D1A Gamebreakers

02.22.2024

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As everything heats up in D1A here’s a look at who performed well over the last couple of weeks.

Evan Roode, Arkansas State

A powerful lock who seems to be involved everywhere, Roode had a huge influence on ASU’s win over Lindenwood.

Will Shankland

Helping Cal bounce back form a loss to BYU with two wins in Arizona, Shankland played both center and flyhalf on the road trip, took over goalkicking duties against Grand Canyon, and has been a mainstay of Cal’s efforts all season.

Andrew Miller, Central Washington

Miller led from the front as flanker in Central Washington’s win over Cal Poly. His work in the lineout and in the breakdown was huge for the Wildcats.

Nicho Domine, Cal Poly

Domine’s explosive play has sparked Cal Poly and while they did lose to CWU they are recording some strong results and Domine’s explosiveness from fullback has been part of that.

Dylan Dominey and Abbas Bangash, Texas A&M

With time almost up and A&M tied with Texas 12-12, Dominey, on as an impact sub in the forwards, snagged a pass with one hand and sucked in two tacklers on the wing before offloading perfectly to wing Bangash on the inside, and Bangash raced in to score the game-winner over Texas.

John Nagengast, UCSB

The Gauchos wing scored four tries to spark his side’s win over Sacramento State.

King Matu, Saint Mary’s

The Gaels No. 8 was a physical force and put in a load of work on defense and in the breakdown to help Saint Mary’s to a convincing win over UCLA.

John Slaney, Texas

Slaney came off the bench to add some intensity against Texas Tech February 10 and scored three tries for the Longhorns.

Michael Papenfus, Oklahoma

The Sooners’ flyhalf scored 13 points and ran the attack in excellent fashion as Oklahoma christened their new scoreboard with a victory over Baylor.

Jack Pargetter and Will Sherman, UCLA

The second row pairing produced were a powerful presence for UCLA in their win over Grand Canyon, getting plenty of work done around the field, making a couple of heads-up plays, and scoring.

Wyatt Parry, BYU

BYU’s win over Cal February 10 was hugely impressive and the pace at which the Cougars switched from defense to attack was even more so. At flyhalf Wyatt Parry was central to all of that.

Victory Gomez and Jeremy Juarez, Cal State Long Beach

Amid several good performances for the 49ers in a victory over San Diego State, Gomez went 8-for-9 on conversions and controlled the game throughout with his organization, setup skills, and kicking skills. Meanwhile, Juarez was called in to start at prop after the expected starter picked up an injury and he was a force, making big carries and providing power in the scrum. Juarez was named player of the game.