By Justin Rutledge | 05.13.16
When the winter came the Cleveland Crusaders found themselves in a rare position. After a dominant fall, the Crusaders and Reserves both had a chance to win the highest honor in their respective divisions and make history in the process. Though the spring started off with success and both sides showed promise, the club came up short on both accounts.
The spring season started off with a pilgrimage down south to the proving grounds of the Savannah Shamrocks’ annual rugby tournament. The club took two teams down to the tournament in the hopes of bringing home matching sets of hardware.
Unfortunately for the second side, the winter rust proved to be too much to overcome and they were unable to top the competition in their bracket and secure a trophy. It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. Every player on the second side, some with sake in hand, gave the utmost effort every match and carved some success out of the weekend.
The first side achieved a higher level of success and won the championship in the Gold Division after getting tight victories over the Willing, Cincinnati Wolfhounds and USA South Panthers. To bring this into sharper focus, this means that the Crusaders beat a motley team comprised of foreign-born players, last year’s champions and a team that represents the nation in international matches. Though all three were close matches, the achievement was proof positive that the Crusaders had the offensive acumen and the defensive prowess necessary to come up against stiff competition and squeeze out victories. This championship was also the first time a team from Cleveland claimed that prize in the tournament’s history and the first championship for the Crusaders.
After the historic weekend, focus shifted to the next match on the schedule. Both sides traveled to Northwest Ohio to play one of the best college clubs in the state, Bowling Green State University. Both of the Crusaders’ sides were well aware of the challenge ahead and prepared accordingly. That preparation paid off as both side rose above the high-flying Falcons and got two wins. The Division II side won 64-10, while the Reserves came out the winners by a score of 34-15.
The Crusaders went on a competitive hiatus until the beginning of April, when the competitive calendar kicked into a higher gear. The Division II side began to stack up the difficult competition in preparation for playoffs and the Reserves had to play out a few more matches before the playoff rounds for their division commenced.
On April 2, the Division II side hosted Buffalo, while the Reserves had a double-header against the Greensburg Maulers and Buffalo. Buffalo was, essentially, a mirror image of the Crusaders – a similar team with similar abilities that had achieved similar success the previous fall. The Maulers were the only team to put a blemish on the Reserves’ stellar fall campaign, so revenge was definitely in the plans. The DIII side for Buffalo gave the Reserves another opportunity to get a win on the day. The club took two of the three matches, demolishing the Maulers by a score of 58-7 and taking down the DII Buffalo side, 36-19. After battling hard through the three teams and the unpredictable Cleveland weather, the Crusaders continued on the path towards playoffs and history.
Next on the chopping block were Pittsburgh and Youngstown. On a field that was surrounded by what could be described as horror-movie-like conditions, the Crusaders came through with two more wins. The Division II side took to the field first and adapted to the short, narrow conditions and to get a 30-13 win. More importantly, the Reserves seemed to hit their stride on both offense and defense. In the end, the Reserves took away a commanding 74-10 win.
As the end to April approached the opportunity to make history loomed ever closer for the Crusaders. After the Reserves had dispatched the remaining league matches and the Division II side successfully surpassed all comers, playoff time had arrived.
In the first round the Reserves had the Grand Rapids Gazelles and the DII side faced a familiar foe in Wisconsin. Despite being hundreds of miles away, the teams were on the same page. The Reserves advanced past the Gazelles by putting up 26 points and only giving up five. Meanwhile, in Cottage Grove, the Division II side shocked the Midwest – at least Wisconsin – and got a four-point win that went down to the last moment. After gaining a slim lead, the Crusaders decided to grind down time, along with the Wisconsin forwards, to get a 31-27 win. While the teams celebrated these wins and prepared for the next challenge, they didn’t realize that the curtain was beginning to close on their playoff hopes.
Up next for the Division II side was a semi-final match against the Southside Irish in Chicago, Illinois. The rain came down and made moving the ball difficult for the Crusaders. This limited the offensive options and didn’t allow the Cleveland players to put up the amount of points they usually did. A perfect storm of a natural disaster and an officiating disaster came together and cost the Crusaders the win and a shot at history. The Crusaders went down to the Irish 16-14.
The Reserves came out of the weekend smelling like roses and achieved success in the seeding match. The score was close like the match in Chicago, but the Reserves found themselves on the right side of the score. A little more execution on offense allowed the Reserves to get a 19-16 win and advance to the playoffs as the no. one seed.
The Reserves sat as the no. one seed in the region going into the championship weekend in Chicago, Illinois. It was an enviable position for any club to be in, especially one that was fresh on the scene. Despite all the earlier success, there was still a mountain to climb. Three teams and two matches stood in the way, a tall order but one that could definitely be filled. Sadly, the Reserves fell in the first match of the weekend and found themselves overwhelmed by the DIV side from Wisconsin.
With history and hardware hanging in the balance, the Crusaders came up short. While the progress the sides made was impressive, especially for first-year teams, it wasn’t the goal set out in the early days of August. Three things are clear after the conclusion of this spring season. First, both teams have potential and talent to spare. Second, the Midwest has been put on notice. Finally, next year is going to be very, very interesting.
Now the Crusaders turn their attention to the summer sevens qualifiers and another shot at bringing hardware back to the bar. Get your sunblock, get that base tan going and #JoinTheCrusade.