A Thriller in CRAA D1AA Final
A Thriller in CRAA D1AA Final
CRAA wrapped up their D1AA season with a weekend of games and in the end one of the most dramatic games of the season, if not the most dramatic.
St. Thomas played relatively well, but perhaps struggled with the physicality and tenacity of the Sam Houston State defense to get through Friday's semifinal 27-15.
San Diego also felt they allowed their semifinal opponent, Iowa State, to get under their skin. The Toreros won 28-13.
Or maybe it's just that all of these teams are pretty good in their own way.
Sam Houston State faced off with Iowa State and once it became clear that Iowa State could not pack down in a scrum without giving up a penalty, the Cyclones were in trouble. On a wet morning on Sunday where ball handling was difficult, SHSU could get away with dropping the ball and winning a penalty at scrum tine.
Led by a strong game from Drake Torno at hooker SHSU took ane early lead and continued to hold on, winning 3rd 24-15.
And now to the final.
This was an astonishing game and a bit of a study in contrasts. USD knew they needed to defend well and rely on their defense, and they needed to test the St. Thomas forwards. St. Thomas knew they needed to leverage their outside speed and dynamic play. In the end, it turned out differently; the STU forwards had a huge influence on the game and so did the kicking game.
The Bobcats opened the scoring early as they were pressuring USD but not quite breaking through. Fullback Taonaishe Mapani spotted a little space behind the defense, chipped through, and chase it down for a try. Welton Charumbira converted for the conversion. USD answered and took the option for a penalty goal from Lucas Troughear. Things started to break open after that. USD worked their way down into the STU 22 and worked their forward charges closer. Flanker Sam Carlson bulled through for a try that Troughear converted. Scrumhalf Caleb Tomasin and center Paul Habeeb were instrumental in that.
USD defended their line well after that and once they got out of trouble, they were able to launch from a lineout inside the St. Thomas half. Habeeb and Tomasin got involved again, with the center cutting through on a set play and sending a long pass inside to Tomasin, who raced in under the posts.
That made it 17-10, and as halftime approached a brilliant run from wing Jackson Short made it, with Troughear's conversion, 24-10.
St. Thomas seemed in trouble. But as the half ended the Bobcats worked their way into scoring position, ran a tap move on a penalty, and powered prop Munashe Ndhelela over under the posts.
That was an important score as it brought St. Thomas within a score at the break. And right off the break they threatened again. A turnover caused by USD being a bit slow to cover the ball at the back of the ruck allowed wing Matthew Arteta to race down the sideline. Charumbira converted from the sideline and it was tied 24-24.
The scoring slowed down a bit after that. St. Thomas was stuck in their half a great deal, would kick out, only for Troughear and Michael Lewis to handle those kicks just fine. Super sub Josh Butler powered through a series of tacklers to nudge his side ahead 29-24. Troughear's converted hit the post—his second post hit on the day—to keep it within two points.
Back came St. Thomas, and Ndhelela went over again, keeping low off a pick-and-go to evade tacklers. It was now 31-29 for St. Thomas.
And it stayed like that as the minutes ticked away. USD had scoring chances but the final pass kept hitting the deck. St. Thomas kicked out of trouble and chased, only for the ball to be lost forward in contact.
Finally, with time almost up, USD got a penalty far to the right side and about 26 meters from the STU goalline. Troughear slotted it perfectly to put the Toreros up 32-31. There was time for perhaps one more play, but that was it. And to get that one more play, STU needed to win the restart. They did that—Owen Phillips, who had been an unflinching workhose for STU all day, went up in the air to regather the kickoff and keep it for STU. And, oh yeah, St. Thomas was down a man due to a yellow card.
George Ditima sniped down the sideline; USD defenders held firm. Wing Romulo Sotomayor cut back in from the right wing to get closer. Phillips moved forward but was almost poached by Habeeb—Ndhelela blasted him back to save the possession. But the possession was sloppy and STU was now moving backward. That's when Mapani decided to take matters into his own hands. He took a pass somewhat flatfooted and grubbered the ball between two defenders.
Mapani worked his way through to chase. Vaughn Fouts chased back for USD. The two were shoulder-to-shoulder. Mapani angled his body to grab for the ball and it bounced into in-goal, the two fell, and ...??
It was a try. Replays showed that Mapani was able to get his right hand on the front nose of the ball and pull it down and apply downward pressure. Try given, and, in GRR's observation, rightly so. Charumbira converted for good measure, and that was the ball game. St. Thomas 38 USD 32.
Both teams were championship-worthy and this was a thrilling game throughout. It started and ended in truly exciting fashion.
For USD, this ended an excellent run of championships in both 15s and 7s. They will rebuild but they do bid farewell to several special players. For St. Thomas, this was another coming out party. Eager to join D1A in 2025-26, the Bobcats have only just started.
