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Gamebreakers DI College

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Gamebreakers DI College

Christian Opperman for Notre Dame. Photo Barbara Johnston, Notre Dame Marketing & Communications.

A few upsets and some tight games feature in this week's list of DI college games, and the top performers.

Here are our Gamebreakers from the weekend of October 16.

Anthony Rigas, Texas A&M

The sophomore lock joined the Aggies rugby team last year but didn't really get to play until this season. But he has picked up the game quickly, gets around the field, makes tackles, and played a very smart game in Texas A&M's defeat of North Texas.

Josh Leidich, Ohio State

The captain of the Buckeyes, Leidich was a powerful present with the ball in hand and kept his team going forward in a win over Purdue.

Christian Opperman, University Notre Dame

In a muddy, close-quarters game, Notre Dame squandered having the wind at their backs and had to rely on their forwards to win it against the breeze. That came down to, among others, No. 8 Opperman, who scored two tries and was a key weapon in getting the Fighting Irish to go forward against Bowling Green.

Aaron Stevenson, Louisville

Injured in his team's game against Kentucky, Stevenson returned to play center for Louisville in a crucial match against Western Michigan. He made up for lost time as a runner and a defender in a tight win over the Broncos.

Luke Davies, Tennessee

The Volunteers scrumhalf had been playing flyhalf, but moving hum to the #9 jersey worked out nicely as he ran the attack and controlled field position in a win over Clemson.

Dan Hughes (pictured, Andy Marsh photo), Indiana

The IU flanker is tireless, makes tackles, disrupts possession, and generally causes problems for the opposition, and that's exactly what he did as Indiana beat Iona.

Dan Hughes carries the ball for Indiana vs Iona October 16, 2021. Andy Marsh photo.

CJ Gabriel, Air Force

In a losing effort, Gabriel scored 23 points in a close loss to Colorado.

Hudson Lee, Brown

Lee scored three tries in the first half against Harvard, staking his side to a 34-3 lead as the Bears beat the Crimson.

Jasper Green, Dartmouth

The always dependable Big Green center led from the front once again and scored five tries in Dartmouth's defeat of a very tough Northeastern side.

Bennett Mantz, Boise State

In Boise State's 39-5 win over Oregon State the lock was a hard charger, scored, and made repeated offloads in contact to set up his teammates.
Bennet Mantz goes over for Boise State. Photo BoiseSportsTalk

Black Richards-Smith, Colorado

Richard's Smith scored two key tries to regain the momentum for Colorado in a 48-43 victory over Air Force.

Conn Foster, Bill Tamani, Lewis Naylor, Mary Washington

The Deep Three of Foster, Tamani, and Naylor scored four tries and were dynamic in counter-attack as the Mothers beat Virginia Tech. 

Steven Rohde, Army

Rohde continued his excellent run of form for the Black Knights, scoring early and keeping his side on-task during a win over Kutztown.

Ben Haugh, Navy

The always-ready flanker was a defensive leader as Navy shut out Notre Dame College.

Jake Millitello, University at Buffalo

In UB's close win over Nazareth, Millietllo was defensively strong and a leader on the field.

Rua Karimazondo, Wheeling University

The player of the game for Wheeling, Karimazondo scored two tries and got involved all over the field in a tie with Davenport.

Jacob lafave, Michigan State

The pick of the forwards in a tight game against Illinois, scoring a try and making yards after contact on almost every run.

Santi Thompson, Fordham

The Fordham fullback scored the opening try against AIC and kicked the game-winning penalty goal in a 32-29 win over the Yellow Jackets.