Oct 29- Arizona renewed a long-standing rivalry on Saturday in their home opener, taking on Arizona State in a formal match for the first time in over five years.

 

The Wildcats, led by recently named captain Cameron Blair and vice captain Matteo Berenger, got off to a strong start, with Blair the beneficiary of a well-worked maul in the left corner to make it 5-0. The Arizona lineout would strike again ten minutes later as Aiden Kemp scored the first of his two tries on the day, converted by Berenger to make it 12-0. Flyhalf Ted Champion would help lead the attack down the field soon after, scoring a try of his own before setting up Scrumhalf Jacob Hall just five minutes later to make it 24-0 in the 24th minute. The Wildcats would go on to lead 43-7 at the half, allowing the hosts to continue to tinker and experiment with lineups and combinations as they ramp up. Two of those would be the backline duo of Jake Schumacher and Van Hampton, with the former scoring a try early in the second half and the latter setting up Antonio Gonzalez for a score in the 53rd minute. The two first-year outside backs are a part of a large recruiting class for the Wildcats, one that's made an early impact.

 

​In the reserve grade match, Arizona kept the momentum rolling, led by four tries by first-year center Brody Johnson. Kaelan Meyer's hat trick in the back row and doubles by Joey Lewis, Tucker Johnstone, and Nick Morgan led to a 46-0 halftime score and a 98-0 victory to make it 160-21 over two matches between the sides.

 

"First off we are thankful to ASU and putting our rivalry aside for a second, I want to thank Pieter Hugo for helping us bring back this historic series. It's great for both sides to play this early in the year and learn from it and we certainly have work to do. I thought in the 1s we started well, and put some things together in attack, but we're still in the early days. The 2s are arguably further along, having played multiple games this year and that synergy showed. Happy to get two wins, but also excited to continue to grow with this group" said Director of Rugby Sean Duffy.

 

The Wildcats had a robust crowd for their home opener at Sitton Field, packing the stands as a part of the university's 2024 Family Weekend. This year's event was the largest yet, with families around the world making the trip to Tucson. The Wildcats will travel to Colorado State University for two matches this weekend before their final home game of the Fall on November 9th against the University of San Diego.

​​​

For the Wildcats full Fall schedule, click here.

​

​

1st XV vs Arizona State

W 62-21

HT: 43-7

Tries: Blair (2), Kemp (2), Champion, Hall, King, Schumacher, Gonzalez, McCormick

Conv: Berenger- 6/10

1- Liam Swanson
2- Cameron Blair (C)
3- Isaac Morrill
4- Pacific Smiley
5- Aidan Hendry
6- Aston Gradwick-Light
7- Tanner DeMassa
8- Aiden Kemp
9- Jacob Hall
10- Ted Champion
11- Jake Schumacher
12- PJ Enegren
13- Mattox King
14- Antonio Gonzalez
15- Matteo Berenger (VC)
-
16- Logan Able
17- Seamus McCarthy
18- Chuck Williams
19- Jacob Jaffe
20- Troy Norman
21- Lucas Smith
22- Saxon Gerstl
23- Van Hampton
24- Connor McCormick

​

2nd XV vs ASU 2nd XV

W 98-0

HT: 46-0

Tries: Johnson (4), Meyer (3), Lewis (2), Johnstone (2), Morgan (2), Harris, McNulty, Quinn

Conv: Catchpole- 6/10, Manning- 3/6

1- Lucas Holton
2- Tucker Johnstone (C)
3- Marcus Harris
4- Kai Moananu-Apela
5- Joey Lewis
6- Braedon Butte
7- Kaelan Meyer
8- Sean McNulty
9- Connor McIsaac (VC)
10- Will Rohrsheim
11- Jackson Kutcher
12- Tom Manning 
13- Brody Johnson
14- Nick Morgan
15- Seth Catchpole
-
16- Aidan McCarthy
17- Dominic Zapata
18- Jack Kerrigan
19- Henry Kliavkoff
20- Damir Kulnazarov
21- Declan Postin
22- Brendan Doebel
23- Kieran Quinn
24- Otto Hirstius

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​