Article/Quad Rugby - Oregon Smash 12/96

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"Twas the Nightmare before Christmas"

by Allen Seals of Eugene
a.k.a. the "Postmaster General"

In nine years of playing rugby I have dreamed of many good things (scoring the final goal just before the clock runs out, winning a big championship game again, or maybe just playing a great game). I have also had a few bad ones the biggest one playing in a big game when the post office is closed. For most people this wouldn't be bad but for someone with a nickname "PostMaster General" it is a bad dream. But, nothing compares to "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

So, with that I will tell you a story. It was the night before Christmas minus a few weeks. The Portland tournament was set. Santa jumped on his sleigh and yelled BC, Eugene, Portland, Zilla, Utah, Seattle, San Jose, and Spokane we want to play rugby. So, they all headed to Oregon for a rugby tournament. The schedule was set, the pools were arranged pool A was B.C., Eugene, Zilla, and Seattle. Pool B was Spokane, Utah, San Jose and Portland. Everyone slept warm in their beds except a few that wanted to have a night cap.

The games started with a few Christmas presents being opened. The first present went to Portland as they won their first game in their three years as a team. They beat Utah in a very close game. All kidding aside for a moment. It was a great game for them and they earned the win 20-19 over Utah. The next gift went to Seattle where they caught Zilla short handed. Zilla was short two of their starters but Seattle was with out the MVP of the Reno tourney Gary Kanazawa. All kidding aside again. Seattle played a great game against some players that have played in national championship games (Nils and Dillon). Seattle is a team to watch as they have been slowly improving over the years. Once again every one slept warm in their beds except a few that
wanted a night cap.

In the morning when they woke they all heard some clatter. So, they got out of bed to see what was the matter. The pools were all changed was the big clatter. Now in pool A was Eugene, San Jose, Zilla, and Portland. In pool B was B.C., Spokane, Utah and Seattle. Eugene was given a gift Saturday. Winning both their games meant that they would be playing in the championship game Sunday afternoon. The biggest game was Oregon squeaking out a victory over San Jose 37-35. The other great game to watch was Utah and Spokane. When the smoke cleared Spokane was
the winner 40-39. When everyone got back to the hotel they all heard another clatter. Everyone got together to see what was the matter. The scheduled was changed again was the big clatter. The championship game was changed to 9:00 BC VS Oregon, 3rd/4th Seattle vs. San Jose at 10:30,
7th/8th Utah vs. Portland 12:00 and 5th/6th Zilla vs. Spokane 1:30. Every one went to sleep warm in their beds with winning the last game dancing in their heads except a few more that wanted a few night caps.

The final game became the best game of the weekend. In the first quarter BC jumped out to a 3 point lead and upped it to 5 by half time. Although, Eugene was down they fought to prove that they could be contenders in the game. They narrowed the gap back to 3 points before the start of the fourth quarter and then with several minutes left to play they tied the game up. The last few minutes both teams traded goals. BC would tie the game then Eugene would go up one point. This went on for several minutes until there was :18 seconds showing on the clock. Eugene had just scored a goal to go up by 1 point. BC lost the ball on a turn over and Eugene recovered the ball. Desperate to make something happen B.C.'s MVP Garrett Hickling tried for a steal and committed a foul. This gave Eugene the ball with :18 on the clock and a one point lead battling against B.C. on a power play. Eugene took the ball past half court and ran out the clock to take the victory. The two
teams shook hands and congratulated each other on a hard fought match. Everyone headed out and then the nightmare really began.

The refs. yelled and said stop the clatter. The teams went over to see what was the matter. The score was wrong and this made Eugene a little sadder. The score was actually 35-35. So, rather than correcting the score and going back to :18 seconds the refs. decided to have them play the only overtime game of the weekend. B.C. with new hope went on to beat Eugene 39-37. And this ends the story of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." So, you better not pout, you better not cry, I'm telling you why. Santa Clause is coming to town.

The Postmaster General

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