The football team was not the only LSU group to hand Florida a loss Saturday in Baton Rouge. The LSU rugby club’s Purple Team defeated Florida’s rugby club, 39-13, on the Parade Ground prior to Saturday night’s showdown in Death Valley. LSU took an early lead and never looked back. There are two ways to score in rugby. The first is to push the ball into the scoring area at the end of the field. This is called a try -worth five points. The other way is to kick the ball through the goal posts. An extra point kick – worth two points – is attempted after scoring a try, and it is worth two points. The ball can be kicked through the posts during the game anytime for three points. LSU sophomore Andrew Larkin scored LSU’s first try early in the match to the put the Tigers up, 5-0. LSU missed its extra point kick. Not long after, Florida matched the Tigers’ score with a try of their own to tie the game up at 5-5. LSU rugby club president, sophomore Cody Cadella, scored the next try to put the Tigers up once and for all. Cadella said he was excited about scoring early. “It was incredible to get out to an early lead,” Cadella said. “It’s always good to see wins.” LSU added another five points when sophomore Sid Blakemore punched the ball in for a try. LSU scored its extra point kick to go up, 17-5. Florida scored next to close the game,17-10. LSU put the game away when Jimmy Rehkoph, Brendan Batt and senior Ricky DeCastro scored, although Florida was able to get a three-point kick when the contest was already out of hand. The Man of the Match was LSU’s Jarett Falcon. Although Falcon did not score, he recorded several assists. Falcon said he was pleased with the team’s hard work. “We went out and played whistle to whistle,” Falcon said. “I’m glad we got out there and played through the entire match.” Cadella was appreciative of the fans showing their support during the game. “It was a great atmosphere,” Cadella said. “I’m glad we could get the fans pumped up for the rest of the day. Playing a match that everyone can come see is really moving the game forward.”
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]