By NOELLE SHORT
Special to the Enterprise
SARANAC LAKE - In Sunday's exhibition game be-tween the U.S. Army
and the Air Force rugby teams, the Air Force managed to build a 13-0 firsthalf
lead and eventually walk off a 21-3 victory.
The exhibition contest prov-ed to be mostly dependent on penalty
kicks, with Air Force kicker Capt. Chris Hauck scoring nine points in the
opening half of play.
USAF coach Doc Holiday was very pleased with his team's performance
on the day. "We know that
any time we play Army it is always going to be a difficult match," he said.
"They always have our number. The reception from Sara-nac Lake is second
to none. Today was one of the first times I had goosebumps before the
game. With a combination of the service songs, good weather, huge crowd
and an excellent venue, it was a great day. We hope to be back next year."
Army eventually made its way onto the scoreboard in the second
half with a successful penalty kick by Maj. Dave Foster, but it would be the
lone score on the afternoon for his team.
In the first half, Hauck drilled home twopenalty kicks at the 10- and
20-minutes marks to open a 6-0 advantage. Staff Sgt. Jay Arbisv scored the
first try of the game for the winners 25 minutes into the period to up the
lead to 13-0 as Hauck's was successful on his first conversion attempt.
The second half of the match featured more of USAF's dominance as
Hauck scored on one of two attempted penalty kicks, and Staff Sgt. David
Stapp scored a try on the last play of the game to sealed the win.
A highlight of the game was the homecoming of former Saranac Lake
and West Ppoint football standout Dustin Plum-adore, who competed for the
Army squad.
"We are an All-Star team, so it is tough because we are only together
once or twice a year to play," Plumadore said of his team's play. "Our team
is a combination of new players and older guys."
Plumadore, who
began his rugby career playing for Old Blue and the Saranac Lake
Mountaineers, was the captain of the Army squad. He hopes that Army
makes it a tradition to play in Saranac Lake be-cause it gives him an
opportunity to enjoy time at home during the Adirondack summer with
friends and family.
His father, Jan was the founder of the Saranac Lake Mountaineer
program,
"I'm hoping he'll hold his knees together," he said with a smile. "So we
can someday get out there and play together."
Plumadore is currently in the midst of a training program, and is slated
for assignment between October and January.