Blues vs Wisconsin Recap: Slippery When Wet

Was it Game of Thrones?  A Song of Ice and Fire? Was it Captain Planet with the powers of Earth, Wind and Fire? Was it the office gif with Michael Scott saying “snip, snap, snip, snap”.  No, it was the beginning of September. Weeks one and two of the Kansas City Blues fall 15s season.  Game one was a late summer scorcher where players and supporters alike bore the burden of an angry sun. Followed by big game two where we transported to the British Isles for a match under the watch of Poseidon.  That is being dramatic; but it poured rained the entirety of the game.  From two-ish hours before to well after the final whistle, it was a rain game through and through.

The thing about rain games is everything but the game.  On the field, from whistle to whistle, its all good.  Its even kind of fun to a degree.  The field is lubricated, you slide an extra 5 yards every time you hit the ground.  Hits tend to not feel quite as hard because everything well slicked. You can get into it and enjoy it for the sake of it.  But getting there? Getting taped, ready to go, warmed up…. It all suuuucks.  It’s the worst and the most uncomfortable.  For the support staff and the fans this is the worst kind of game to attend.  You gotta wear rain jackets, worry about keeping your phone dry, work for a place under a tent that disappears as fast as the wind.  But all that is just adversity.  And the positive mentality and concentration through adversity is a theme of the organization this year.  A standard set by Coach Derek Pearson.  The rain and the discomfort was just another puddle to jump over and that is what Saturday was about for your Kansas City Blues.   Shoutout to Alan Bortolotti, JT Bergner, Jon Khalil, Kenny Woods, Ashley Pouche, Steve Jackman and many more who were responsible for making all that happen.  Especially with transporting all the infrastructure up from Swope to Riverside to the KC Current Facility, which was an really awesome place to play (Teal Rising baby!) It took a lot of effort from those who operate behind the curtain. It was a wet noodle of a curtain on Saturday.

The game started with a few rain fueled knock ons, a big Blues scrum stole possession at the Wisconsin 40 and standout Center, Cael Hodson, made a highlight out of it.  A savvy dummy put him through the line and after beating the Fullback, hit the ground, saw that he was going to slide out of bounds. He popped the pill to a trailing Aren Martin keeping the ball in bounds and simultaneously handing out the try.  You can see it on the Blues Instagram!  Next up was Kyle Renner, the 6 million dollar man of a wing who dotted another try down to continue his impressive opening to the 2022 fall season.  Our import prop Ezzy Fukofuka had himself quite the game as well running with purpose and intent every time he touched the ball. He easily led both sides in tackles broken for the day. After a Wisconsin try coming off a turnover ball, Ezzy tried a very ambitious pass which could only be described as “he was feelin’ it”. He stepped forward through adversity once again with a nice run.  A number of methodical phases later, the Blues were forward pod crashing into the goal line when longtime Blues Mainstay. Matt Wirken, surged himself forward into the try zone.  19-5 Blues at Halftime.

The second half was all wet Kansas City Blues rugby.  The boys got the wheels turning and the Blue’s machine was humming.  KU Jayhawk Rookie standout Chandler Owens inked his first try of his Kansas City Blues career with an incredible highlight run to open the scoring of the second half.  What seemed like a half dozen dummied defenders lay in his wake when he touched the try down with a grin on his face.  Aren Martin dotted down his second try of the night after scrumhalf Jordan Rice pulled the ball out of the forward, as they once again surged in goal line formation and delivered service to the outside.  Stephen Lomas and his mane barreled in again to round out the Blues scoring and make the score a final 44-5.  The Blues kept with the faith and pushed through another set of adversity to deliver the first D1 win of the season and the first D1 win of the Derek Pearson era.

The 1-1 Blues face a big challenge next weekend as they travel to St. Louis to play the first place Bombers.  The Bombers have had a very good side the last few years as they slowly morph into the St. Louis BomberLions.  And good on them, what a great place to source from.  Many faces and players that have contributed to the good guy program in the past such as Richie Felton, Reece Botha, Jabari Leopold, Ani Metro, Matt Brotemarkle and the most shocking name on the list, Ryan Scheidt, have added to the success of the bombers this year.  We look forward to the trip and the challenge.  And as the cream rises to the top of the Eastern Division of the Midwest Premiership, the question will be asked; will the Blues rise with it?  House Blues takes on House Bombers, next weekend. Snip Snap!

Blues vs Wisconsin RFC Roster:

1. Isikeli Fukofuka 2. Stephen Lomas 3. Mamadee Tullay 4. Matt Wirken 5. Chase Higgins 6. Danny Apgar 7. Everett Horton 8. Jimmy Lillis 9. Jordan Rice 10. Liam McLoughlin 11. Kyle Renner 12. Cael Hodgson 13. Ryan Ellison 14. Aren Martin 15. Chandler Owens 16. Alan Bortolotti 17. Scott McAvoy 18. Riley Mizner 19. Van Marshall 20. Elijah Brizendine 21. Blakeston Bryant 22. Dairyess Collier 23. Luke Christensen

Staff:
Derek Pearson - Head Coach
Jamie Dever - Pack Coach
Casey Cummings - Backs Coach
Kyle Izard - Manager
Kyleigh Moorer - Trainer