Mount Saint Mary’s is still in first place in the new Chesapeake Collegiate Conference, but they better look over their shoulder, because Virginia Tech is coming.

The Mount handed Mary Washington a 32-10 defeat Saturday to move to 3-1 in the conference and 16 standings points. 

“We feel nervous in every game,” said MSM Head Coach Jay Myles. “We’ve got nine freshmen and sophomores starting, and each week it’s a growing process for us. Mary Washington has brought in some great players and they are a very well-coached team. So we knew it would be a challenge.”

So it was. Both teams made mistakes and missed scoring chances. But when they were in scoring position, MSM was a little more efficient and led 15-5 at halftime. Mary Washington had a tough time getting out of their own end, and the pressure from Mount Saint Mary’s began to tell.

“We put them under a lot of pressure, but they put pressure on us,” said Myles. “They focused on (center) Tito Miranda and (No. 8) Travis Bewley, and that forced us to think outside the box.”

Flyhalf Travis Myles had a strong day for MSM, and outside center Brandon Johnson, who Myles calls “the future of our program” was a handful. Prop John Bullock stepped in for an injured starter this week and was a revelation.

No. 8 Andrew Lamarca and prop Ethan Hicks scored tries for UMW, but the Mothers continued to lose the battle at the breakdown because they didn’t get sufficient numbers with sufficient intensity to the tackle area.

Mount Saint Mary’s is 3-1, because they lost 22-20 to Virginia Tech a week ago. Tech has had to battle through games this season, but the Hokies keep winning, and did so this Saturday, 19-13 over Maryland.

“We’ve really relied on our defense,” said Va Tech Head Coach Paul Caron. “We make sure our defense is sharp going into the weekend and three weekends in a row now we’ve had to count on them.”

Caron said his team’s attack has been good early in games, but they enter halftime perhaps a shade overconfident and ease up in the second period. Some more consistency with the ball in hand could see Tech open up later in the season. 

“We need to be more ruthless,” said Caron.

Lock Kelly Fernandi continued to play well and was central to Tech’s defensive performance this week. Flanker Zack Wilson was also good on defense.

With the ball, scrumhalf Danny Feldman has been excellent, working the attack, kicking goals, and captaining the squad. But lack of bonus points and not having played as many games has Tech still chasing Mount Saint Mary’s. For now.

“We love how competitive this conference is,” said Caron. “I was telling the boys we need 25-30 players ready for that 1st side each weekend because we change out players each week, depending on who is healthy and who can perform. We also know we have difficult opponents every week.”

Myles from MSM concurred.

“It’s just so exciting,” said Myles. “Each week we have the opportunity to win, and we also have the opportunity to lose.”

Also this weekend, James Madison thundered past Georgetown 69-24, as JMU has begun to hit their stride. Towson, behind a snappy game from prop Jason Wolf, beat Salisbury 32-24. No. 8 Will Ngonga scored three tries while lock Mike Morris, and Wolf each scored one.