The Wolfpack faced off against both Wake Forest and Appalachian State this past weekend, and came up with two good victories. They started off on Saturday morning by traveling to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. With the nicest playing conditions that either teams had experienced so far, the game kicked off at noon. The Wolfpack looked the best they have all year, playing well together and  coming out strong against Wake Forest. The Wolfpacks scoring started with fullback Greg Hesler within the first ten minutes of the first half, although the conversion was missed. The second scoring of the match was a penalty kick put through the uprights by inside center Will Teague, increasing the score 8-0. Wake had their fair share of attacking opportunities, pressing within 5 meters of the Wolfpack tryzone at one point. Immediately after getting close to the Wolfpack’s tryzone, an intercepted pass by second row Aaron Mclean make its way into the hands of outside center Brandon Mosiman, who ran the ball back for a try under the posts nearly the full length of the field. The try was converted, and the score increased to 15-0. The situation was not looking well for Wake Forest, as they could not seem to get anything going. The first half scoring was concluded with second row Matt Daniels putting a try in off of a pick and go on the goal line. The score at halftime was 20-0, NC State.

The second half went very similarly to the first half, with the Wolfpack shortly taking control of the game and scoring. Second half scoring was lead by a 10 meter drop goal kicked by Greg Hesler. The Wolfpack continued to attack, in the effort of getting a bonus point for the league standings by scoring four trys in one match, and their effort was rewarded when Brandon Mosiman put up his second try of the day. Wake Forest had one great attacking opportunity in the second half, and nearly put up a try lead by their captain, although an injury in the tackle did not allow him to put the ball down in the tryzone. Wake failed to score for the duration of the match, and NC State put up one more additional try scored by Bryan Maxwell. The final score of the match was 37-0, NC State.

The NC State team really came together this weekend and played the best they have together all season. Wake Forest has always been a  formidable opponent and beat the Wolfpack in their most recent matches, although Wake had hit a streak of bad luck and had their side weakened by injuries. A weakened Wake Forest backline allowed the athleticism and skill of the Wolfpack’s backs to triumph. Strong forward play from the Wolfpack allowed the ball to transferred to backs successfully, which resulted in a great day for the Pack. The man of the match was elected to be Greg Hesler, for his excellent play from the fullback position.

A side scoring:
Brandon Mosiman, 2 trys, 10 points
Will Teague, 1 penalty kick, 3 conversions, 9 points
Greg Hesler, 1 try, 1 drop goal, 8 points
Matt Daniels, 1 try, 5 points
Bryan Maxwell, 1 try, 5 points

The Packs weekend was not over with their victory over Wake Forest, they had to travel back to Raleigh and face off against App State at home on Sunday, for a re-scheduled match due to weather. As always, the matches between App State and NC State are close matches, and played very physical by both sides. First half scoring was started out by App State, who put up the first try although missed the conversion. NC State answered shortly on a try scored by an intercepted pass. Flanker Matt Pace took the ball out of the air on a pass thrown by App State in their tryzone, and touched it down for 5 points. The score was now all tied up. A 39th minute penalty kick from App State closed out the first half scoring, and at halftime the score was 5-8, with AHO on top.

The second half started with some App state scoring, who converted a penalty kick early in the second half which was the conclusion of their scoring. Not but 10 minutes later, Will Teague kicked a clean penalty kick and the Wolfpack inched closer to AHO, 8-11. The rest of the game involved both teams slugging it out, both in search of a try. On a failed attempt for a clearance kick from their tryzone, App kicked a linedrive into the hands of Will Teague, who ran it forward and passed it out to Brandon Mosiman who put a try down in the corner in the 78th minute of the match. The conversion was missed, and the final score of the match was 13-11 to NC State.

NC State held in there for the whole match against App State, and managed to capitalize on their mistakes. App State is looking like one of the better DII schools, and it is likely that the Wolfpack may meet them again somewhere down the line. The Man of the match was Will Teague, whose hard running from the inside center position held the Wolfpack close the whole day.

A side scoring:
Matt Pace, 1 try, 5 points
Brandon Mosiman, 1 try, 5 points
Will Teague, 1 penalty kick, 3 points

At the conclusion of the weekend, NC State’s record in the CRL moves to 3-0-1. This places the Wolfpack at the top of the standings, tied with UNC for 15 points. UNC and NC State have played the same number of games, and their points are tied even though NC State beat UNC head-to-head since UNC has received multiple bonus points for their wins. It may come down to who gets the bonus points in the next coming matches for these two teams, to determine the winner of the CRL. USC cannot be discounted either, they have only played three matches so far, and are sitting at 10 points. Another result of the Wolfpack’s performance is that they have effectively clinched the home playoff berth, since it does not look like any other DII team will finish above them in the CRL rankings. Hopefully moving forward the Wolfpack can distinguish themselves and make their way to the top of the CRL, by winning and receiving bonus points for their next two matches.

NC State’s B side also had matches following the A side, although both were considered forfeits for the other teams B side due to a lack of players. Against Wake Forest, the B side lost 10-29. Scoring for the Wolfpack was accomplished by Santiago Rubio, who put up a try in the first half. The scoring was concluded on an amazing single effort try by Jason Batt, who chased the tackle down on the kickoff, forced a fumble of the ball, picked it up broke a tackle to score. Note that the B side will go in as a win, since Wake Forest had to forfeit. Against App, the B side started to roll forward. The final score of the match was 32-0, NC State B. Trys were scored by Brett Simpson, Jon Rogers, David Milbern, Dylan Martin, and Jason Batt. Santiago Rubio kicked, and made two conversions and one PK.

Starting A side lineup(both matches)

1 Mark Addison
2 Stephan Bahner
3 Abe Harman
4 Aaron Mclean
5 Matt Daniels
6 Phillip Burcal (Captain)
7 Matt Pace
8 Andrew Birch
9 Craig Maxwell
10 Robby Dow
11 David Hunt
12 Will Teague
13 Brandon Mosiman
14 Bryan Maxwell
15 Greg Hesler
subs:
Eddie Youngs
Will Durway
Tim Vinick

A side scoring totals:

Will Teague: 4 conversion, 6 PK, 26 points
Brandon Mosiman: 4 try, 20 points
Greg Hesler: 2 trys, 1 drop goal, 13 points
Bryan Maxwell: 2 trys, 10 points
Matt Daniels: 1 try, 5 points
Matt Pace: 1 try, 5 points

Article by: Phillip Burcal