Club History

 

Introduction

Welcome to Chicago Riot Rugby, a social athletic club founded in 2006 by a group of former University of Illinois at Chicago Rugby players.  This club was formed to embrace the social aspects of the sport, along with offering a competitive atmosphere to contend on the rugby pitch. 

Chicago Riot Rugby was recently formally accepted into CARFU to compete in DIII league for the Fall 2008 season.

Riot Rugby is actively seeking players for the upcoming Spring 2008 rugby season.  All players with no to extensive experience are welcome.  For information on playing for the Chicago Riot, visit the page entitled Join the Riot. 

 

May 9, 2010 

Yesterday we took 2nd place out of 12 teams in the Benny Kenyon Tournament, going 3-1 and losing in the Championship match. 

Match Results:

Riot 7 - Shamrocks 7

Riot 19 - Fox Cities 0

 

Semifinals:

Riot 17 - NW Indiana 7

 

Championship:

Riot 7 - Cincinnati Kelts 24

 

 

April 18, 2010

 

Yesterday we won our 2nd 15s Tournament in club history after winning the NIU Tournament of Champions. 

Chicago Riot 28 - Peoria Pigs 7

In playing the DIII Southern Division champions, after working on rucking all week, the first half was more of a clinic on blowing the other team off and securing ball.  We dominated possession of the ball in the first half from the forwards, and after crashing with them, the backline was able to score four tries in the game, all converted by Collins. 

Tries: Walsh (2), Collins (1), Johnson (1)

Conversions: Collins 4/4

 

Chicago Riot 10 - NW Woodsmen 7

 

We started this game driving down the field, and Giovanni scored the first try with a Collins conversion.  Later in the first half, after being awarded advantage on a penalty, Chris Johnson recognized this and slide to the slot and converted the first ever drop goal in Riot history from about the 22 meter line.  Later in the half we scored our first try of the game, which was converted by Johnson.  With five minutes left in the half, one of our players were yellow carded, and we played down for the rest of the half, giving up a try.  In the second half the play we extremely physical on both sides, and we were able to hold off the Woodsmen for the win and a trip to the playoffs. 

Tries: Giovanni Rumbolo (1)

Conversions: Kevin Collins 1/1

Drop Goal: Chris Johnson 1/1

 

 

Chicago Riot 6 - Iowa City Ducks 5

 

This game was equally matched on both sides, with all the points for the Riot coming from two penalty kicks attempted and made by Collins.  Iowa City did score a try during the match, but was unable to convert, which lead to our narrow margin in the game, and secured the #1 seed in the playoffs. 

Penalty Kicks: Kevin Collins 2/2 

 

 

Riot 14 vs. Shamrocks 0 - Semifinals

Before the match, we were dealing with several injuries, with Chris Johnson bothered by a hamstring pull and Alex Draper getting progressively more sick, where he minutes were to be limited in the match.    At the start we had several breaks by Bob Walsh, but unable to convert, and halftime it was 0-0.  In the second half we were going downhill with the wind, but with a shoulder injury to Bodgan who gave fantastic ball all day, Draper stepped up and continued logging minutes playing scrumhalf.  Even with the change on the day, we continued to get great ball to the backline, and Bob Walsh was able to finish another one of his breaks for the first try, which was converted by Collins.  Later in the half Johnson, running hard all day and despite an injury, scored the the second try of the match, which Collins converted.  We controlled the ball for the rest of the game, and were on our way to the finals to play the Woodsmen again, after they beat the Rockford Ravens 10-5 in the other semifinal. 

Tries: Walsh (1), Johnson (1)

Conversions: Collins 2/2

 

 

Riot 20 vs. Woodsmen 13 - Championship

The match was a nail biter from the start to finish.  The match started with us driving several times, but unable to convert a penalty kick into a strong wind, and then a knock off a penalty play at the 5 meter line.  The Woodsmen scored first with a penalty kick right in front of the try zone, but Collins answered back with is own.  But in stoppage time, the Woodsmen had a penalty near our try zone, and after three phases, scored and converted taking a 10-3 lead at half.  In the second half we played evenly for the first 10 minutes, and the at their 30 meter line, Chris Johnson took a pass from Coonan, put down a perfect grubber past the outside center which bounced up right into his hands, then drew in the fullback to pass to an open Collins to set up a kick from the corner to tie.  Collins continued to be on point, and stuck the kick right between the posts from the sidelines.  However the Woodsmen struck back with a penalty kick with about six minutes remaining.  The Riot then took the kickoff and drove down, getting a penalty at the 30 meter line and quick tapped to be awarded another penalty at the 20.  We had the option to go for the win with another try, but instead decided to attempt to rely on the boot of Collins from about 5 meters from the sidelines.  He dropped the penalty back for the right angle, and was again able to make a huge kick to tie the game.  With under two minutes left in the game we had control of the ball, and after a kick to their try zone, Johnson chased and after a mishap by their fullback, Johnson was able to dive on the ball and was awarded the try, erupting the sidelines.  Collins again was true with the kick, giving us a 20-13 lead.  With only 90 second left, Hands turned it up and caught the kickoff and we were able to control the ball for the rest of the time, ending the game and giving us the Golden Keg. 

Tries: Collins (1), Johnson (1)

Conversions: Collins 2/2

Penalty Kicks: Collins 2/3

 

Tournament:

Tries: Bob Walsh (3), Kevin Collins (2), Chris Johnson (2), Giovanni Rumbolo (1)

Conversions: Collins 9/9

Penalty Kicks: Collins 4/5

Drop Goals: Johnson 1/1

 

On the day several players played injured as the day went on, and played huge roles in the matches.  There were also several players that played the 200 minutes on the day, including Coonan, Kevin Collins, Bob Walsh and Kitt J.  Several rookies made huge impacts as well, which included Pasquale Selvaggio and Phil Kruzel.  Dan Peat, Nick Dicianni and Micheal Collins supported the club on the day, and Michael Collins logged minutes with Wayne State Rugby  The grubber try by Johnson was one of the greatest tries in the history of our team, and the heads up drop goal ended up putting us in the playoffs.  Men of the tournament were Bob Walsh with 3 tries on the afternoon, and Kevin Collins, who made 13/14 kicks  (93%), and totaled 40 points in the tournament, joining Coonan with players over 100 points in Riot history. 

