Outstanding Division II south fixtures:
(Postponed - to be rescheduled)
United v Washington Irish
Western Suburbs v Happy Valley

March 1st 2003:
Rocky Gorge v United
Frederick v Severn River

March 8th 2003:
Frederick v United
Raleigh v Washington Irish
Rocky Gorge v Norfolk

A couple of these matches have big implications on seeding into the Mid-Atlantic Elite-8. Rocky Gorge should be in as seed #8, but a win over United will confirm that (otherwise there are point differential issues that could result in United taking seed #8). The match between Raleigh and Washington Irish has major implications. The winner goes in as seed #1, the loser as seed #4. Here are the MARFU Elite-8 matches scheduled for April 12th 2003:

Mid-Atlantic Elite-8 Matches (Saturday April 12th 2003):

Seed #1: Washington Irish or Raleigh  v  Seed #8: Rocky Gorge or United
Seed #2: North Penn                   v  Seed #7: Lancaster
Seed #3: Doylestown                   v  Seed #6: Frederick
Seed #4: Washington Irish or Raleigh  v  Seed #5: Norfolk

The All-Star search actually started at the beginning of the 2002 fall season with the announcement of the MARFU schedule. The All-Star schedule includes open trial training sessions, inter-territorial trial matches between the Potomac, Virginia, and Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Unions. The schedule also includes playing against the PRU Collegiate side, the New Zealand Embassy team in the annual fight for the Ambassador’s shield, 2 matches against the Northeast Territory in Monmouth NJ, and 2 matches against the South Territory in Raleigh NC.

The first match against New Zealand was well played by the MARFU All-Stars. The MARFU first XV was able to play pattern rugby and strong defense against a very talented KIWI side. The score at the end of the first half was MARFU 13, NZ 7. The spectators (over 1,000 strong) and the MARFU coaches witnessed strong performances by several new players from around the Territory. This year the Embassy game Man of the Match is Art Hall. Art plays for the Frederick Rugby Club in Frederick Maryland. Frederick is a Division II perennial champion. Frederick, like many of the non-DI clubs in the Mid-Atlantic Territory and the USA, produces good rugby players. Art is a perfect example of the diversity of the 2002 MARFU All-Star team.

The New Zealand Ambassadors game is a great way to start the All-Star season. The game is divided into four, twenty-minute periods with an open substitution rule. This rule allows both teams to play a great number of players. And the MARFU did just that, playing over 25 different players in the match. The final score was MARFU 13, New Zealand 19. When asked about the game after the match, MARFU coach Lance French said, “ we played well, we had the opportunity to see several new faces, and in the end we still could have won. All in all, a very good start to our season.”

The second match of the day saw the MARFU II team beat the PRU Collegiate team by the score of MARFU 40, PRU 10. This game is a testament to how strong the response has been this year in the MARFU search for its All-Stars. The game is organized the same as the Embassy game with four twenty-minute periods. The MARFU coaches played an additional 25 + players in this match. This provided the additional opportunity for several players to catch the eyes of the MARFU selectors. And according to the coaches, several players did show well and will get more opportunities against the Northeast.

Last weekend the MARFU traveled to Monmouth NJ to play two matches against the Northeast Rugby Union. And if the travel was not difficult enough for the MARFU players, the weather was. In a classic Northeaster rainstorm the two unions met and tested their talent. In the end, the Northeast got the best of the MARFU in both matches. The first match was MARFU 0, Northeast 35 and the second match was MARFU 7, Northeast 20. During the first match the MARFU played well in spots, but was never able to get more than 3 phases of rugby together without dropping the ball. And in turn never crossed the try line. However, the first 15 included the play of 10 new faces from the New Zealand game. Which allowed the selectors the opportunity to see more combinations before the ITT’s. “We plan and make selections to win, coach French said. But at this point in time, the players must get the chance to play. And seeing everyone is still the bottom line. Next week against the South, that all changes.”

So now, it’s on to Raleigh for this years MARFU All-Star team. And if you listen to what the coaching plan is, the MARFU should be stacked with it best XV in this Saturday’s showdown in Raleigh.

