Mar 4- In their final regular season home match of 2025, the Wildcats hosted 6th-ranked BYU as they celebrated not only their seniors but also the 56th anniversary of the program. A packed house was in store for the match-up between top ten sides, and it is safe to say that the game did not disappoint the hundreds of fans, parents, and alumni who made the trip to Sitton Field.

 

The Cougars would get the better of the exchanges early, jumping on Arizona turnovers deep in their own half to capitalize and make it 10-0. A well-worked maul try would be the only real attacking opportunity of the half for the Wildcats, with Cameron Blair touching down to make it 10-5 before a penalty to BYU would lead to a Cougar try and make it 15-5 at the break.

 

"I was genuinely impressed by the calm at halftime, and that is a credit to our team leaders. The message was clear, we felt we didn't have a ton of ball, and just a couple of adjustments would possibly really change this game" said Director of Rugby Sean Duffy.

 

The Wildcats would come out of the break a different squad, with some quick attack off of a maul giving Center Ted Champion a chance to break loose, and the Canadian would go the final 25 meters on his own to make it 15-12 after a Matteo Berenger conversion in the 45th minute. Just a few minutes later an Arizona scrum deep in the Cougars' half would allow two first-year backs to team up as Flyhalf Saxon Gerstl put Winger Nick Morgan through the line, breaking two tackles on his way to the try zone to make it 17-15. A stolen lineout by Arizona and two great passes by Jacob Hall and Ted Champion would put Mattox King in space, and the senior would go 70 meters for the backbreaking try of the day, making 22-15 in the 50th minute and finishing the 17-point blitz. Later in the half, Lucas Smith would find Morgan off the scrum and the Winger would barrel over for his second try of the game, making it 29-15 in the 65th minute. A late BYU try would see the Cougars claw back, but Arizona would manage the final few minutes expertly, taking a shot at goal after a Jack Bresland turnover to seal the 32-22 win, the program's first against BYU in their history.

 

"A day nobody will soon forget. The seniors doing this in what could be their final home match, and to do it against a strong BYU side. We've had some games that didn't go our way despite some great efforts this Spring, and these guys have kept at it and remained bought in. A special thank you to the senior parents who organized a great day and the alumni who showed up and made this a playoff-like atmosphere" said Duffy.

 

The Wildcats will travel two sides to #7 Army next, with a 12 PM EST kickoff in West Point lined up before they go on Spring Break.

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For the Wildcats full schedule, click here.

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Scoring vs BYU

Tries: 5- Morgan (2), Blair, Champion, King

Conv: Berenger- 2/5

Pen: Berenger- 1/1, Champion- 0/1

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1st XV vs BYU

​​1- Isaac Morrill

2- Cameron Blair- C

3- Dalton Slaughter

4- Harry Hobson

5- Jack Bresland

6- Troy Norman

7- Tanner DeMassa

8- Aiden Kemp

9- Jacob Hall

10- Saxon Gerstl

11- Jake Schumacher

12- Ted Champion

13- Mattox King

14- Nick Morgan

15- Matteo Berenger- VC
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16- Aston Gradwick-Light

17- Tucker Johnstone

18- Seamus McCarthy

19- Jacob Jaffe

20- Henry Langrish

21- Lucas Smith

22- Brody Johnson

23- Antonio Gonzalez

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