 

 

October 17, 2009

On Saturday we had our final match of the season, playing at the Dragons.  We used the match as an opportunity to reward several guys that have had limited minutes this season due to league rules with conference play, and were missing several starters, so a few played out of position.  These players didn't disappoint with their performance, and the remainder of the team played a great match.  We finished the season with a conference record of 2-2 and ended in 3rd place. 

 

Final Score

Chicago Riot - 133

Chicago Dragons - 0

 

Highlights from the match include the five tries by Anthony "Party Boy" Marinello, two in a row off 8 man picks and one beautiful chip and catch over the fullback for a try.  Jhonathon Roldan had his zulu try after getting a start at wing for the match.  Alex Draper had his first start at outside center and scored a try but had his hand in several scores.

 

Man of the Match - Bogdan Niculescu - Started and played the entire game at scrumhalf, directing the forwards and backs to a flawless game, and rarely dipping into the Romanian playbook.

 

Big Stick of the Match - Jon Wagenschutz - While he lost his perfect season, his hit came as the Dragons had a penalty pushing us to the goalline, and he met their prop and put him right down, after which we stole the ball and ended their scoring opportunity. 

 

The Boat race team finished in dominating fashion, finishing the season undefeated.  Thanks to Pat Coonan, Tyler Crookston, Charlie Klehm, Darryl Kahn, and Anthony Marinello. 

 

Saze lost the dance off, as Elliot, clearly not intimidated by Jeffery, pulled off a backflip during the conclusion of their routine, ending our hope.

 

Tries

Anthony Marinello - 5

Tyler Crookston - 3

Giovanni Rumbolo - 2

Bertrand Valero - 2

Bob Walsh III - 2

Saze Oyegun - 1

Alex Draper - 1

Jhonathon Roldan - 1

Darryl Kahn - 1

Charlie Klehm - 1

Sebastian Sierotnik - 1

Chris Johnson - 1

 

Conversions

Kevin Collins - 9/13 = 69%

Charlie Klehm - 4/7 = 57%

Bob Walsh - 1/1 = 100%

 

Drop Goals

Chris Johnson - 0/1 = 0%

 

 

 

October 10, 2009

On Saturday we traveled to Lake County and played a physical contested match vs. Lake County, and ended up just losing by a final score of 21-14, ending our team 1-2 in conference play heading into our final match at the Dragons on Saturday.

 

As with every match this season, we came out with a lot of intensity pushing the ball downfield and leading to an overload in their backline and Sebastian Sierotnik scoring on the wing and nearly centering the ball, resulting in an easy conversion by Kevin Collins.  As the first half progressed, the Riot lost several key players to injury, including Andrew Leland Brasile and Anthony Marinello, where other players like Jon "Hands" Wagenschutz and Bertrand "Fries" Valero sacrificed and played out of position for the team and were vital to our performance.  During the remainder of the first half, the Riot had several long runs, but none that transpired into points.  Lake County was however able to start moving the ball overpowering with their size, and scored on a strong run from their winger, on a defensive mishap from the Riot on a 5 meter lineout and by a pack play with their captain bowling through.  With these scores, the Riot trailed at halftime 21-7.  During the second half, the forwards came out rucking with a purpose, and hitting the tackles immediately, leading to much more possession by our team.  Over 35 minutes passed with several opportunities for tries by the Riot, but unlucky breaks resulted in no points.  With 5 minutes remaining, we pushed to the 10 meter line, and a run by two defenders and a finishing dive between two tacklers lead to our outside center Nick "Ghost" DiCianni touching the ball right on the line for a try and a Kevin Collins conversion.  Over the next 5 minutes, we played our best rugby of the season, controlling the ball nearly the entire time, and having three scoring opportunities, the closest was a play about 10 meters away, running a fake switch and Chris Johnson grubbing the ball to Sebastian at the wing where both he and the defending winger dove for the ball in the try zone and putting downward pressure, but the 22 was awarded.  Another close play on the opposite side of the field but the pouch kicked was knocked down and the game ended shortly thereafter. 

 

Man of the Match - Sebastian Sierotnik - scored the initial try of the match, had another long run that put us in position for a try, and make a spectacular play coming just short on the last try.

 

The Anthony Marinello lead Boat Race team remained undefeated as Lake County didn't even make the turn.  First time addition Chris "Diamonds" / "Renegade" Oliver's performance was strong to quite strong. 

 

Tries:

Sebastian Sierotnik - 1

Nick "Ghost" Dicianni - 1

 

Conversions:

Kevin Collins - 2/2 - 100%

 

 

 

October 2, 2009

Last Saturday we played a very physical rugby game vs the Rockford Ravens.  The Riot pulled off a narrow victory (12-10).  The forwards did a great job getting to the rucks and keeping ball in the Riot’s hands.  They were so effective that they forced Rockford to be penalized over 5 times for holding the ball in the rucks.  Our backline played one of their most amazing game of the season.  The ball moving up and down and the backs were finding the gaps.   The backline made this win possible.

 

The first try was scored off a kick and chase down the leftside line by Kevin “Kats” Collins (winger).  This put the Riot up 5-0.  The second try was another dazzling play by the backline that ended with Bob “Bob Walsh” Walsh (fullback) inserting and putting in the second try of the day.  Walsh’s try was converted by Kevin “Kats” Collins.  The backline really moved the ball around well on Saturday.  Rockford then responded with a blocked kick near the try zone that finished with a Raven’s try.  Making it 12-5 at half time.