• 8:30am - 10:00am: Coach Lance French (PAC RFC)
• 10:00am - 12:00noon: Coach Sid Miller (PRU Referees Society)
• 12:00noon - 1:15pm: Lunch
• 1:15pm - 3:00pm: Coach John Redmond (Washington RFC)

For more information about the camp please contact Mount Saint Mary’s Head Coach Don Briggs directly (tepeyac@md.adelphia.net ). This is a lot of fun and just another example of the role that Frederick Rugby is taking in developing youth rugby in our area.

Directions to Mount Saint Mary’s College:
• Take Rt-15 north to Emmitsburg.
• Turn left into the main College campus.
• Take your first left and follow signs to the gymnasium.
• Use any of the nearby parking areas. (25 minutes from Frederick)

Directions to Western Suburbs: 70 miles, 90 minutes
• Take Rt-15 south to Leesburg, VA
• Take the Greenway (Toll Road - Rt-267) towards Dulles Airport
• Exit at Rt-28 (Sully Road/Centerville Road) and head to Manassas
• In Manassas turn left onto Manassas Drive (SE) Cross over railway tracks, turn right onto Signal View Drive (4-way stop)
• Signal Hill Park is on your right

Directions to Washington Irish (Tanglewood Rec., Clinton, MD):
• Take I-270 south to I-495 NORTH/EAST (towards MARLAND/TOWSON)
• Go past Tyson's Corner and I-95, cross over the Potomac at Alexandria
• Take Branch Avenue/Rt-5 (exit 7A) east towards Waldorf
• Go for 4 miles then turn left onto Woodyard Road/MD2231 towards Clinton/Mellwood
• The pitch is at Tanglewood Rec. on your left (about 1 mile)

***Carpool will leave the 7th Street parking area at 7:00am***

Directions
• Take I-270 south to I-495 south (towards Virginia)
• Turn onto I-95 south (towards Richmond)
• At Richmond, take the I-295 south exit (84A), on the left (towards Rocky Mt. NC)
• Take the I-64 east exit (28A) into Norfolk
• Go to exit 276 for Granby Street/I-564/Terminal Blvd (Third exit AFTER the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel). On the exit, bear to the left to get on to Granby Street.
• Stay on Granby Street for a few miles. You will pass the Wards Corner Shopping Center, Granby High School, and DePaul Hospital. Cross the Granby Street Bridge. Bear to the left to stay on Granby Street.
• After the bridge, go to the 2nd light and turn left. This is 38th and Granby Street.
• Lafayette Park is on your right, park beside the tennis courts.

We will be playing the matches at Mount Saint Mary’s College. The Mount will be hosting George Washington University at 12:00 noon, our A-side will follow at 1:45pm with our B-side playing directly afterwards at approximately 3:15pm. The after match party will be at Krug’s Place in Frederick.

Match Details for Saturday September 7th:

Opponent:	Roanoke
Venue:	Mount Saint Mary’s College
A-side kick-off:	1:45pm (Please be at the Mount by 12:00pm ready to warm up by 12:30pm.)
B-side kick-off:	3:15pm
Party:	Krug’s Place (around 5:00pm)

Directions to Mount Saint Mary’s College:
• Take Rt-15 north from Frederick for about 20 miles. You will pass through Thurmont.
• As you enter Emmitsburg move to the left lane.
• Turn left into Mount Saint Mary’s main entrance.
• The rugby pitch is on your immediate right.
• Park in the parking area (please don’t park on the grass).

Directions to Krug’s Place (from the Mount):
• Take Rt-15 south to Frederick.
• Take the 7th Street exit, turn left off the ramp.
• Stay on 7th Street until it ends (about 1.25 miles). You will pass Frederick Memorial hospital on your right and cross over Bentz Street and Market Street. The road ends in a T-junction with East Street.
• Turn left onto East Street and travel for about 1/4 mile.
• Krug’s Place is on the right in a strip mall next to a bowling alley (Village Lanes).
• Krug's address is 906 East St.; Phone: (301) 694-0066.

