down on a rain-starved pitch - suggested that Sunday afternoon's men's rugby matchup between the University of Rio Grande and Marian University was a daytime affair.
     But nothing could've been further from the truth.
     Unfortunately, it was Knight time from the get-go.
     The visitors scored less than three minutes into the match, built a 24-3 halftime advantage and went on to post a 41-30 non-conference victory over the RedStorm at Red Valley Pitch.
     Marian improved to 2-1 with the victory.
     Rio Grande finished the day at 1-1-1 with the loss.
     Tommaso Lorenzetti sandwiched a pair of successful tries around a score by teammate Zach White as the Knights jumped to a 17-0 cushion with just over 22 minutes remaining in the first half.
     The RedStorm got on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty kick by sophomore Thibault Carrere (Dax, Landes, France) with 19-1/2 minutes left before the intermission, but Marian countered just over two minutes later with an Eric Reed try and a conversion kick by Lorenzetti to enjoy its 21-point halftime cushion.
     Rio Grande did show signs of life immediately after the break, getting another penalty kick by Carrere just 2-1/2 minutes into the second stanza and a scoring scamper by junior Ethan Manuel (Durban, South Africa) - which punctuated a near length-of-the-field run following a turnover by the Knights near the try line on their ensuing possession - to slice the deficit to 24-13 with a little more than 31 minutes left.
     Marian extinguished hopes of a continued comeback, though, with tries by Zivan Mynhardt and Lorenzetti which extended the lead back to 34-13 with 19-1/2 minutes remaining.
     Rio got no closer than the game's final margin the rest of the way.
     Carrere's third PK of the contest with 16:45 left made it 34-16, but the Knights got a try by Lucas Pacheco and a conversion by Lorenzetti with 13:01 remaining to take their largest lead of the contest, 41-16.
     The RedStorm set the final score thanks to a try by sophomore Hadari Davis (Sandy Spring, MD) with just under eight minutes left and a Carrere try and conversion after time had expired.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday afternoon in its Big Rivers Rugby Conference opener at Wheeling (W.Va.) University.
     Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.