 

The second half went for 35 minutes without a score, both teams playing very well with more ball possession in the Riot’s favor.  We had about 4-5 breakaways in this half that we could not captive on.  At the 35 minute mark, Rockford scored a quick try in the corner and did not convert the kick, making the score 12-10.  This score would hold up until the end of the game.  The Riot squeezed off a narrow victory keeping their playoff plans alive.

 

Man of the Match:  Charlie Klehm

Big Stick:  Craig Kerins

 

---------------------

 

Riot/Ravens v UIC

 

UIC came to our pitch to play a mix and match of Riot/Ravens (RR) Team.  This game was played in the mud and hard rain.  The RR put a few tries on the board and then fell behind.  Than the RR team turned it on a pulled off an awesome win during the last 10 minutes of the game.  It was great two full 80 minute games in.

 

The real shining star of this game was Kitt Jarzabkowski.  He was literally all over the field Saturday and put on a tackling clinic.

 

Man of the Match: Kitt Jarzabkowski

 

 

Trys

1 Draper (5 Points)

1 Pat Carey (5 Points)

1 Gio (5 Points)

1 Johnson (5 Points)

 

Conversions

Ghost (2 Point)

Ghost (2 Point)

Ghost (2 Point)

 

Penalty Kick

1  Ghost  (3 Points)

 

 

 

September 21, 2009

Yesterday we played Fox Valley at home and suffered our first loss of the season, losing by the final score of 25-15. 

 

We started the match extremely tough, controlling the ball early and crashing several times inside before passing the ball on the outside with Kevin Collins scoring the first try of the match.  After just missing the conversion, minutes later we were able to capitalize after a Fox Valley penalty and Kevin Collins striking a penalty kick from approximately 30 meters out.  With an 8-0 lead we had another scoring opportunity along with sideline, but Fox Valley intercepted the pass and went the length of the field.  This lead to halftime, with the Riot leading 8-5.  In the second half, Fox Valley came out and scoring quickly scoring a try and converting, and then adding another after a kick deep, an unfortunate bounce, and Fox Valley picking the ball for the score.  Fox Valley later was awarded a penalty and converted the kick and scored once again on a deep kick.  The Riot added a late try after Chris Johnson moved to flyhalf due to an injury to Pat Coonan, and broke through the backline and dished to Charles Baldwin for the score.  Chris Johnson converted that try, ending the match at 25-15. 

 

Tries:

Kevin Collins -1

Charles Baldwin - 1

 

Conversions:

Chris Johnson - 1/1

Kevin Collins - 0/1

 

Penalty Kicks:

Kevin Collins - 1/2

 

 

Man of the Match was Anthony Marinello for his play at 8 while making a ton of tackles.

 

Boat Race team had an easy win, moving to 4-0. 

 

 

 

September 12, 2009

This afternoon the Riot opened the first of three home games in a row, playing U of I.  After traveling to U of I in the Spring and losing a tough match, we came out strong today and had a convincing win.  Final score:

 

Riot - 44

U of I - 19

 

The Riot opened the match strong, scoring in the first 5 minutes as Tyler Crookston scored his first of 5 tries during the match, setting the Riot record for most tries in a single match.  After the first try, Tyler scored again after making a tackle at the 2 meter line, stripping the ball from the offensive U of I player, and reaching to score his second try.  He scored his third try of the first half shortly after.  After joining the team this week and starting at Fullback before shifting to Wing after Collins came in after 20 minutes, Bob Walsh scored his first try with the Riot after breaking away at the wing.  After missing his first conversion attempt, Kevin Collins got back on track converting this try, along with the next try scored by Tyler, his fourth of the day.  This put the Riot ahead by a score of 29-5 at halftime.  During the second half, U of I game out fired up, and scored the next two tries and converting both, bringing the game to 29-19.  However, Bob Walsh was able to add some breathing room scoring his second try of the day after breaking away at the wing and eluding the Fullback for the score.  After Crookston added his last try, Bertrand "Fries" Valero finished the scoring for the Riot with no time remaining. 

 

Tries:

Crookston - 5

Bob Walsh - 2

Bertrand "Fries" Valero - 1

 

Conversions:

Kevin Collins - 2/3 - 66.7%

Chris Johnson - 0/5 - 0%

 

 

Man of the Match - Tyler Crookston - had 5 tries plus played disrupting defense all game.

 

Big Stick of the Day - Craig Kerins - While playing Inside Center, he made a devastating tackle on their outside center, who was tough to bring down all afternoon.

 

Anthony Marinello lead Boat Race team moved to 3-0 this season at the party.

 

 

 

September 2, 2009

Saturday the Chicago Riot faced off against NW Indiana Exiles.  During this season warmup match, the Riot was able to pull themselves together and overcame the Exiles with a 22-20 win. 

 

The Exiles scored an early try resulting from a penalty.  Then the Riot battled back and received a penalty in their favor on the 22.  Kevin "Kats" Collins (Fullback) kicked in the first 3 points resulting from the penalty.  Then the Riot backs with great ball transition brought the ball back up the field with a great run by Josh "Not in the Wolf Pack" Meyer (Winger) put a try into the corner.  This was Josh's first try and had one taken back later in the game.  The next score was scored short handed because of a sin bin of Bertrand "Fries" Valero after repeated offsite offenses by our team.  Another great display of the backline play put up the second Riot try when Kevin "Kats" Collins inserted from fullback and punched it in from 20 meters out.  "Kats" converted the try making the score 15-5.  The Riot than drew a few penalties which resulted in two quick unconverted tries by Exiles, making the score 15-15 at half.

 

The second half the Riot mentally pulled themselves together and played a solid second half.  The defense was much more solid than the first half.  After 28 minutes of no scoring the Exiles were able to capitalize after the Riot knocked on their own 22 meter line, making the score 15-20 exiles. During the next position the Riot scored because of the quick acting of Giovanni Rumbolo.  Gio took the 22 quick to the weakside up sideline with a few outstanding offloads .  After the 78 meter march down the field, Pedro "Spoons" Alonso (Flanker) made a break and scored his first try.   The try was later converted by Kevin "Kats" Collins making the score 22-20.  The Riot than stood their ground and kept control of the ball the rest of the contest not giving the Exiles a chance to make up the points.  The final phase was ended with the Riot kicking the ball to touch to take the Win.