This first loss put the Hellfish in the losers bracket, set to face Burlington, VT. With a couple of changes in the forwards, we managed to correct our set piece problem and got to play some offense. This match was a battle to the end, trading tries and penalty kicks. Burlington had the lead 26-18, with minutes left to go, when Kenny looped to the outside, got the ball back and broke through for a 60m (yes, Kenny actually ran 60m) score between the post which he converted. Burlington, however, came right back with another converted try to end the match. Final score: Burlington 33 - Flying Hellfish 25. This second loss, unfortunately, eliminated the Hellfish from the tournament.

Frederick Players:

• Kenny Orndoff (1T, 2C, 2P) - fly half
• Jamie “Sparkles” Romano - inside center
• Brian “Magnum” Taormina - outside center

Timmy Desmond also traveled to Saranac, to play in his first match since the 2001 Rites of Spring tournament, when he blew out his knee and screamed like a woman. He managed to hook up with the Mystic River over-40 squad, which faired a little better. With one loss and one win on Saturday, Timmy was scheduled to play a consolation championship on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we were informed that Mystic River had forfeited the match, and our tour group was done playing for the weekend.

Former Frederick player and coach, Lance French, aside from coaching the Flying Hellfish squad, was also playing for the PAC over-30 team. With two wins on Saturday, they advanced to the Championship on Sunday morning, where they lost a tight match against Philly Carps 20-14.

Other Championship Matches:
Premier: Old Blue over Albany (blowout)
Club: Brockport over New Haven (Brockport was a mixture of Rochester and Life College)
Division B: Schenectady over Albany Developmental (Schenectady had about 8 OMBAC players including former Raleigh full back Dave DeSorbo and Albany Dev. was a Northeast College Select side.

The weather was great, mid 80's and sunny all weekend and a great time was had by all.

Some other local-ish teams attending were:
Brandywine, Tobacco Road (Raleigh), Doylestown, South Jersey, Monmouth, Morris, North Jersey, Severn River, North Penn, Lost Lions (Penn State/Happy Valley), Wilmington (over 40), Lancaster (over 40) and Blackthorn (over 45).

One important thing to note is that there is very limited parking (just one space per room) so we will need to carpool.

Hotel Information: Four rooms reserved under Jeff Carrington.

SEA ESTA IV
3101 Highway One
Dewey Beach, DE. 19971
(302) 227-5882

Directions to Hotel:
• Take I-70 East towards Baltimore.
• Take Exit 87A Rt-29 South to Columbia/Washington.
• Take Exit 22 MD-100E to Glen Burnie, go SE.
• Take Exit 13A-B I-97 to Annapolis.
• Take Rt-50 east towards Annapolis/Bay Bridge.
• Keep on Rt-50 after the bridge.
• Turn left on Rt-404.
• Turn right on US-9/SR-404.
• Turn right on Rt-1 (Coastal Hwy). Hotel is 3 miles on left.
• Hotel is 5 miles in Dewey Beach.

Directions to Tournament:
• Take Rt-1 to Rt-9.
• Take Rt-9 north towards Lewes/Cape Henlopen Ferry.
• Pass the ferry terminal and you will run into the State park.

For those of you who may not have heard, Jim Ford former MOB scrum half & coach, and current assistant coach of the Frederick Rugby Club, died on Friday, June 21st, while running in his neighborhood. He is survived by his wife Laurel, and there will be an obituary in both the Frederick News-Post and Washington Post on Tuesday, June 25th.

There will be a visitation on Wednesday, June 26th at the Keeney & Basford Funeral Home located at 106 East Church St., Frederick, MD., 301-662-2175. The hours will be 3-5:00pm and 7-9:00pm. There is street parking, a lot on site, and a public lot within one block of the funeral home. There will be a social after 9:00pm at Bushwallers Bar on Market St., which is walking distance from the funeral home.

