Saturday, October 16th, 2004
By Josiah Herbert

This past weekend the revengeful Mad Dogs took their game to Vermont to challenge Norwich Universities finest. After last seasons playoff pummeling and last weekends home game humbling, the Dogs came looking to justify their on the pitch performance.

Although the long trip had the boys a bit lackadaisical they were able to put up the first points of the match within the first 10 minutes. Norwich was able to quickly respond with a try of their own. Tough defense and few penalties lead to a very hard fought match for both sides. Both teams coming up with big plays eventually lead to the Mad Dogs being down by 12. Showing their true spirit the boys bounced back playing a very tough D and keeping Norwich on their heals, tying the game at 22. That tie did not last long however. The dogs conceded a penalty in Norwich territory. A long kick downfield led to a Norwich quick line-out. Catching ALL of the dogs off guard one man was able to run it in for a try making the score 27 – 22, Norwich. With less than 10 minutes to go this was the time for the Mad Dogs. In these situations winning teams show their ability to pull together and get the job done. Despite a solid Norwich defense, the Dogs continuously pounded on the opposition’s door. Determined more than ever to win this game the dogs had a series of 5 pick ‘n’ go’s before placing the ball in the corner, over the try line. The score sat at 27 – 27.

A breeze moving across field left to right, ball all the way in the right hand corner.....Johnny Wilkinson would have trouble making this kick. Lucky for us we don’t have Johnny Wilkinson, we have Finn Davis. Nicknamed “Dome” for having an abnormally large head, who would have thought he could be the hero this day. With one firing of the cannon the ball sailed straight through the uprights putting the Mad Dogs up 29 – 27.

With just minutes left all the dogs had to do was what they do best; DEFEND. They did just that with immense pressure forcing the ball out of bounds and as the final whistle blew, the dogs knew they had come together to accomplish one thing. Win.

The story wasn’t as dramatic for the young B side. They were able to muster up unbelievable play both offensively and defensively. Showing good heart and smart play the B’s were able to pound Norwich showing some extremely promising future talent.