Utes beat Dixie State rugby in exhibition game

Written by Darren Cole
January 14, 2017
Dixie State University vs. University of Utah, Rugby, St. George, Utah, Jan. 14, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – After jumping out to an early 15-10 lead in the first half, the Dixie State Rugby club ran out of gas in its exhibition game against the University of Utah at Snow Canyon High School field on Saturday afternoon. The Division I Utes scored the last 46 points.

“We just started our season last week,” said Dixie State coach Scott Moffatt. “We did a lot of conditioning work, but it was pretty evident that we are not where we need to be.”

Dixie State University vs. University of Utah, Rugby, St. George, Utah, Jan. 14, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Utes got on the board first in the game. Kelsin Pupunu bowled in from 2-yards out. Moments later, Utah pushed the lead to 10-0 on a 5-yard run from Will Franz.

Dixie State quickly matched Utah on two scores from Justin Fulton. The first came on approximately 80-yards out. Fulton’s second score came on a 22-yard run. With less that 15 minutes remaining in the first half, the score was tied 10-10.

The play of the game came on Utah’s next possession. The Utes had crossed into the scoring zone, but before the runner could get the ball down for the successful try, Dixie State’s Miliki Mulitalo knocked the ball out of his hands. Mulitalo then scooped the ball up, shed a defender and ran the length of the field up the right sideline for the go-ahead score.

Dixie State University vs. University of Utah, Rugby, St. George, Utah, Jan. 14, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“The runner was trying to place the ball in the center of the zone for his kicker,” said Mulitalo. “I was able to get a hand on the ball to knock it loose. After I got past that first guy, the field opened up.”

With four minutes remaining in the half, Snow Canyon High School alum Chad Goff capped a Ute drive with a 5-yard run to tie the score. Josh Webber then kicked the first successful extra points of the game for a 17-15 first-half lead for the Utes.

After the break, the Utes went right to work. Two minutes into the second half, Gabe Ruffin scored from 1-yard out for a 22-15 lead. Four minutes later, Webber kicked a penalty try to take the score to 25-15.

Before the first 10 minutes of the second half expired, Franz would get his second score on a 5-yard run. With 30:10 showing on the clock, the Utes had doubled up the Trailblazers 30-15.

The Utes’ Connor Hoff scored next on a 10-yard run. Webber connected on the kick after to give Utah a 37-15 lead with 25:20 remaining. The last three Ute scores each came nine minutes apart. Dan Salazar, Hoff and Teddy Arlington each scored on short-yardage scores.

Dixie State University vs. University of Utah, Rugby, St. George, Utah, Jan. 14, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“This was an exhibition game for us,” said Dixie State’s Ben Jones. “Our starters did pretty well in the first half. We matched them athletically and physically. They were better conditioned than we were. Once we catch up with our conditioning, teams won’t be able to put up big numbers against us.”

Moffatt was not discouraged by the outcome.

“We got the same guys we had last year,” said Moffatt. “And last year we were pretty good. It takes more than a week to get conditioned. We’ll get there.”

The Trailblazers have two weeks to condition before the season starts.

“Moliki Mulitalo played like an animal today,” said Moffatt. “Terrace Schram and Corbin Moffatt also played well today.”

Dixie State will open the season against Salt Lake Community College on Jan. 28 at home.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Cole recently returned to sportswriting after a 20-plus year hiatus. While pursuing other studies, he developed an early passion for sports writing as a senior writer and sports editor for the Ricks College Scroll in 1988-89. Darren has spent the last 20 years writing legal memorandi and appellate briefs. In addition to his legal career, he has also taught legal and criminal justice courses at the university level for nine years as an adjunct professor. Darren is married to wife Lisa, has two sons and is a confessed sports junkie.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • mesaman January 14, 2017 at 9:48 pm

    That is spectacular photography and should earn “St George News” an award for best photos.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.