There will be a memorial service on Thursday, June 27th at St. John's Catholic Church located at 116 East 2nd Street, which is one street parallel to the funeral home. The service will start at 2:00pm. There will be a social beginning at 3:00pm at Bushwallers Bar on Market Street, and food will be served. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Frederick County Humane Society, 5712-D Industry Lane, Frederick, MD 21704.

Directions to the funeral home from Washington: Take I-270 North towards Frederick, and exit at Rt. 85 downtown. Route 85 will turn into Market St. Turn right onto East Church St. and proceed about two blocks. The funeral home is on the right.

Directions to St. John's Catholic Church: Continue one block past the funeral home and turn left onto East St. Go one block and turn left onto East 2nd St. The church will be on your left.

The Beer Garden is in Baker Park by the Armory and will operate from 11:00am to 9:00pm on Thursday July 4th. From 6:00pm to 9:00pm it will be the only Beer Garden in operation so will be VERY busy. It will be a lot of fun. So don’t miss out! Some of you would like to help out but didn't get a chance to talk to Chuck - please come down - the more the merrier.

Scheduled to Work
• Magnum, Shane, Tool Time, and Art should all be there most of the day (11 to ?)
• Teddy comes on from 1 to 4.
• Stu is scheduled from 4 to 9.
• Julian is scheduled from 4 to 7.
• Scott M. comes on from 4 to 6.
• Chad and Jess are scheduled from 6 to 9 along with Bentley
• Howard said he would be there from 6 to 7.

You can download the handout passed out at the meeting and download the summary/minutes. Thanks to all who attended and also thanks to the many players who let us know they could not attend due to prior commitments. This meeting was not the final word by any means, just somewhere to start so please don’t hesitate to bring your ideas forward.

If you didn’t have a chance to make Savannah, the bus trip is the next best thing for team building. You really don’t want to miss this trip.

Here are the details. The bus will leave the 7th Street parking area at 7:30am. This will happen whether you are there or not (as we need to be able to get up to North Jersey in time to properly stretch out). Please get there by 7:00am. The drive is approximately 4 hours long so you will have plenty of time to sleep or relax - just get on the bus!

Cost will be $30 a person (cash or checks made out to FRFC) that’s based on 30 people traveling (I hope we have more).

The bus should get back to Frederick around 11:30pm.

If you have to drive (try to avoid this if possible as it’s a LONG way) or you have friends in the area that would like to come along, please find directions below. The itinerary for the day will be as normal, A-side kick-off at 1:00pm, B-side to follow at 2:30pm. We’ll then get together with North Jersey for a party and the raffle draw (see prizes below). Then it’s back on the bus.

Raffle Grand prize:
4 tickets to a Ravens game

Other prizes include:
2 tickets to an Orioles game
4 tickets to a Frederick keys game (thanks Pete)
Round of golf at clustered Spires
Dinner for 2 at Venutti's
Lunch for 2 at Red horse
Gift certificate to Outback
Gift certificate to Jennifer’s

Directions to North Jersey:
From Frederick:

• Take Rt. 15 North to Rt. 581 East (in south Harrisburg)
• Follow signs to Rt. 83 North
• Take Rt. 83N to Rt. 81N
• Follow Rt. 81N for 10-12 miles and get onto Rt. 78 East towards Allentown (DO NOT follow 81N to Hazleton!)
• Take Rt. 78 into NJ and get off at Rt. 287 North
• Take the first exit past Rt. 23 (exit 53)
• Turn right onto Paterson Hamburg Turnpike
• Go 1 mile (through intersection with Ringwood Ave., over water, you’ll see Nat Bank)
• Go left onto Wanaque Ave., drive for 0.4 miles
• Turn right onto Colfax, drive for 0.6 miles
• Turn left onto Schuler
• Turn right onto Barbara and drive to the end of road


From Baltimore:

• Take I-95 North to Delaware Memorial Bridge
• Follow signs to NJ Turnpike North
• Follow to Exit 10 and get onto Rt. 287 North
• Take the first exit past Rt. 23 (exit 53)
• Turn right onto Paterson Hamburg Turnpike
• Go 1 mile (through intersection with Ringwood Ave., over water, you’ll see Nat Bank)
• Go left onto Wanaque Ave., drive for 0.4 miles
• Turn right onto Colfax, drive for 0.6 miles
• Turn left onto Schuler
• Turn right onto Barbara and drive to the end of road

On Saturday March 23rd we will be playing an officiated intra-squad scrimmage (the Westmoreland Highlanders club from Pittsburgh folded). Frostburg College Rugby Club will play a curtain raiser match against Washington College at 10:30am. Frostburg gave us Tory Ireland, John Redmond and Walt Winn (among others) and have always been a physical bunch of guys. This year they have a New Zealander, Paul Marchbank, coaching the squad.

