Those of you who follow Goff Rugby Report know that we love close games, and we love a conference with frequent close games.

The new Atlantic Rugby Conference, formed out of five NCR teams that used to be in the Rugby East, and bolstered by Wheeling, have been providing those games. This past weekend, the three ARC matches produced a total ... total ... winning margin of eight points.

Walsh beat Wheeling 26-24. Belmont Abbey beat Kutztown 25-22, and St. Bonaventure beat Queens 32-29. 

We have some more detail on SBU over Queens here: Thrilling Finish in Bonnies vs Queens

"It's great to have such really good competition," said St. Bonaventure Head Coach Danny Neighbour. "Against Queens it was a bit of an ugly game. We definitely did not play our best. Even after we talked about it at water breaks and at halftime, we just weren't making the mental changes we needed to make. But it's still early days."

And maybe Queens got under their skin a bit. A skin that was overheating.

"It was very hot! Our boys weren't used to it!" said Neighbour, who added that his team was too flat in attack, made too many errors, and were just "too antsy."

"But we played a team that went to the [NCR] final and we showed some grit and were up for it."

Belmont Abbey rebounded from last week's loss to Bonnies with a solid win over Kutztown, a win that had a historic aspect to it.

"For us, it was more than just a victory," said Head Coach Genaro Fessia. "We are just starting our second year in a D1 conference and it was our first win against one of the D1 giants. Last year, in our first year, we came very close, but we never achieved it, and that day arrived. It represents a big step for the program and the players who have been working very hard to achieve it. From now on, we must continue to grow and remain ambitious so that these kinds of victories become a habit."

And Walsh held off a dangerous Wheeling side on the road. 

"Playing Wheeling is always tough because every time you make a mistake they can score," said Head Coach Cornel Britz. "You almost play a bit scared because of that. On the day we did make a few mistakes, but I am very happy with how we fought until the end."

Elliott McKinney accounted for 21 of the Cavaliers' 26 points, while Jake Tolkoek came off the bench to provide a critical spark in the second half. Prop Tanner Smith continues to be a force.

"We're finding our way," said Britz.