GENERALS FEAST ON CANNIBALS
by Terry Vinyard

Some teams make history, others are doomed to repeat it. For the Tampa Generals, they were hoping to achieve the former, while avoiding the long list of casualties laid to waste by the Defi Sportif defending champion Central Cannibals. The Cannibals, led by standout class ones' Brad Mikkelsen, Joby Falk and Dave Hansen, along with Paralympian .5 Eddie Crouch, had won every game they played by double digit figures in their three year reign. However, this year's field of teams would culminate in the toughest competition to date since Montreal began hosting the Sportif. Low point stars from six countries included two Canadian squads, Switzerland, Sweden, and the Texas Tornadoes who played with two New Zealanders. The Tampa Generals sent the only club team with players from their regular season roster including Germany's top .5 Peter Schreiner. The Generals came in as a surprise second seed. The new commissioner of Canadian Rugby, Marco Dispaltro, noticed Tampa was loaded with talent featuring Paralympians Bill Renje 1.5 and Dave Ceruti 1.0. Class-one, Norm Lyduch who was a fifth man in the Cannibals 3 title runs, was now starting for the Generals low point squad. Tampa also put together a talented duo of .5's in Schreiner and Rick Marshall.

The third-seeded team Canada also rostered a pair of class-one Paralympians in Kirby Kranabetter and Dave Tweed. They would take on a four-player team, the Texas Tornadoes who rostered New Zealander Peter Van Raalte (1.0) and Kevin Griffiths a (.5) who played for the Gulfcoast Hurricanes during the regular season. In the opening game, Texas stayed even with Canada in the early going but Canada rolled on to a 25-16 victory. Minutes later, Canada battled Tampa. In Tampa's first period at the Defi, they capped off a 10-5 lead with a Norm Lyduch bump to Bill Renje. Renje caught the ball at the key with 3 seconds left to go in for the score. By setting the tone early, the Generals were able to use their bench, led by 5th man of the tournament Dave Ceruti. Tampa controlled the final 18 minutes for a 30 - 24 victory. Former Colony player, Ceruti who has competed in more Defi Sportif Rugby games than any other player, was making his fifth straight appearance. The streak dates back to when the Defi was an eight-point tournament.

"I really don't know why I'm going, I don't like them." (referring to ones games) Ceruti said "Mostly because I like my role in 8.0 point games as a blocker and set up man". Tampa cruised on to win their pool while using their bench sparingly to defeat Texas 25-20.

In pool A, the Cannibals feasted on Quebec 40-15 and fourth seed Switzerland by a score of 33-20. Despite missing Eddie Crouch due to a delayed flight, the Cannibals used backup .5 Kirk Bonnel effectively. They were also able to use the newest of the Cannibals, Ralph Shadowens from the USQRA National Champion San Diego Shadow, and another class-one Chad Brewer from Atlanta. Teams in pool A would play one more game than the teams in pool B. The Cannibals welcomed the extra game as they needed time together to gel. Friday ended with only two undefeated teams which turned out to be the top-seeded Cannibals and Tampa. Switzerland earned a spot in the semi-finals by winning two exciting games. They out-dueled Quebec, the local favorite team in probably the highest scoring game in Defi Sportif 3.5 history. They won, 31-30 in a down-to-the- wire battle.

The next day the Swiss rallied behind 1.5 Robert Ramsayer to edge Sweden 24-21. Some say Ramsayer was the fastest player at the tournament. Several experienced players stated that it was not possible to win the Defi with a 1.5 lineup. Switzerland and Tampa were out to prove those people wrong as they both entered the Semi-finals via their 1.5, 1.0, and two .5 lines.

In semi-final crossover play, the Cannibals struggled with Canada in the first period. Coming out of the first period with a one goal lead was a disappointment for the Cannibals. Canada's lack of depth did not help matters as the constant press that the Cannibals employed took it’s toll on them. They soon were enjoying a five goal lead by half-time. Canada could not stage a comeback as they were dropped 30-20.

In the other semi-final, game Tampa was able to contain Ramsayer and his three teammates. Unable to go to the bench with only four players making the trip, the Swiss easily wore down and Tampa was soon back in the key en route to a 41-30 win.