On Saturday April 6th we host Mon River, the WVU old boys team. The match will be played at Baker Park with the A-side kicking off at 1:00pm and the B-side to follow at 2:30pm. Frederick Rugby has a lot of WVU alumni including Art Hall, Chad Ogden, John Webber and Vinny Baker and Frederick won the Mon River sevens tournament in 2001. Mon River also has a former Frederick player, John Niles, with them. We are hoping to have Mount St. Marys play a curtain raiser against William & Mary and have the Frederick old boys team (FredEx) play a match after our B-side. Should be quite a day!

The last home match on April 20th is our biggest match of the season, the first round Mid-Atlantic Territorial play-off match against the Washington Irish. This match will be played at Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg. The A-side will kick off at 1:00pm with the B-side to follow. The Mount are also playing George Mason so will work their matches in with ours. The Mount rugby players are our closest friends and it is great to be able to play such an important match with the guys there to support us.

The player award ceremony is always the biggest thing at the banquet. Captain Art Hall presided. The first two awards went to the Club’s best supporters, Allen Byrne and Chuck Bare. Besides traveling to the away matches and joining the team for the bus trip, both of these men have put in an immense amount of time and effort into organizing fundraisers and planning for our future success. The B-side best players were Ryan Jones in the Backs and Chad Ogden in the Forwards. Unfortunately Ryan has returned to college so is no longer available, but Chad will be a key player in the squad as we move towards the Mid-Atlantic Championships this season. Voted B-side MVP was the "every-ready, always finding a way to make it back" Webb. Most Improved was none other than "Special Boots" Tucci, who made an impact last fall. A special award was presented to Al Goetz in recognition of one of Al’s strengths. It was named the “Lumberjack” award, presented to the person most likely to lay the wood to an opponent - very well deserved Al! There were a number of very good recruits to the Club over the fall 2001 season, with several being A-side starters almost straight away. The Best New Guy award went to our storming center Troy Bartley (the first of many awards I’m sure). The A-side best players were the perennial winner Kenny Orndoff for the Backs and another new recruit (and soon to be Dad) Ben Pryor in the Forwards. Kenny is clearly one of our most valuable players, just think back to how relieved (no disrespect Fain) we were to hear than he would be making the Brandywine match and Ben has very quickly made the blind-side flanker position his own. In a bit of a surprise result I received the MVP award, which was very flattering.

This year was the first year the Club awarded the Pat O’Connell Memorial trophy. This trophy honors our good friend Pat and recognizes a person who has contributed to the Club. We were very fortunate to have Jill and two of Pat’s sisters (Terri and Madeleine) present the award. In what I can only describe as a very moving moment, I accepted the award. As I mentioned, the Club is very lucky to have a number of people who were equally deserving of this honor and I feel very privileged. We then got onto a lighter note with Jamie Romano and Magnum handing out some “alternative” awards including the “Bloody Boot” to Al Goetz and then the DJ took over. It was a great time and thanks to everyone for making it such a success. Check out some of the banquet photos.

In order to reach the National Sweet-16, Frederick must reach the MARFU Division II Final. We are currently seeded #4 entering the MARFU Elite-8 so that means we are two games away from the Nationals. The first match is at home verses the Washington Irish on April 20th; the second will be the MARFU Final-4 on Saturday April 27th at Norfolk, Virginia. The MARFU Final will be played on Sunday April 28th with the winner collecting MARFU #1 and the loser MARFU #2.

