PATASKALA – Cody West knows where Warrior Rugby fell short of the incredibly high expectations the program has set for itself last season.
West, now a senior, put it squarely at his feet. Warrior Rugby dropped the state championship game to Medina 30-17 and is on a mission to settle a score.
“The biggest difference between this year and last is the culture. Last year, we had a few guys, including myself, that would bicker with other teammates, so in the offseason we really decided to hone in on brotherhood and loving everyone,” West said. “When I was a junior, I was a captain of the team, and I wasn’t the best leader. I wanted to come back and finish what we started.”
Warrior Rugby is backing up its talk by walking the walk as it hopes to win its fourth state championship in six seasons under coach Dan Hayes. Warrior Rugby beat Medina 26-23 in a rematch earlier this season and impressed April 24, earning a dominant 76-12 victory against visiting Dublin.
Warrior Rugby and Dublin, each celebrating its 10th anniversary, battled for the Dime Cup. Warrior Rugby won in emphatic fashion.
“The key today was just making sure we took care of those little things, making sure we were at every ruck, being with support, coming up on defense. Just being together as a team was the most important thing and not getting bogged down,” Eicholtz said. “We have a bad trend against this team of playing sloppy and playing slow. We did a much better job today, and it showed.”
Sam Crum reached the try line a team-high three times. Graham Smith, Paul Perusse and Cole Back, a first-year player reached twice with Landon Frasher, Ethan Horn, Donovan Lewis each reaching once and Chase Williams making nine conversions.
Eicholtz has been in the program nearly from the beginning, starting in its youth program, and he said success comes because the core principles are taught from the start.
“They do a phenomenal job of pushing us to be not only better rugby players but better people,” Eicholtz said. “They have built culture, culture, culture. They are building those rugby techniques, but they are also trying to show you how to carry yourself throughout your entire life.”
Expect the success to continue. Warrior Rugby, headed by Hayes with help from Andrew Meade since the start in 2016, took the aggressive step this season of recently sending its middle school team to Indiana to play in a full 15s match, something not typically done at that level in Ohio.
The high school A and B sides held a joint practice with the middle schoolers to give them a few last-minute tips before they hit the road.
“Apparently they are looking at getting a 15s game with Dublin, which is really cool,” Eicholtz said. “It is really great for the sport for them to show up at this high school level already having experience playing 15s.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Warrior Rugby taking accountability in pursuit of state title
Reporting by Kurt Snyder, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
