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A Rematch With a New Story: Kutztown vs St. Bonaventure

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A Rematch With a New Story: Kutztown vs St. Bonaventure

November 6 St. Bonaventure beat Kutztown 17-12. Photo St. Bonaventure Rugby.

Don't get complacent just because you beat Kutztown once.

That's the message from the Kutztown team as they prepare to face St. Bonaventure Saturday in the NCR D1 semifinals. The Kutztown team that lost  17-12 to Bonnies less than a month ago has undergone some key changes. Mostly this is about players coming back from injury—Aaron Gray returns to the wing; Breyton Maritz comes back at No. 8, and 6-5 lock Matt Gelhaus came back too.

Maritz, a senior from South Africa with tons of experience under his belt, not only has returned to form, he makes everyone else better because he gets them going forward so consistently and his positioning is so strong. Gelhaus is a game-changer at set piece, once again making it so good players can make plays. And Gray makes plays.

"We know it won't be the same," said St. Bonaventure Head Coach Tui Osborne. "It's not a surprise. Three Rugby east teams are in the semifinals and that just shows how tough the conference is. We played a tough game against Kutztown and we know this one will be tougher."

Kutztown will be looking to open up their offense, an offense that scored 88 combined points against Mount St. Mary's and Iona in their last two games. With more ball, more good ball, and more space, flyhalf Thorne O'Connell will be able to weave a little magic perhaps and get more than the two tries they managed against SBU last time.

Osborne hopes to stop them.


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"For us we are always looking at our defense," he said. "We want to play error-free rugby and control possession and play in their end of the field—make it tough for them."

The problem for Bonnies has been too many penalties, mostly in the contest around the ruck. With Kutztown a quick-strike team, they can't afford those penalties.

"But we've been improving every week," said Osborne. "We've improved our decision-making and our defensive shape. We're not looking past Kutztown because we know they're a better team now. The thing is, we're not the same team they played either."

Kutztown plays St. Bonaventure on the campus of Penn State Berks at 1PM Saturday.