NORTHFIELD, Vt.- Norwich Men's Rugby opened New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference (NEWCRC) play Saturday afternoon with a 41-19 victory over Coast Guard Saturday afternoon on the Graveyard Pitch.
 
The Cadets started off strong with an unconverted try down the sideline to Freshman Winger Kyle Krebs. Several minutes later, Coast Guard quickly replied with their own unconverted try tying the match at five apiece.
 
But that would be the final score of the first half for the Bears as Norwich capitalized on Coast Guard's miscues. Krebs tallied a second try along with senior Jacob Sherman, and Junior Captain Marius Edwards. Senior Ben Steen converted two out of the four rounding out the first half with a score of 24-5.
 
 The second half was a battle of possession, and defense with the Cadets adding two more unconverted tries by Krebs with his third score, and Sophomore Sonny Mammaro while also holding the Bears off the scoreboard before they scored two tries and a conversion in the waning minutes before Kurt Sayers tacked on the final points.
 
The Dirt Dogs return to the Graveyard Pitch on Oct 1 at 1 PM when they play host to the University of New Hampshire.