2002 Division II National Sweet-16 (May 11th-12th) bracket:

     Pool A (Fort Worth Texas):
           1:  West #1
          16:  Southern Cal #2

           9:  Midwest #2
           8:  Mid-Atlantic #1

     Pool D (Canton, Massachusetts):
           5:  Northeast #1
          12:  Southern Cal #1

          13:  Mid-Atlantic #2
           4:  West #2

     Pool C (Sacramento, California):
           3:  Pacific Coast #1
          14:  Midwest #3

          11:  Northeast #3
           6:  West #3

     Pool B (Canton, Massachusetts):
           7:  Northeast #2
          10:  Pacific Coast #2

          15:  South #1
           2:  Midwest #1

2002 Division II National Final-4 (June 1st-2nd Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) bracket:

          Winner Pool A v Winner Pool D
          Winner Pool B v Winner Pool C

We will be playing two matches with the A-side kicking off at 1:00pm and the B-side to follow around 2:30pm. Please be at the field before 12:00 noon.

Rocky Gorge’s pitch is about 45 minutes from Frederick. If you would like to carpool, please be at the 7th Street pitch for 10:30am. Please find directions below:

Directions to Rocky Gorge
• Take I-70 west towards Baltimore
• Take Rt-29 south to Rt 100 south/west
• Take I-95 south towards Laurel, MD
• Take the exit for Route 198 west toward Burtonsville.
• Take a right at the 2nd light onto Bond Mill Road.
• Go several miles until the road ends.
• Take a right onto Brooklyn Bridge Road.
• Go about 1/2-mile and look for the fields on your left. Park in the lot or along the right-of-way.

I have 4 rooms booked at the (yes you guessed it) Days Inn, Oglethorpe Mall/Southside 114 Mall Boulevard, Savannah, GA (912) 352-4455. The reservations are for Thursday March 14th, Friday March 15th, Saturday March 16th and Sunday March 17th. As of right now I’m anticipating leaving Frederick Thursday morning and leaving Savannah on Monday morning - but we can change that to returning Sunday afternoon if that would be better for people - let me know! Cost as of right now would be around $140 per person based on 25 people traveling and us renting two 15-passenger vans. If we work on a jersey (like last year which was a great idea) probably add in another $40. For an idea of what it’s like down in Savannah, check out the Savannah archived material here on the web page (Last Spring: Social photos, Match photos, and Match report) or check out the host club’s web page (www.savannahshamrocks.com). Last year I think we ended up taking too many people and that ended up in a few people not getting the amount of playing time that they had hoped for. I would like to suggest that we limit the number to 25 this year - might be good to get your name in to confirm your spot sooner rather than later!

Directions From Frederick (130 miles 2.5 hours):

• Take I-270 south to I-495 south (towards Virginia) (20 miles).
• Follow I-495 to I-95 south towards Richmond (20 miles).
• Take I-95 south (90 miles). As you approach Richmond look for the Ashland exit. Pass the Ashland exit then the Lewis Town Road exit and then the Atlee Elmont exit.
• Take I-295 WEST for about 2 miles.
• Take the Woodman Road SOUTH exit.
• Turn left at the first light onto Mountain Road.
• Proceed for less than a mile, the pitch is on the right. The Glen Allen Softball complex Park by the tennis courts.

8:30am - 10:30am: Coach John Redmond (Washington RFC)
11:00am - 12:00noon: Coach Lance French (PAC RFC)
12:00noon - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm - 2:00pm: Coach Lance French (PAC RFC)
2:30pm - 4:30pm: Coach Mike Flanagan (Navy RFC)

For more information about the camp please contact Mount Saint Mary’s Head Coach Don Briggs directly (tepeyac@md.adelphia.net). This is a lot of fun and just another example of the role that Frederick Rugby is taking in developing youth rugby in our area.

Directions to Mount Saint Mary’s College:

• Take Rt-15 north to Emmitsburg.
• Turn left into the main College campus.
• Take your first left and follow signs to the gymnasium.
• Use any of the nearby parking areas.
(25 minutes from Frederick)