Herriman defeated United 43-12 this past weekend in Utah Youth Rugby action on Senior Night.

The evening started with 13 Herriman seniors escorted onto the field by their parents through a tunnel of their teammates. It was a warm start to a chilly evening.

United nearly got on the board right away, intercepting a Herriman pass. The most intriguing matchup of the day pitted United's outstanding flanker Bailey Wilson against Herriman's impressive and hyperactive openside Levi Hunt.  Wilson would come with some punishing runs early, but Hunt was making first or second contact nearly every time and putting United on the back foot.  Both were a force in the breakdown all day. Herriman would get relief from a penalty, and Beto Lui and Leki Fotu would provide go-forward out to midfield. The ball would continue to move into United territory, but was cleared by United, only to have Tomasi Tonga put a grubber through that sneaked in to touch just beyond the 22-meter line. A bobbled lineout was stolen by Herriman, which spun wide to Juney Leakehe who straightened up thorough a gap and committed the fullback before finding Preston Miranda out wide for the first score of the game, which was converted by Jaeron Masina.

Tonga's clearing kick off of the United restart was not quite as adept, as it got help up in the breeze and allowed a solid counterattack.  United would make several attempts to break through the Mustang defense, but Hunt and company would not yield.  United found themselves with a nice scoring opportunity when they mis-hit a kick for touch from a penalty that was unwisely fielded by Miranda in-goal. He caught it over his shoulder, and the ball slipped out of his hands and out the back for a 5-meter scrum to United.  A weakside wing insert put them a meter out, but Hunt, Noah Vaea, and Fotu continued to stonewall the attack, and eventually force a knock on.  United's big, powerful pack gave Herriman fits in the scrum, but somehow the Mustangs were able to chip away at territory and get some breathing room.  United would continue to control possession for several minutes, but were not finding anything but a wall of defenders for their efforts.  Lui was in position for a kick ahead, and some go forward by Herriman would bring the ball to the United side of the field for the first time since Miranda's try.  With United committing multiple defenders to Herriman star Vaea, the ball would once again find itself wide to Miranda, who nearly scored with a nice cutback before a penalty at the breakdown thwarted the advance.  

Three successive lineout steals by Herriman would continue to slow down the United charge, but the visitors would continue to dominate possession until a forward pass gave Herriman a scrum.  Vaea would make a slashing run in to the heart of the defense, and Karson Hammer would make a nice break before Brig Rush turned on the burners outside.  Rush was brought down, but Hammer was there for the offload, which turned in to a quick ruck when he was tackled - the ball was popped to prop Misi Vakapuna who barreled over for a try in the corner, 12-0.

Herriman would continue to attack immediately, mixing powerful runs from Tonga with fast breakaways from Lui and Miranda.  The United defense began to take a bit too much liberty at the breakdown, and were whistled for successive penalties. Herriman would quick tap instead of trying to kick for touch in to the stiff wind, and the United defense's continued focus on Vaea would help open up running lanes for others as he became a distributor. Several attempts near the goal were met with resistance by United, until Fotu decided to impose his will and run through 4 defenders to power over for a Masina-converted try to extend the lead to 19-0 going in to the half.

The Mustangs, intent on putting any hope of a United comeback out of the visitor's minds, began the second half with a vengeance and scored in the first minute.  Zak Barker would make jar the ball loose from the United receiver off of the restart, and Karson Hammer was on the spot to secure it.  After Fotu nearly scored again from 20 meters out, the ball found its way out wide to Leakehe, who cut inside to a gap, then another, and sliced his way across for the try.  Masina continued his near-perfect kicking as of late for a 26-0 advantage.  

Hunt and Wilson would continue their back and forth contest as each was a thorn in the opponents' side at the breakdown, making tackles and challenging possession with well times poaches and forced penalties for not releasing.  As a result, the play was back and forth as both teams searched for secure ball.  Herriman would begin to have success mauling the ball off of the lineout, and Tonga would put a well placed grubber through, but after chasing would be yellow carded for failing to bring the tackled player down safely. The Mustangs would respond to being a man down by raising their level of play.  Hunt would return to his former center position to help out in the backline, and Leakehe and Masina would make line breaks while Vakapuna cleared out the rucks.  A Herriman lineout at the 22m line was mauled yet again and United attempted an old South African strategy by refusing to contest and giving the offense nothing to drive against, which should have resulted in a penalty against Herriman.  The problem was, there was always at least one United forward who was not on the same page, and the strategy failed.  By the time the opposing pack realized that they needed to contest, Herriman had all of the momentum and pressed forward all the way across the try line, where Nate Maiava touched down for a backbreaking shorthanded score.  

Hunt would continue to lead from the front with a long break up the middle, but his counterpart Wilson would answer with a thundering tackle on Leakehe.  United would work the ball down the field but would be called for not releasing on a Hunt poaching attempt.  Wilson would get the ball back for United with a turnover of his own, which would provide nice go forward until Hunt once again took the ball back at the breakdown.  It was as if the two were fiercely involved in their own private turnover battle. Meanwhile, Tonga came back in the game to put Herriman back to full strength, only to be taken back to 14 when Barker got a bit carried away with a United player's head on a clearout.  United would win their scrum on the attacking 22 and Gavin Smyth had a nice idea on a chip ahead, but Tonga snatched the ball out of the air and the well rested, big flyhalf showed tremendous pace, racing past the United defense and touching down for an incredible 80-meter score to make the score 36-0.  

Herriman would threaten almost immediately with a huge run up the middle by Maiava and a near miss when Anthony Perschon was denied a try for carrying the ball across after being tackled, but the Mustangs got a bit sloppy with possession after emptying their bench and using their full allotment of subs and were unable to capitalize on the field position.  United, closing in on injury time, worked the ball patiently down the field with intent to avoid being shut out.  Double digit phases and a handful of penalties against the newly entered and less experienced Herriman reserves got the ball down to the 1 meter line.  Although the defense held through several more phases, Wilson was able to corral a ball out wide and dive across for a try at the death and some points on the board for United to make the final 36-5.

The Varsity game was part of a great day of rugby between the two programs. Herriman's 9/10 starters bested United's 19-10 in a half of play before both teams gave way to reserves as the rosters were opened up for the friendly.  United's youngsters showed their depth by erasing the deficit and coming out on top 36-28 with a well played half of rugby.  United's girls turned a close 10-0 halftime lead in to a rout over the Herriman girls in the second half, while Herriman's 7/8 team showed the Mustangs' future is bright with a 43-12 defeat of United, led by the running of Mana Kula and the boot of Daxton McPeak.