Texas, Sweden and Quebec were left to decide 5th through 7th place. Texas was able to win their last two games by close margins for 5th place. First they nipped Sweden 19-18. Then they knocked off Quebec 14 -12. Sweden destroyed Quebec's disgruntled bench players 43-12 for 6th place.

Team Canada didn't realize they were in for a tough battle with Switzerland until the game was into the second half. They were only able to hold one and two goal leads. The Swiss created many opportunities with turnovers but then would fail offensively. Canada was without .5 Brian McDonald who had an illness and had to use their only bench player, (.5) Paul Gustfason. Team Canada was able to close out a 30-27 victory for third place.

The stage was now set for an anticipated final game between the Defi's only low point champion in the Cannibals and the hungry Tampa Generals. Tampa would have to answer many questions. Could they win with a 1.5 line-up? Could they win as a club team? Would the Cannibals experience be too much for them? They were ready to answer these questions. Montreal's RDS network was on hand and ready to film the contest which featured some of the top low-pointers in the World.

The Cannibals controlled the opening tip but failed to convert as Hansen was whistled for 10 seconds without a dribble. Tampa took possession and had the arrow in their favor. Renje scored the game’s first goal to give the Generals the first advantage. The perennial champs came back with a Falk goal to even the score. Tampa went ahead on their next possession and then created a turnover which gave them a chance to go up 3-1. However, they were stopped and the Cannibals went on a two-goal run for their first lead. The Generals trailed 4 - 3 after a Hansen score, but they came back with a three goal run to retake the lead. Falk's goal before the end of the first quarter moved the Cannibals within one. They tied the game on an a goal by Crouch who was left open by the Tampa defense overplaying the class ones. Tampa's offense began to struggle and they used up a third time-out in the second period. The defense of the Generals was keeping them close to the Cannibals even though they outscored Tampa 7-5 to retake the lead 12-11 at half-time. When Ceruti came in for Lyduch in the third period, he gave Tampa an instant boost in helping his team outscore their opponent 7-5 to earn a narrow 18-17 lead going into the final period of play. The Cannibals were forced to go to their reliable .5 Eddie Crouch and he delivered to tie the game at 18. Renje scored for Tampa to go back up. However, the Cannibals beat the press with another Crouch goal to tie the game once again. The Cannibals forced a Tampa turnover and they were now up by one. This would be their last lead as the General's zone defense dismantled the Cannibal offensive attack. Ceruti, who played very
little in the first half, was now spearheading his team's defense which set up an amazing seven-goal run which sank the Cannibals. Tampa's .5's Marshall and Schreiner were able to handle the fatiguing class one's of the Cannibals. They also contributed on offense as well. Schreiner picked up a loose ball on the roll and took it in for the goal. On another play, Marshall delivered a perfect bounce pass to Schreiner for a rare .5 to .5 assist on a goal. With a six-goal lead and time winding down, Tampa subbed Sergio Scognamiglio (1.5) for Renje who led all scorers with 16 goals. Ceruti was also removed for Phil Batchelor who helped close out a 29-23 win over the Sportif's reigning champs.

An elated Bill Renje was quick to express his feelings, saying "You can win this tournament with a 1.5!". Several people felt that a 1.5, 1.0 and two .5's could not overcome the balance of a lineup of three top class 1.0's. Ironically, Renje had wanted to play for the Cannibals in years past, but they didn't think a 1.5 could help them. On this day the 1.5 did not help them either. Cannibals coach Brad Mikkelsen didn't credit Renje but praised Tampa's .5's, "Rick and those push rims were holding me so well and him and Peter passed so well." Renje credited his team's effort and pointed out that Ceruti was probably the fastest class 1.0 on the court when he came in the game. Tampa's longtime coach Terry Vinyard summed up his team’s effort by saying "We demonstrated that we could pull together as a team and play on a higher level than the Cannibals. You have to do that in low point Rugby, even more so than 8.0 Rugby."

Additional Reference: Tournament Photos - Game Scores -

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