AMESBURY, MA – Despite Pine Banks being closed due to resurfacing, the Mystic D1 and D2 sides put on huge performances in their games this past Saturday as they solidified their positions in the playoffs. The Mystic Barbarians couldn’t have ended their undefeated season on a more emphatic note with their victory over Burlington, while the D1 side clinched their berth in the Elite 8 with their defeat of Old Blue.
The day started off with the D2 Barbarians putting on a clinical performance in their 69-10 victory over Burlington that took them out to an undefeated 9-0-1 season. The first two Mystic tries of the day came from Adnan Kawuma, but Burlington struck back to bring the score to 12-5. The Mystics reacted in the best way possible and scored 19 unanswered points through a try from Mike Spiro and two from Kevin West. Burlington pulled one back before the half to bring the score to 31-10, but those were their last points of the day. The Mystics dominated the remainder of the game with 38 unanswered points, starting with a try from Adam Tafau to close out the first half 31-10. The second 40 belonged to the Mystics, and the scoring was opened through a long solo effort from Mike “Rudy” Rudzinsky to move to 45-10. Mike Lyons then got in on the action through an interception before Jon Fonvielle and Jack Mahoney closed out the scoring for the Mystics.
The Mystic Barbarians took home the #1 seed and will be playing Portland in the NERFU D2 semi-finals in Amesbury at 11am on Saturday, April 30. Please come out and support the Mystic Barbarians in their first playoff match. (See our Facebook event page for more details.) A victory on Saturday will see the Barbarians go through to the NERFU D2 Championship at 11am the next morning in Amesbury, so keep your weekend clear!
The D1 side followed up with a great display of rugby as they beat Old Blue 32-17 and avenged their close loss from the fall. The Mystics drew first blood in the match through a penalty from Alatasi Tupou a few minutes into the half, but the first quarter of the match saw both sides playing strong defense and preventing any scoring. The Mystics were the first to break the deadlock through a try from Luke Schlotman, but only managed to extend their lead to 8-0. A few minutes later, the Mystics pounced on a dropped ball in the centers to get Jared Collinson in under the posts. Tupou converted to take the score out to 15-0 at the half.
Old Blue claimed the first points of the second half through a penalty to bring the score to 20-3, and followed that up with a converted try to pull the score back to 20-10. The Mystics then pulled a try back through Nate Fox, but failed to convert, leaving them 25-10 up. Old Blue struck back with another converted try to bring them to within 8 points at 25-17, but a well worked try through the middle saw Alatasi Tupou score a converted try to take the game away from Old Blue at 32-17.
With the win, the Mystics have secured their spot in the playoffs, but they are now looking ahead to their final league game against NYAC (Facebook event), where a win on the road will clinch the league and the Atlantic North’s #1 seed as they progress to the Elite 8 in Pittsburgh, PA on May 21.