 

 

Points:

 

12    Kevin "Kats" Collins (1 try, 2 conversions and a penalty)

 

 5     Josh "Not in the Wolf Pack" Meyer

 

 5     Pedro "Spoons" Alonso

 

 

Post Game:

 

The Riot Drinking Team pulled off an easy victory and looked in midseason form.   Also the Man of the Match (Alex Draper and Pedro Alonso) pulled off easy chugs against the Exiles.

 

 

 

August 24, 2009

On Saturday we had our first match of the season vs. Lewis University, and with a strong turnout at the match and practice during our first week and a half, we defeated Lewis University. 

 

Final Score:

 

Chicago Riot - 45

Lewis U. - 0

 

The scoring in this match came mostly from players that joined us just this Fall season, with Chris Johnson starting at Outside Center scoring the first three tries of the match, Tyler Crookston starting at Flanker adding two of his own, and Charles Baldwin playing Inside Center/Flyhalf scoring once.  Andre Cross, who just joined us in the Spring, added another try late playing Outside Center.  Kevin Collins went 4/5 in conversions, and Derek Bly went 1/2 to finish the scoring. 

 

                     

June 27, 2009

This weekend we took a team to Milwaukee, WI for the Lakefront 7s tournament.  Overall we finished with a record of 1-1-1, with the loss in our final match excluding our team from the semifinals. 

 

Here were the results:

 

Chicago Riot - 29 vs. All Star Rejects (Manhattan Shamrocks) - 0

Chicago Riot - 21 vs. Milwaukee RFC - 21

Chicago Riot - 14 vs. Oconomowoc RFC - 29

 

Man of the Tournament was Alex Draper, who scored in all three matches, and played with a high level of intensity all day.  

 

Thanks to Chris Johnson who played with U of I and our team through the day, filing in several times for injuries, and Noah Brennecke who made the trip and played with UIC all day, scoring several tries. 

 

 

June 20, 2009

We had a great showing at the tournament today, finishing in 2nd place of the 7 teams entered.  Thanks to the 12 guys that were on the roster, which included players from ISU in Pat Torralba and Chris Karam from Lewis University, who have played with us in past 7s tournaments, and Chris Oliver, who came out for the day and filled in during the last match when we lost a couple players. 

 

Match 1:

Chicago Riot - 31

NW Exiles - 0

 

Given this was the first match of the day for the team, and the first 7s game for a couple players, we didn't play our best match, but the side still took control of the game.  Pat Coonan scored twice in the game, one coming off a penalty awarded 5 meters out, and just deciding to run through three players for the score.  In the 2nd half Anthony Marinello scored a try, converted by Collins, Chris Karam scored when he pressured the Exiles player out of the back of the try zone and he threw the ball back in where Karam touched it down for the try.  Jorge added a late try just freezing the Exile wing and centering for Collins third conversion. 

 

 

Match 2:

Chicago Riot - 31

Northwest Woodsmen - 0

 

Playing a tougher DII side and having the experience from the first match, we played a much stronger game.  Sebastian busted through the line of the Woodsmen and ran 60 meters for the first Riot try, with a conversion by Coonan.   Collins then added a try of his own, on an amazing play when he was playing wing and the pass was out of his reach when we were threatening to score.  Collins stretched and jump kicked the ball toward the try zone, then chased it down and dove on it.  This was a play that was reenacted by several guys from the other teams through the sidelines.  Victor Ramirez then scored his first try of the day, with a conversion by Coonan.  In the second half, Sebastian scored his second try, and Bertrand Valero added a try to end the scoring. 

 

With this win and a 2-0 record in pool play and 62 points scored versus 0 against, we were the top seed in the semifinals. 

 

 

Semifinals:

Chicago Riot - 15

Chicago Westside Condors - 10

 

This was another good DII side that jumped out to a 10-0 lead through the first 6 minutes of the game.  We threatened late in the first half, and then in the closing seconds of the first half, Bertrand Valero avoided several players and scored in the corner with no time remaining.  In the second half, play continued to improve, and while positioning on offense, Bertrand Valero took the ball from the left side of the field, and in a move of pure finesse and sophistication, recognized the Condors bunched up on him, and kicked from the 30 meter line out to the far right of the field in the try zone where Coonan and Sebastian were uncovered and Coonan dove on the ball to tie the game.  Later in the second half, after a tackle, Anthony Marinello picked up the ball and ran weak side 40 meters, which put the Riot up 15-10 with about 1 minute left.  Tough play on defense ended the game, and the Riot was in the finals.

 

 

Championship:

Chicago Riot - 0

Lincoln Park - 22

 

After losing Collins who had to leave for a wedding and Victor Ramirez, we were playing with a shortened side in the finals and had a tough Championship vs. a strong Lincoln Park side that featured JC Jordan, who has played with us in our past couple matches.  Our first several minutes were strong, but Lincoln Park was able to find some gaps and took a 5-0 lead into halftime.  In the second half Lincoln Park was able to put three more tries across, two of which came from JC.

 

 

June 19, 2009

On Friday night, despite the inclement weather, we had around 25 guys come to the Highland Games for our match versus the Frogs.  Unfortunately, we were only able to play approximately 15 minutes of the match, where the Riot was playing against the wind and rain in their face for the first half.  Despite this, in the first 2 minutes of the game, Chris Johnson, playing outside center, broke free and drew two guys into a tackle with him, and dumped the ball off to Kevin Collins for his first try in a Riot uniform.  With this the Riot lead 5-0, which was the final score of the game. 

