Miller's Kicking carries Duke to Second Straight Victory
January 30th 2009
Playing for the second week in a row away from home, the Duke Blue Devils
traveled to Greensboro and were able to beat the UNCG Spartans 30-12. The Blue
Devils looked slightly different than last week with a new captain and starting
back line. After last week's elections, Calvin Hayes was named team president
and took over the responsibilities of team captain on the field. Duke also moved
Gibbs from the pack into the back line and placed Tipton back in the starting
lineup. With Gibbs playing inside center for the Blue Devils, Blum was allowed
to move back outside to his more natural position of winger, helping Duke open
up the field. The Blue Devils started the game by mounting a 20-0 lead in the
first half through tries by Gibbs and Gurgel and some great footwork by Miller
who scored all 10 of his points for the match in the first half. While both of
the tries were scored by the back line, the team maintained its momentum through
the play of the forwards who showed a tenacity when crashing the ball into the
UNCG defensive line, putting the Spartans on their heels for the whole first half.
The Blue Devils continued to add to their lead in the second half scoring
the first 10 points on tries by Houghton and Beatus extending the lead to 30-0.
The Spartans attempted a comeback scoring a try and conversion with 10 minutes
remaining and then another try a few minutes later. However, in the end the
Blue Devil defense proved up to the task of not allowing the Spartans to complete a comeback.
The starting lineup for the Blue Devils in consisted of Tipton, Forti,
Lange, Nelson, Helman, Wood, Strothe, and Houghton in the pack. The group has
shown good week to week consistency which manifested itself in strong play,
eliminating any momentum from the UNCG e crashes. Strothe did sustain a sprained
ankle during the first half that took the ex-captain off the field for the rest
of the game. Strothe expressed hope that he will be back in the starting line up
next week. The new back line of Hayes, Gurgel, Gibbs, Pennington and Blum, with
Gosnell at scrum half and Miller at full back, provided much of the scoring but
appeared tentative in the opening minutes. They had a few untimely knock-ons which
slowed the momentum of the Blue Devils. However, as the game progressed the back line
showed flashes of improvement on which it will look to expand upon next week. Duke
plays host to Guilford on Saturday February 7th looking to clinch a top berth in the
playoffs and finish matrix play undefeated.
Game Notes
W 30-12(HT: 20-0)
Duke:
Tries: U. Gurgel, C. Gibbs, D. Houghton, A. Beatus
Conversion: L. Miller (2)
Penalties: L. Miller (2)
UNC-G:
Tries: 2
Conversion: 1