While Central Florida did basically what was expected and mad their way through Kings Point and West Virginia to make the national DIAA  final, it was anything but easy to predict the west coast bracket.

The UC Davis team is happy post-game.

The upset of the weekend - Arkansas (in red and white) over Long Beach State. Austin Brewin photo.

After Arkansas upset Long Beach State 22-14, and UC Davis downed Western Washington 50-10, you had to won how it would all turn out. In the end, Davis, not CSULB, was the dominant team in the West, thumping the Razorbacks 61-10 to book a place in the final against UCF May 9 at Kennesaw State.

“It was the best game we’ve played all season,” said UC Davis Head Coach Mike Purcell. “I am so proud of them and how they played. Defensively we were sound, and they had some dangerous players, especially their fullback, and we closed him down.”

Defense and set piece set the tone for the Aggies. Loosehead prop Hayden Meyers was a force, making sure the scrum was strong and showing leadership around the field. Fullback Auria Torshizi had his best game on Saturday against the Merchant Marine Academy, and then followed that up with an even better performance on Sunday. Lock Ilaitia Namatasere was all over the place, and flanker Hunter Kepon has a motor that doesn’t run down.

And the two Joshes, scrumhalf Campos and flyhalf Farnsworth, controlled the game, set free their runners, and put Arkansas on their heels with smart kicking. 

“We worked hard on our offloads and making sure our passing was good,” said Purcell. “And we knew we needed to talk more. Communication and fitness were the keys.”

After getting a scare in their first league game of the season - an 18-15 win over Chico State - Davis has powered through their opposition. No one has really come close.

But they will be up against it when they face a UCF team as good at rugby as they are reluctant to give interviews (ahem). The Knights will be wary, too, as they will remember how WVU pushed them in the quarterfinals - it was 21-15 at halftime. But if lock Christian Rossi keeps scoring tries, they will be a handful.

Meanwhile, WVU will have to be happy with their weekend, despite the loss to UCF. The Mountaineers rode an outstanding defensive effort to beat Yale to make the semis, and into the second half were behind by just three before Central Florida opened up the floodgates.

Yale didn’t flinch in a tough weekend for them, but fell to Kings Point in the consolation bracket. CSULB shrugged off their disappointment on Saturday to record a nice win over Western Washington on Sunday.

DIAA Playoff scores:

Quarterfinals

UC Davis 50 Western Washington 10

Arkansas 22 Long Beach State 14

Central Florida 50 Kings Points 15

West Virginia 29 Yale 8

Consolation Games

Long Beach State 46 Western Washington 22

Kings Points 34 Yale 24

Semifinals

UC Davis 61 Arkansas 10

Central Florida 38 West Virginia 18

Final May 9 Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.

UC Davis v Central Florida