 

Chicago Riot - 5

Chicago Frogs – 0

 

 

May 30, 2009

Despite the late start, the Riot still have 30 guys turn up for our match yesterday, which included several players getting their first game in with the team.  With the help of additional coaching by Ireland Johnny and Vin over the past two weeks with the backline, our play continued to improve, as we won easily.  Final Score:

 

Chicago Riot - 78

U of C - 0

 

We controlled the ball for nearly the entire game, coming from tackling in numbers and poaching immediately, and a majority of scrums and lineout stolen.  From this U of C was having trouble putting together more than a couple phases of play in a row, and when we held position, we drove up the field with tough play by the forwards and getting outside with the backs. 

 

Man of the Match - Ireland Johnny - played fullback in the 2nd half, then finished the game at flyhalf.  With his coaching over the past two weeks, our backline play continued to improve, and he solidified the backs in the second half, along with giving up a couple tries to Riot players. 

 

Tries:

Alex Draper - 1

Bertrand "Fries" Valero - 1

Patrick Coonan - 2

Neil Weijer - 1

Chris Ames - 1

Charlie Klehm - 1

Jorge Vasquez - 1

Chris Johnson - 1

Victor Ramirez - 1

Doug Anderson - 1

James Cook - 1

 

Conversions:

Kevin Collins - 7/8 - 87.5%

Chris Johnson - 1/1 - 100%

Patrick Coonan - 1/2 - 50%

Giovanni Rumbolo - 0/1 - 0%

 

 

 

May 9, 2009

For those of you that missed the tournament today, the Riot picked up their first ever 1st place trophy today at the Benny Kenyon 15s Tournament, exactly two years from our inception date.  Strong day overall from the Riot, with our team facing the North and South DIII winners from 2008 as our first two matches, and a dominating performance in the Championship game.

 

Match 1:

 

Riot - 14

Fox Valley - 12

 

Tries were scored by Doug Anderson and Alex Draper.  Having borrowed the kicking tee for the week, Kevin "Kats" Collins made both conversions, which essentially won the match.  Having won the first match, the Riot was in position to place in the tournament, but was seeking the seating in the Championship bout.  Since playing the first match of the day, Peoria stopped Fond du Lac 5-0 and Fox Valley dropped their 2nd match of the day to NW Exiles 17-12. 

 

 

Match 2:

 

Riot - 7

Peoria - 7

 

In the second match, with both teams having 1st round wins, the Riot played Peoria (DIII South Winner in 2008) to determine who goes to the Championship round.  The match was tight, with Peoria gaining advantage through several penalties called against the Riot.  Peoria took a lead and converted, which put the pressure on the team in the second half.  After 16 minutes of back and forth play, the Riot had a penalty on the 5 meter line, and after two phases, Doug Anderson punched the try across for his second of the day.  With the kick about 15 meters offset from the post, and the pressure on Kats, he just squeezed the kick to the inside of the left post to tie the game 7-7.  The match ended shortly afterward, scoring each team 2 points for the draw.  However, with the Riot scoring 2 tries in the first match, the team automatically advanced to the championship.  After NW Indiana finished off Fond du Lac with 2 tries in the final 5 minutes to win 19-12, the final match-up was set with the Riot.

 

 

 

In the Championship, it was the Riot that controlled the intensity from the match from the start.  From watching the early NW Indiana matches, they had several skills players in the backline that could control a game.  Craig Kerins was asked to set the tone of the match early with the first huge hit on him, which he did the first time he touched the ball, and with that, earning the Big Stick of the Tournament award.  Subsequently, Pat Coonan scored an early try with a conversion by Kats, putting the team up 7-0.  A couple other opportunities passed with unlucky play, but the momentum was to the Riot by halftime.  In the second half, after a kick-off deep by the Riot, the Exiles player was tackled, and Coonan poached and ran the try past their backline for his second try of the match.  After several other large hits by Victor Ramirez and Sebastian Sierotnik, we continued to control the ball with minimal pressure against the team.  Noah Brennecke came in during the second half as a center reserve, and started immediately breaking through their backline for a 60 meter run to the 5, where we lost the ball going for the pass and the score.  In the ensuing scrum, the Riot drove over, and Gio took the pick to the 1 meter line, dishing off to Alex Draper for his second try of the tournament, and putting the Riot firmly ahead, and ending the scoring.

 

Championship:

 

Riot - 19

Exiles - 0

 

In the end, the Riot defeated the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place teams in the tournament, and picked up the Maori head as tournament victors. 

 

Man of the Tournament - Kevin "Kats" Collins - was 5/6 on try conversions for the day, and just missed a penalty kick in the Championship.  The kicks won the match vs. FV, and tied the match vs. Peoria putting us in the Championship.  This along with exceptional play at Fullback during the tournament, never letting a kick past him, or any drops,

 

Big Stick of the Tournament - Craig Kerins - Strong running and great tackling all tournament let to the award.

 

Congratulations to Patrick Coonan who has now amassed over 100 points in his career with the Riot.

 

 

 

April 25, 2009

Thanks to the 30+ guys that came out again this weekend for our match vs. Illiana and UIC. 

 

Despite the poor and wet conditions, the games both went in favor of the Riot.  With plenty of numbers for the matches, we stayed well conditioned, and were able to spin the ball out vs. Illiana, who were only able to travel with 15 players.  Ball possession was largely in our favor with solid crashes and rucking by the forwards, then the backs getting the ball wide early and often for the majority of our scores.  We have scores by the following: Giovanni (2), Pat Coonan (2), Victor Ramirez (1), Fries (1), JC Jordan (1), Derek Bly (1) and Sebastian Sierotnik (1) and conversions by Bly (1) and JC Jordan (1). 

 

Chicago Riot - 49

Illiana Misfits - 14

 

During the second game vs. UIC, the guys played another excellent game, identifying the holes in their defense and attacking them.  UIC was also suffering as they were missing several key players due to finals approaching, but still put up a strong side.  Have to give them a lot of credit for taking the match on short notice, and dealing with the weather and late start.  Our offense took off with Nick "Ghost" Dicianni coming out and playing flyhalf and we advanced the ball well.  We had Noah Brennecke and Craig Kerins getting their first starts in a match at inside and outside center, and crashed the ball well all match, breaking through several times.  Our forwards took crashes strong and put in 5 of the tries, including 2 by David “Saze” Oyegun and Charlie Klehm, and a zulu try for Kitt.  Bly scored on a long run putting an excellent move on their fullback in a one-on-one situation, and Gio scored on a penalty to end the game.  Ghost added 3 conversions and Bly converted 1. 

