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Show Muckers boot their way to 13-3 win; no one complains about kicking now by DAVID HAMPSHIRE Record contributing writer A couple of months ago some members of the Park City Rugby Football Club were heard to complain about the team's poor kicking game. But nobody was complaining Saturday. Zuke Garceau kicked penalty goals of 40 and 45 yards and teammate Paul Lamphier added a 30-yard drop goal to lead the Park City Muckers to a 13-3 win over the University of Utah in their final home game of the 1985 season. Garceau, who is a dangerous runner from his fullback position, also scored a try to account for the other four points. In the past two games he has been responsible for 17 of the Mucker's 20 points. . The game, played in a chilling northwest wind on the high school field, saw the two sides battle to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first half. Utah scrum half Tracy Conti opened the scoring with a 35-yard penalty goal from the left side. But Garceau, a soccer-style kicker, evened the score with a 40-yard penalty goal of his own, going into the wind. "That guy's got a foot," Utah coach Hugh Brown was heard to say. "When they (the Muckers) get the wind, he's going to be dangerous." Brown proved to be a prophet. With Garceau leading the way, the Muckers dominated the second half, outscoring Utah 10-0. and it could have been worse. The Muckers got their first chance early in the half when a penalty was called about 40 yards from the Utah try line. Garceau's kick looked good until the last moment, when it hooked into the left goalpost, then bounced back into the field. But the Muckers kept the play in the Utah end of the field and it soon paid off. Utah was caught off guard by a long throw in from a Park City lineout and Garceau made the most of it, taking a pass from Lamphier and diving over the try line in the right corner of the field. The kick for goal (conversion) was short, but the Muckers were ahead to stay. A few minutes later Garceau got another chance when a penalty was called against Utah about 45 yards out. This time he made no mistakes, kicking the ball cleanly between the posts to increase the Park City lead to 10-3. Lamphier added the final three points with a drop goal late in the game, taking advantage of his position almost directly in front of the posts. Although the Park City back line did all the scoring, the forwards (the pack) controlled the flow of the game, particularly in the second half. Wally Burns, Bill Reid and Jeff Smith helped the Muckers dominate the lineouts, even when Utah was throwing in the ball. Reid was also a standout on defense. "He got the ball in several key lineouts," observed Mucker President Presi-dent Doug Shewmaker. "It seemed like he was around the ball the whole game." The Mucker forwards also won the majority of the scrums and much of the loose play (rucks and mauls). "The Park City forwards dominated domi-nated the second half, where in the first half they played a little more defensively," Shewmaker said. '" Utah Coach Hugh Brown said the Muckers, who are coming to the end of their season, were in better form than his own players, who are just returning to the pitch after a summer layoff. "It was disappointing, but it was our first game," he said. "They controlled all the loose balls and they were a little fitter." Brown said the Muckers should have a battle on their hands next Saturday when they travel to Provo to play BYU in their final game of the season. He said BYU, which lost 17-16 to the Haggis Sept. 14, has an outstanding back line. "The way to beat them is in their forward pack," he said. V, k vu r rV 5. Ji mm. , ma turn. vmsam umw.' 'H.- , W, David Hampshire Muckers (left) seem to have upper hand in this line out. |
