Kyle Garman rumbles through a gaggle of Brighton defenders on his way to his first of three tries on Mar. 30.

By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

From the initial kickoff, it was clear who was in command. Weld Rugby demolished Brighton Rugby 72-0 last Saturday in Berthoud at Turner Middle School.

After helping set up the first try early in the game, Weld Rugby halfback and Berthoud High School senior, Kyle Garman quickly responded with a score of his own after he faked out a Brighton defender and dove toward the endzone, running through the opposition.

“Just driving my feet, trying to get that power into it,” Garman explained after the game about muscling his way in for his first career score. “I’ve never scored a try and I was hoping to get a try in my last season of rugby,” he added. Garman may need to raise his expectations after just one game though as he scored three times against Brighton to record a hat-trick.

Not long after his first try he broke free again and found fellow Berthoud senior, Daniel Mahoney running alongside. Garman drew in the Brighton players then made a quick off-load to Mahoney who ran untouched to score the first try of his rugby career.

“It was great,” Mahoney said with a wide smile. “Seeing Kyle work his butt off to get me the ball is just awesome. We had a lot of guys who were just putting everything out there today.”

Along with Garman and Mahoney, several other senior Spartans from last fall’s 10-1 varsity football team play for Weld Rugby, a high school rugby team made up of players from across northern Colorado. This year, almost half of the players are seniors from Berthoud.

Blake Coble, Garrett Pawlowski, Joey Finnegan, Aiden McGrath and Alex and Ben Larson join Garman and Mahoney this spring on the rugby field.

“It’s really cool to be out here with a bunch of my best friends. I’ve known everybody on the team since fifth grade,” Mahoney stated.

While some, like the Larson brothers, have played rugby for years, for others last Saturday was their initial taste of rugby.

“It’s really fun, exciting. Kind of like football with the physicality,” Finnegan said after his first rugby game. “I kind of view it as like a mix of soccer and football together.”

Drawing heavily on their skills gained playing gridiron, the group of Berthoud seniors ran around and over Brighton with the ball while also dominating on defense. “It feels like a last hurrah from football,” Finnegan explained about the mood on the team.

Ben Larson picked up where he left off during the football season with two tries against Brighton. Coble and Pawlowski each scored a try as well. Serving as the team’s primary kicker, Garman also made several conversions in the game, including a few from close to the sideline. “Feels good. I was a forward last year,” he mentioned about the change to halfback this season and picking up kicking duties.

With Garman leading the attack, Weld Rugby’s next game is scheduled for April 6 at Turner Middle School against the Fort Collins-based Hammers Rugby Club. Kickoff is set for 9 a.m. in a game to decide the best high school rugby squad in northern Colorado.