Thanks to Matt "Newt" Langsdale for this match summary.

Saturday, March 13, 2004 St. Louis, Missouri

Metropolis opened it's Spring 2004 season on a rock-hard and dusty pitch in St. Louis, Missouri. Using this trip as an important tool for the team selection process, the coaching staff divided the pool of players into two squads, Metropolis Red and Metropolis Blue.

Metropolis Red

The Red squad took the field with a solid core of returning veterans, as well as some new recruits and college players. The result was an impressive victory over the University of Illinois. Since there was so much scoring by Metropolis, I have chosen to highlight the tries and leave out the rest.

John "Face Plant" Hromadka opened the flood-gates in the first minute of play. Bryon Smith scored at 10 minutes, and Jim "Spoons" Mlenek Scored his first Metropolis try at the 11 minute mark. Gordy Hilleque scored the next two tries for the Red team at 15 and 21 minutes. Nick "Scrappy" Nelson got into the scorebook with his fist try in a Metropolis Jersey with 25 minutes played. Mlenek touched down for his second try of the day at 30 minutes.

Hilleque again showed his power by breaking through the Illini defense for his thrid try of the day at 35 minutes. Metropolis Red was held scoreless for the next 20 minutes until Charlie "The Big Tuna" from Gustavus got his hands on the ball and reignited the the scoring flame at 55 minutes.

Kenny "Bunk-Bunk" Githina scored one minute later on an exciting series of passes that covered the length of the field. Kurt Keller made several Illini tacklers miss on his way to the first of three tries for him on the day.

Charlie and Bryon Smith each scored tries at the 64 and 65 minute marks, respectively. Mike Daugs got on the board at 70 minutes, and Keller finished out the scoring with tries at the 77 and 79 minute marks.

Final: Metropolis Red 96 - 0 University of Illinois

Metropolis Red dominated every aspect of the game, right from the opening kick-off. Not bad for a team that hasn't seen grass since November. Their defense is sure to be tested on Sunday when they battle the St. Louis Bombers.

A little bit of comedy worked its way onto the field when John Hromadka took it upon himself to trip over the mid-field line while jogging to catch up to the play. The only possible explanation can be that the groundskeeper added a second coat of chalk to the line, which John was unaware of (video footage).

Metropolis Blue

Metropolis Blue racked up an equally impressive victory versus the St. Louis Royals. Jamey Kohlbeck used the short side of the field to pick the ball off a ruck and score from 20 meters out (4 minutes, conversion missed).

The Blue pack over-powered the Royals pack and drove them off their own put-in to steal the scrum. The result was an 8-man pick in which Mike Kreblin rumbled over the Royals defense to touch down for the try (10 minutes, con. missed).

The ensuing kick-off resulted in another try for the Blue squad. Dave Heebner finished off a multi-phase attack by touching down between the posts (12 min., con. made). Heebner again contributed on the next try by delivering a well timed behind-the-back pass to Terry Helmer that ended with a try in the left corner (18 min., con. missed).

The Royals got on the board when they caught Metropolis ball-gazing at their own try line (23
min., con. missed). Metropolis Blue stole the ball in a ruck and caught the Royals sleeping to add another try by Kohlbeck (28 min., con. missed).

Chad Wamsley finished off a multi-phase attack to score his first try in a Metropolis jersey (31 min., con. made). Mike Kreblin ended the first half scoring when the Blue pack stole another scrum from the over-powered Royals pack (38 min., con. missed).

The second half opened with the forward pack again displaying it's dominance over the Royals. This time in the line-out. The boys up front drove the maul 15 meters before Kreblin touched down for his third try of the day (43 min., con. made). Jason Hohenstein powered over for a try after the pack stole another scrum from the Royals (50 min., con. missed). After a turn-over, the backline spun the ball wide to enable Ryan Mcdowell to add a try (56 min., con. made). Gordy Hilleque picked the ball off the back of a scrum and off-loaded to Helmer who crossed the line for his second try (60 min., con. made).

Nate Waters added to the score when he finished off multiple phases off play (62 min., con. made). Mark Traynor powered through several Royals defenders to score his first try in a Metropolis jersey (64 min., con. made). Mcdowell got his second try (70 min., con. made) and Helmer his third (74 min., con. made) to finish off the scoring.

Metropolis Blue 96 - 5 St. Louis Royals

Metropolis Blue was happy to get out on the pitch to get a game under their belts.
While the score was lopsided on this day, they expect a much tougher game on Sunday when the face the Division 1 St. Louis Bombers.