 

Chicago Riot - 43

UIC - 0

 

Man of the Day - Victor Ramirez

Big Stick of the Day - Craig Kerins

 

Party was a good time at Tumans, where the Anthony "Party Boy" Marinello lead boat race team scored win over both UIC and Illiana.  Boat team is now 4-1 on the year, after suffering a disappointing loss vs. U of I last weekend as several regular participants were missing. 

 

 

April 11, 2009

This weekend we suffered a tough loss to Kellogg GSB, with a final score of 20-7.  The match was extremely physical with Kellogg taking a 10-0 lead at half with a try with conversion and penalty kick, and scoring two more tries in the second half.  Bertrand Valero put in a late try and conversion for the Riot.  The positive was we had approximately 35 guys at the match, so two completely different sides played in each half, and gave several new players some needed experience. 

 

Man of the Match:  Neil Weijer

 

 

 

April 4, 2009

Thanks to everyone that came out yesterday despite the short notice.  We had over 30 guys at the match, which included several players that were getting in their first match experience and several that were playing their first match with the Riot, so getting everyone together to start getting a feel for each other before our match next weekend at Kellogg was a positive.  Final Score:

 

Riot 32 - Lewis 12

 

We started the match scoring three straight tries in the first 10 minutes, with Anthony Marinello taking an 8 man pick from about 30 meters away, converted by Derek Bly, and then Derek Bly scoring back to back tries inserting from the fullback position in the backline.  The next try for the Riot came as Lewis turned over the ball as time was expiring in the first half, and Dean Franck, playing his first match with the Riot at wing, scored on a 60 meter run.  Lewis then threatened several times, with the Riot backed on the goal line after a penalty and Lewis only 5 meters out looking for their first try.  After several phases with the forwards, Lewis went to backline, and after a tipped pass, Mike Archbold, coming out of retirement to get in a match, picked off the pass and ran 90 meters for the Riot try.  Lewis then added a try on good phase play down the field, but the Riot answered shortly after with a try by Bertrand Valero off a scrumhalf pick.  Lewis played tough until the end and never were discouraged, and put in a try with 30 seconds remaining, and converted, ending the game.

 

Man of the Match: Anthony Marinello

 

 

 

March 15, 2009

Thanks to the 25 guys that came out on Saturday to play and the five or so that came to watch at the Whiskey 10s Tournament.  Given so many players and many of which that were new to the team, it was tough to establish any rhythm amongst players, but we still had a good showing in a tough bracket.  This year was not like last year, as we were the only DIII team entered in the tournament, so competition was strong.  Overall, we only had two practices to prepare for this tournament, and I thought our level of play well exceeded those levels.  Here were the results:

 

NW Woodsman 10 vs. Riot 7

SS Irish / Blaze 25 vs. Riot 0

SS Irish 21 vs. Riot 0

 

The lone try of the day was scored by Chris Ames, with a conversion by Bogdan Niculescu.

 

 

 

October 18, 2008

On Saturday, our season came to and end with a 20-12 loss to Fox Valley.  Overall, we finished in 3rd place in our division of 5 teams and just missed the playoffs, as the top 2 teams advance.  Thanks to everyone that filled in positions and played tremendously well during the match, along with I believe 13 guys playing the full 80 minutes.  The star of the day goes to Mike Duczak who despite running the 10 mile Urbanathalon in the morning, traveled and played the 2nd half of the match.   

 

Coonan scored the first match of the game, and converted a later try by Pat Carey which ended our season with Pat Coonan leading the team in points in our inaugural Fall season and also now taking over the lead as the Riot all-time leading scorer. 

 

The Man of the Match was Mike "Hawk" Hawkins for his hard work throughout the match playing in the front row.  Special mention was Joe Van Oosbree who played really strong at wing, making four clutch 1 on 1 tackles in the open field. 

 

 

October 11, 2008

The Riot improved their record to 2-1 in conference play today with a 92-10 win over the Chicago Dragons.  While the Dragons played hard the entire match, with forwards consistently joining the backline, we were able to overload their backline and produce numerous scoring opportunities.  Just as important was the support from players down the field, and the passing out of tackles that produced several tries.  Thanks to everyone that came out, as 11 different Riot players scored a total of 14 tries, and we converted 11 of 14 kicks. 

 

Man of the Match was Giovanni Rumbolo for his play at Flanker and then Inside Center starting in the second half.  Playing with the forwards he was always in support and dished off several tries and also played exceptionally well as a center in the second half, scoring two tries.  Special mention goes to Sebastian Siertonik, who scored once playing win, then made the move to Flyhalf for the 2nd half.  In his first time in that position, he lead the offense to 42 points in the 2nd half, adding two more tries himself. 

 

 

October 4, 2008

On Saturday the Riot picked up their first ever conference win with a 29-7 win over the Chicago Westside Condors (Blues).  Bertrand "Fries" Valero scored the first ever Riot CARFU try with his 15 meter run in the first half of the match.  The Riot played a very experienced side against the Condors, and again played very tough defensively, only allowing one try in the second half of the match.  We finally pushed several tries across this game, with the above mentioned try by Fries, Josh Erickson forcing a loose ball near the try zone and scoring, Coonan intercepting a pass for a score, Chris Ames stripping the ball from the Condor's fullback in the try zone and scoring, and James Cook on a 70 meter run for his first ever try.  Alex Eves went 2-2, converting the final two tries to finish the scoring.  Overall, both the packs and backs contributed to the final score with a well rounded team effort. 

