P-W Puts First-Week Loss Behind Beats Baltimore-Chesapeake
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2003
Philadelphia-Whitemarsh 28
Baltimore-Chesapeake 26
Site – Memorial Hall Field
Referee –PHILADELPHIA – One week after suffering a lopsided loss at PAC to start the Fall season, Philadelphia-Whitemarsh regrouped and earned a hard-fought 28-26 win over visiting Baltimore-Chesapeake.
Speedy winger Don Foy started the scoring for P-W in the 18th minute after fullback Anasa Koroitamana stole a pass and put Foy away for a 20-meter try.
Baltimore-Chesapeake evened the score 17 minutes later after their winger blocked a Koroitamana kick deep in P-W territory and fell on the ball for a try. Neither team converted and the score stood 5-5 until B-C made a break in the centers and dotted down again in the last minute of the half. The convertion put them up 12-5 at half.
Led by their fiery young captain John "Spanky" Grace, P-W came out for the second half with a clear mission.
In the 11th minute of the half scrumhalf Kris Johnson went in for a try after a nice break from Grace at midfield, who then put Johnson away. The Andrey Biryukov convertion evened the score at 12.
Four minutes later center Jack Foley burst through the B-C defense and fed a sprinting Louis Tulio, who broke off a 20-meter run before chipping over the opposing fullback's head and diving on his own ball for the try. Biryukov's convertion put P-W up 19-12.
Baltimore-Chesapeake, however, would not give up. Just four minutes after Tulio's try, the visitors' number 8 picked-up off the base of a scrum and busted through the P-W defense for a try, which was converted to even the score at 19.
Two penalty goals by Biryukov over the course of the next ten minutes put P-W ahead 25-19, but with less than five minutes to play Baltimore-Chesapeake picked up a loose ball deep in P-W territory and notched a converted try to go up 26-25.
A Baltimore-Chesapeake penalty in the final minute would give Biryukov one last chance to earn the win for P-W. On the first attempt a Baltimore-Chesapeake defender charged the kick, which sailed wide. Another kick was awarded for the infraction. Reminiscent of his clutch performance in last Spring's win at Denver, Biryukov was on the mark with his second kick and P-W walked away with the two-point victory, 28-26.
Side note: Recently named vice-captain Matt Winters was lost midway through the match with an Achilles tear and will likely miss the remainder of the Fall season. The loss of one of the club's best big men will mean an opportunity for some younger players to step up and try to fill Winters' big shoes.
Michael Badger, Club Scribe