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Show Haggis catches Muckers by surprise 1 '- - - , ! '' ' : , -i hi h "r. ' V . ' , ; ' " ' , - . - : , i I , i - , .. -V i ' J I !j ' : ... ''- . a ' t .- - i.i Him.! m by David Mueller It was the tenth renewal of the Park City-Haggis (Dead Goat) Fourth of July rugby match. The Muckers entered the encounter with a one-game deficit in the series, four games to five. Park City scored first and scored last in the contest, but in between was deluged with a 28-point Haggis scoring tide which included six tries, five of them the result of 60-yard-plus offensive movements. The Haggis prevailed on this day, 28-13. It was a peculiar challenge for the Muckers. The home side had prepared for a kicking-style attack from the Salt Lake City club, directed, direc-ted, as it had been, for the past five years by the sometimes successful but always predictable Stuart Carter. But the New Zealand native was not to be seen or heard from. What the Muckers got instead was a lesson in wide-open back line rugby. The Haggis had turned turn-ed full circle: all afternoon they "kept the boot in the grass and made the pass," constantly opening up the outside space on the pitch for their young and fleet corps of wings and centers. By the time the Muckers adjusted, Haggis was ahead to stay by IS points. Park City opened up the scoring for the match with a 20-yard Carl Dollhausen penalty goal, giving the Muckers their first, last and only lead of the day, 3-0. ' Haggis countered within five minutes, sending number num-ber eight Pisa Finai across from a five-yard scrum in a powerful run which left three Park City tacklers stretched on the turf. "I even had a good bead on him," said BA Jameson, "but I was like a mosquito that he brushed aside as he ran over me." Craig Sutherland converted The Mucker-Haggis game featured a card-carrying cheering section behind the east goalposts. But cheers were not enough as the Muckers were defeated, 28-13. the try and Haggis went in front, 6-3. Then the long-distance lightning began to strike the Muckers. Haggis started using the abundance of good possession that their forwards for-wards gained through every phase of the game to play to their brilliant fliers on the outside. Sutherland, Craig Wright, Tapu Papau and ' Tiki Papau all shared in the action, leaving Park City defenders behind on their way in-goal. Of the three first-half first-half tries Haggis garnered with the efforts of these players, all began from inside in-side the visitors' 25-yard line. Sutherland was especially effective, hitting the gap and backing up his wing when he was required. "Those guys are only in their early 20s," Ray Marchetta, Haggis captain, cap-tain, said. "But they've been in the Highland High program for four years and have played two more years before coming to us. It makes it easy. We just turn them loose.' '.It was Haggis , 18-3athalftime, ; To the Muckers' credit, the home side played their op-' ponent ' to' an even 10-10 second half, a period highlighted by two more end-to-end Haggis tries and a determined ."effort by the Park Ci(y forwards to stage a comeback. The Muckers were led by loose forward Buddy Mac-chia Mac-chia who was called on several times to bolster the Park City lineout with takes from the long throw-in. Park City finally reached the Haggis in-goal on a reverse pass from scrum half Rick Phaler to wing John Sundquist off a penalty ' " from five yards out. The try ' 'moved; the scbre arid-. gave some hope to the Muckers and the fans along the sidelines. But Tapu Papau's long jaunt to the City in-goal seven minutes later snuffed out any hope the Muckers might have had in coming all the way back. - Brad Marsh came on the , pitch for the flu-stricken Tap and got his chance at the 70-minute 70-minute mark to show his own ability as he put down the final Haggis try of the day. Sutherland converted, pushing the Haggis tally to its final 28. Park City, working hard throughout, managed to put across a last-minute try, largely the reward of the efforts ef-forts of Doug Shewmaker, Phaler, and Sundquist, who dotted down beneath the posts for his second try of the match. But after Phaler kicked through, time had run out and the Muckers were still 15 points short at 13-28. The Haggis had rounded out 'the first decade of this rivalry by claiming its sixth c Fourth of July victory. ';.-, Mucker Muddlings -The Park City Second Side remains undefeated as it improved its record to 3-0 with a 10-7 triumph against the Haggis , Bs. Frenchy Paulhus found the range with two penalty goals and Tim "Razor" Sharp came through with a try for the Mucker Twos. The second-side match had a Hall of Fame flavor as three retired Muckers pulled on the Cardinal and Gold for the first time in years: Don Symonds, Skip Schirf and Dean Brown. What a day off will do. The Muckers move into the middle phase of the 1983 season next weekend, what is likely to bring a bit more reward in the win column, should the side continue to improve. Park City will begin its annual campaign against other ski-town sides, first journeying to Sun Valley for a single game, then to Breckenridge July 2 and 24 for the Ski Town ' Tournament. |