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OMBAC Records First Win Of The Season - Defeats Vegas 36-15 To Even Record
(Las Vegas, NV) 18 January 2003 -- Under sunny skies in the City of Sin, the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club rebounded from one of the club’s biggest defeats ever to turn back Las Vegas 36-15. The win evens OMBAC’s Southern California First Division record at 1-1, the loss coming at the hands of Belmont Shore last week. OMBAC fullback Kenny Burke scored the first points of the game. His try was converted by flyhalf Alistair Steele to give the visitors the early 7-0 lead. Steele added three more when he slotted a penalty kick midway through the first half. Vegas climbed back in it with a converted try to make it 10-7 before OMBAC answered with a converted try of its own by prop Troy Donaghue. Vegas came out storming in the second half looking to hand OMBAC another defeat. The hosts slotted a penalty, then tacked on an unconverted try to reduce the lead to just two points at 17-15. Recently relocated prop, John Tarphoff, substituting for Donaghue, stormed over for his first try in the blue and white. Second row Mike Underhill was next to dot down for OMBAC as he chased down a nice chip ahead by Eric Guzman. The final OMBAC try was scored by center Jason Harper as he made a nice break through the first line of defense to score between the poles. Steele added the extras to make the final score OMBAC 36 – Las Vegas 15. In spite of the victory, OMBAC manager Mike Tracy sees plenty of room for improvement. “We continue to struggle with developing consistency on both sides of the ball.” The Division One second side match was no contest as OMBAC sailed to a 71-0 victory. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles RC handed OMBAC its second Division Two loss in as many weeks 39-10. Entering the game with injuries to some key personnel, OMBAC suffered further damage to four more starters during the course of the match. Los Angeles, losers last week to South Orange County, played well in the open field as they continually got the ball to former Eagle star Barry Williams. In addition to their effective running with ball in hand, the LARC backline was much more physical than the OMBAC back division, making a long afternoon of it for coaches Lin Walton and Clark Bernales. OMBAC tries on the day were the result of good open field play by the forwards and an intercept try by Daniel Shields. The second match of the day was closer but the outcome was the same as LARC defeated OMBAC 12-0. Even with three players playing in their first match ever, OMBAC’s overall team effort was splendid. Bernales was pleased with the effort. “These guys were fun to watch. They were diving for loose balls, sprinting to the breakdowns and were tackling hard. I couldn’t have asked for a better effort.” OMBAC travels to Huntington Beach to take on the Unicorns next week in First Division play while the Division Two side looks for their first win at San Fernando Valley.
Source: OMBACRugby.com
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