New Mexico Tech defeated Christendom 26-10 to win the CRC 7s Small College National Championship, finishing off a six-game run.
NMT had lost to Christendom in the NCR Small-College final and so were looking for some measure of revenge.
Christendom, led by the imposing Owen Kennedy and winning their opening five games, had a good mix of power and open play. But they were dealing with a very quick-thinking Miners team.
The two teams traded tries and Christendom led 10-7. But then a key moment. Kennedy was yellow-carded, and unlike many teams over the weekend, NMT took full advantage.
First off, the Miners had a penalty in the Christendom 22. With the delay because of the yellow card, New Mexico Tech opted for a scrum—a smart and somewhat ruthless move as it forced three forwards into the scrum and created a 4-on-3 mismatch out wide.
From the scrum, scrumhalf Elijah Naranjo gathered the ball and curved wide. He fed scampery flyhalf Milan Van Wyk, who was over. Now it was 14-10 New Mexico Tech.
Right after that, Van Wyk made a tackle and immediately popped up to poach the ball. Penalty to New Mexico Tech, and Van Wyk tapped, took off, and sold a dummy before feeding Naranjo for the try.