 

Man of the Match - Josh Erickson

 

 

September 27, 2008

On Saturday we lost to Rockford by a final score of 22-0.  We played another great game defensively, and had several opportunities offensively, but couldn't punch anything across.  Overall, the end result does not demonstrate how the game was played, and the statement we made as it was only 12-0 until the 70th minute when we held at the goal line for about 5 minutes.  The Man of the Match was Doug Anderson who won about 80% of all lineouts (offensively and defensively), and started the team off with the first hit of the match which caused Rockford to lose possession.

 

 

September 13, 2008

Our first scheduled conference match was cancelled due to excessive rain.  The Riot will open their conference schedule at Rockford on September 27th.

 

 

September 6, 2008

Here are the results from the tournament this weekend.  Overall, the Riot played well, especially given that everyone played during the matches, which often lead to players getting introduced to a position for the first time.  What the team lacked in cohesiveness with playing out of position, certainly did not lack in terms of tackling, which was probably the best games I have seen the team play defensively. 

 

Riot 12 - UIC 5

Iowa 17 - Riot 5

Iowa 27 - UIC 0

 

Man of the Tournament: Victor Ramirez.  Victor played his first ever match starting at Inside Center and while still learning the nuances of running the offense, tackled everything in sight. 

 

Tries (Fall 2009): 

C. Klehm (1)

Giovanni Rumbolo (1)

Pat Carey (1)

 

Conversion

Derek Bly (1)

 

 

Summer 2008

During the Summer of 2008, the Chicago Riot had representatives from the following teams playing Summer 7s:

 

Glen Ellyn Ducks Rugby Club

University of Illinois at Chicago Men’s Rugby Club

Western Illinois University Men’s Rugby Club

Amherst College in Massachusetts Men’s Rugby Club

University of Chicago Men’s Rugby Club

Kansas University Men’s Rugby Club

University of Illinois Men’s Rugby Club

DePaul University Men’s Rugby Club

Marquette University Men’s Rugby Club

Illinois State University Men’s Rugby Club

 

As a reminder, we encourage all collegiate or graduating high school players to join us during the Summer for Practice or 7s Tournaments.  If you are interested, please email us at chicagoriotrugby@gmail.com.

 

 

July 19, 2008

Thanks to everyone that came out on Saturday for the Riot vs. Dragons 7s Tournament.  There were 21 Riot players playing on our two teams, which provided for ample reserves and resulted in solid play on Saturday.  The Riot teams went undefeated vs. the Dragons, who were rather inexperienced given this was their first 7s Tournament, but still provided for some competitive matches. 

 

In the Championship match, Team USA defeated Team Super Jew. 

 

Men of the Tournament:

Team USA - Giovanni Rumbolo and Alex Draper

Team Super Jew - Sebastian Sierotnik and Jon "Super Jew" Weintraub

 

 

 

July 12, 2008

Here is a rundown of the 1st Annual Riot Golf Classic.  It was a great time, and hopefully more will join us the 2nd Annual next year.  Derek Bly published the pictures to www.msnusers.com/riotrugbygolfouting. 

 

The winning group was Team Winner, which consisted of the following individuals:

Shawn Bastic

Patrick Carey

Norb Rucinski

Wren Rucinski

 

Longest Drive:  Doug Anderson

Closest to the Pin:  Wren Rucinski

Best Putt: Michael Duczak

Best Golf Outfit:  Derek Bly

 

 

June 28, 2008

Here are the results from this weekend at the Lakefront 7s Tournament in Milwaukee, WI.  Overall, the Riot finished 2-1, which did not allow the team to qualify for the playoffs as only the top team advances.  Our only loss was versus U of I, whom was the eventual Tournament Champions. 

 

Riot - 10 vs. U of I - 24

Riot - 22 vs. Harlequins 14

Riot - 15 vs. Hippie Mafia - 5

 

Tries and Conversions:

Alex Draper: 4 Tries, 1 Conversion

Micah Manore: 2 Tries

Sebastian Sierotnik: 1 Try

Doug Anderson: 1 Try

Pat "Ninja" Torrabla: 1 Try

 

Man of the Tournament was Alex Draper.

 

It should be noted that Pat Coonan came, but played for U of I...well, for 2 minutes.  Flavian Prince is playing for the Lions this Summer for their bid for a National Championship.

 

 

June 14, 2008

Saturday the Riot participated in the Firehouse 7's tournament.  We went only 1-2 for the day, but showed great progress from the first game to the last.

 

Man of the Tournament was Jon "Super Jew" Weintraub.  He played scrumhalf all day and was the Captain of the team.  His play and leadership won him this honor.  His dive at the ten meter line thinking he scored did not help win this honor.

 

 

May 31, 2008

The boys played 100 minutes of rugby in hot summer conditions vs. Lincoln Park RFC and the Fox Valley Maoris.  At the end of the day the Riot placed took 3rd place in the Social Division.

 

Man of the Tournament was our 8-man, Charles Klehm.  He was all over the field defensively and added his first two tries to the Riot scoreboard. 

 

 

May 24, 2008

Having the privilege of playing on the U of C field-turf football field, we played a full match, with an additional 20 minutes half afterwards.  We had good numbers to the match and as mentioned, after the solid week of practice, we played good rugby.  Sebastian Sierotnik started the match with his first ever try and Jorge Vasquez added one of his three tries on the day all within the first 10 minutes.  Patrick Coonan insisted that I mention his two "John Stockton" like assists before his day was ended 15 minutes into the match with a hamstring injury.  Shawn Babiarz, Jonathan Weintraub, Brandon Gardner. Kicks were converted by Chris Johnson and Bertrand Valero.  Giovanni Rumbolo added a try and Flavian Prince scored three tries in the extra frame, after which he is now tied with Michael Archbold with the most points in Chicago Riot History. 

 

Man of the Match - Jorge Vasquez. 

 

Final score:

Chicago Riot - 59

U of C - 10

 

Thanks to Jacob Willis who played his last match with the Riot and will be moving from Chicago.

 

Also thanks to Michael "Hawk" Hawkins for wearing his Riot shorts despite playing for U of C. 

 

 

May 10, 2008

The Chicago Riot had two teams entered in the tournament, with the teams filled with players from the Riot, UIC, Western Illinois University, and the Ducks.  Members from all four teams played with the "A" side during the day.

 

W - Riot "Black" - 22 vs. Manhattan Shamrocks - 21

L - Peoria Pigs - 12 vs. Riot "White" - 5

W - Riot "Black" - 19 vs. Fond du Lac - 0

W - Riot "White" - 26 vs. Illiana - 0 (10s Match)

 

Due to their 2-0 record Riot "Black" advanced to the Semifinals in a single elimination tournament with the Chicago Blaze, Peoria Pigs and Clinton Muddy River.

 

L - Chicago Blaze - 28 vs. Chicago Riot - 0

 

Man of the Tournament - Spencer Graham (WIU)

"Big Stick" of the Tournament - Dan Herr (Ducks)

 

 

May 3, 2008

Once again the weather was not cooperative for Saturday and it was raining and very windy, which resulted in a sloppy match.

 

Riot - 7

Fox Valley - 18

 

Man of the Match - Bertrand "Fries" Valero

“Big Stick” of the Match - Andrew "Auggie" Brasile

 

 

April 19, 2008

Here are the tournament results from the NIU Tournament of Champions this weekend.  Overall, the Riot went 3-1, with our loss coming in the Quarterfinals of the Single Elimination Tournament. 

 

Man of the Tournament – Doug Anderson

“Big Stick” of the Tournament – Carl Newey & Brendon Cooney

 

Match results:

W - Chicago Riot - 12 vs. Augustana College - 0

W - Chicago Riot - 10 vs. Wabash College - 3

 

The Riot finished pool play 2-0 and was seeded 4th / 16 in the tournament

 

1st Round

W - #4 Chicago Riot - 19 vs. #12 UW-Whitewater - 7

 

Quarterfinals

L - #5 Manhattan Shamrocks - 17 vs. #4 Chicago Riot - 12

 

 

April 12, 2008

Despite the poor weather, we still had a great showing this weekend with good numbers and excellent play on the field which resulted in a final score of 39-0 in favor of the Riot.

 

Man of the Match – Patrick Coonan

“Big Stick” of the Match – Darryl Kahn

 

 

March 10, 2008

The Riot won our 1st match vs. Battle Creek, so we were in the winner's bracket of the tournament.  Since the tournament was single-elimination, our loss in the Quarterfinals vs. Palmer College Men's put us in the consolation bracket.  Our loss to the Chicago Blaze finished the Riot 7th out of the 12 teams competing. 

 

W - Chicago Riot vs. Battle Creek (DIII)

L - Chicago Riot vs. Palmer College Men's (DI)

L - Chicago Riot vs. Chicago Blaze (DII)

 

 

February 8, 2008

Here were the results from the Snowball Tournament in Kalamazoo, MI this weekend.  Overall, we placed 3rd out of 10 teams in the Men's Bracket, receiving our 2nd piece of hardware for the team.  We lost in the Semi-Finals in overtime vs. the Tournament champions, the host team Kalamazoo 3/2.  Overall, the Chicago Riot played 3 teams that finished in the top 5 of the tournament, and finished with an overall record of 3-1.  In the end, it was a great showing for the Riot in our first ever 10s Tournament. 

 

W - Chicago Riot - 3 vs. Chicago Blaze - 2
W - Chicago Riot - 4 vs. Battle Creek - 2

W - Chicago Riot - 3 vs. CMU Alumni - 1

 

Semi-Finals

L - Chicago Riot - 1 vs. Kalamazoo 3/2 - 2 (Overtime)

 

Overall Tournament Standings:

1.  Kalamazoo 3/2

2.  Buzzards

3.  Chicago Riot

 

During the Tournament, players from the University of Illinois at Chicago Men’s Rugby Club and University of Chicago Men’s Rugby Club represented the Chicago Riot.

 

 

Spring 2008

Our Spring 2008 Season has been finalized.  Please refer to the SCHEDULE page.

 

 

Fall 2007

The Chicago Riot completed its probationary season with an overall record of 3-3-1. The Riot’s three losses were against opponents in higher divisions, which included DII, DI, and a Super League B side.  On a positive note, the Riot was 3-0 when playing future DIII league opponents.  Given this success, expectations for the first official season in DIII league are lofty.   

 

 

Spring/Summer 2007

The Chicago Riot played their first official matches in the Fox Valley Benny Kenyon XV’s Tournament on May 21, 2007.  The first ever try scored by a Chicago Riot player was by Western Illinois University Rugby Club’s Spencer Graham, who scored versus the Chicago Dragons.  During the 10 team tournament, the Chicago Riot entered two teams, and finished 4th and 5th. 

 

The following weekend, the Chicago Riot played in the Chicago Ball Tournament in Lemont, IL, and finished 3rd in the Silver Division. 

 

During the Summer of 2007, our 7’s team included students from the following Universities:

UIC Men’s Rugby Club

DePaul Men’s Rugby Club

St. Mary’s Men’s Rugby Club

Arizona State Men’s Rugby Club

Western Illinois University’s Men’s Rugby Club

Illinois State University’s Men’s Rugby Club

Kansas University’s Men’s Rugby Club

University of Illinois Men’s Rugby Club

 

The Chicago Riot entered teams into 4 tournaments during the Summer.  In our first Spring tournament, the 1st Annual Don Ho 7’s featuring the Chicago Riot vs. Manhattan Shamrocks, with each team entering two teams, the Chicago Riot finished 1st and 2nd, collecting our first piece of hardware for the team. 

 

During the Illinois St. Andrews Society Highland Games & Scottish Festival, the Chicago Riot was the featured club for an intrasquad match on Friday night.   The following day, the Riot participated in the Highland Games 7’s Tournament, and finished 2nd place in the Cup Division. 

 

To conclude the 7’s season, the Riot entered teams into the Firehouse 7’s and Lakefront 7’s and finished 2-1 in both tournaments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago Riot Rugby

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