Stanford vs. Reno

On Saturday, March 21st, Stanford made the long journey up to Reno to play the last league game of the year. There was heavy snow in the pass and gusting winds and hail made game conditions unpredictable. Stanford led off with a try by wing Connor McKenna, who dodged several Reno players to touch down in the corner. Soon after, inside center Tommy Kramer scored after breaking through the middle of the Reno line. Unfortunately, despite the early momentum and Stanford's continued success at gaining territory with their kicking game, Reno swung the game with five successive tries. Stanford outside center Steve Brown responded with ten minutes left, exploiting an overlap on the outside for a try between the posts, but the Cardinal were not able to recover. The final score: Stanford 17, Reno 34.

Stanford vs. Chico State

On Sunday, March 15th, Stanford hosted the Chico State Wildcats in another game pivotal to the Cardinal's playoff aspirations. It was the second league game of the weekend for the Cardinal, having just completed a hard-fought win against Sac State the previous Friday night. Kickoff for Chico was less than forty-eight hours later and despite the Cardinal's best efforts, the game ended in a heartrending loss. Stanford started by putting the Wildcats on their heels, with number eight Johnny McCormick converting a kick for points from five meters out. Chico answered two minutes later with a try. Coming off another penalty inside the Chico twenty-two, McCormick made another kick to bring Stanford within one. Chico again responded, making a kick of their own and a try. The last score before halftime was by Stanford prop Andrew Thompson, punching it in at following a long tap and go run by scrumhalf Dan Ibarra. After the half, Stanford took the lead with a long highlight reel run by wing Marcus Henderson, who broke the Chico line inside the Stanford twenty two and never looked back. Despite the Cardinal's best efforts, Chico was able to score the winning try with two minutes left on the clock. With so little time remaining, the Cardinal were not able to mount a counterattack. The final score: Stanford 20, Chico 22.

Stanford vs. Sacramento State

Owing to a rained out match against earlier in the season, Stanford hosted Sacramento State on Friday, March 13th. The game was the first night game to ever be hosted at Steuber Family Rugby Stadium and was a must-win in order for the Cardinal to preserve their playoff hopes. Having lost a closely contested match against Sac State earlier in the year in Sacramento, this game was especially important to the Club. This urgency was apparent throughout the day in the Cardinal's defense, which managed to stifle the physicality of the Sac State side. Though there were several goal line stands for both teams, the game stood scoreless until the 37th minute, when Stanford lock Alex Rabkin punched in the ball to put the Cardinal up 5-0. The teams ground it out for another twenty minutes before wing Julian Brooks scored a sixty meter try off of an intercepted pass. This was followed less than ten minutes later by number eight Johnny McCormick's try, scoring between the posts after weaving through the heart of Sac State's forward pack and breaking several tackles. However, despite the 17 point lead, Sac State mounted an impressive rally in the game's final twenty minutes, scoring in the 70th and 75th minute to bring the game within a single try. The game ended with a brutal five minute stand deep in Cardinal territory, highlighted by two instances where the Sac State scorer was held up by the Cardinal defense. At the end of the day, Sac State was not able to equalize, leaving the score at Stanford 17, Sac State 10.

Stanford vs. UC Davis

On Saturday, March 7th, Stanford's First XV played their second game of the year against UC Davis, this time hosting the Aggies at the Steuber Family Rugby Stadium. Davis got the first try, touching down in the 2nd minute off the kickoff. However, senior flyhalf Travis Lehman equalled the score with a try of his own five minutes later. Unfortunately, from there on the Cardinal offense struggled, getting shut out for the next sixty minutes despite several deep forays into Aggie territory. During that time, Davis managed to score five tries and a drop goal, owing mostly to inopportune penalties against the Cardinal. Captain and blindside flanker Josiah Hall scored Stanford's second try of the day at seventy minutes, followed seven minutes later by number eight Johnny McCormick. Despite the late rally, Stanford did not have enough time to close the gap. The final score: Stanford 17, Davis 39.

Stanford vs. St. Mary's

On Saturday, February 28th, Stanford hosted the St. Mary's Gaels at home for the Parents' Weekend game. After a heated contest in Moraga earlier in the season, the matchup was much anticipated. Stanford elected to kick off and St. Mary's made good use of it, scoring during the fifth minute. However, the Cardinal were able to quickly respond, with fullback Charlie Hazlehurst touching down ten minutes later. The game continued at this pace for much of the first half. St. Mary's scored again at twenty five minutes and thirty minutes and Stanford responded with another try from Hazlehurst at twenty seven minutes and one from blind side flanker Josiah Hall at thirty five minutes. Unfortunately, here things began to turn for the worse for Stanford, with Hazlehurst coming out of the game due to a head injury. Minutes later, hooker Eric Whitney was given a yellow card and St. Mary's were able to score again, making it 24-17, St. Mary's after forty minutes.

In the second half, the game continued to be closely contested, with Stanford playing admirable defense despite being a man down for the first ten minutes. Nevertheless, the Gaels managed to score again at sixty and sixty five minutes. Center Marcus Henderson got Stanford back into the game with a forty meter try at the seventy-minute mark. Sadly, the referee chose to call the game after a St. Mary's try shortly thereafter. The final score: Stanford 24, St. Mary's 41.

Stanford vs. UC Davis

On February 21st, 2009, Stanford visited Davis to square off against the Aggies in Northern California league play. The Cardinal won the toss and elected to kick off. The decision paid immediate dividends, with Stanford recovering the ball and punching the ball in just minutes into the game. Scrumhalf Dan Ibarra scored the try. Unfortunately, this would be the last time Stanford would get on the board, with Davis scoring twice in the first half. The Aggies scored another three times in the second. Still, the Cardinal played admirable defense for much of the game. This was particularly true in the second half, where three yellow cards were given against Stanford, forcing the team to play down one or two players for a significant stretch of time. The final score: Stanford 5, Davis 31.

Stanford vs. Cal

On Sunday, February 8th, Stanford hosted the University of California - Berkeley for the annual Scrum Axe game. Stanford came out with a strong defense, preventing Cal from scoring a try until 12 minutes into the first half. Cal's subsequent attempts to bring the ball into the try zone were repeatedly refuted, forcing the Bears to kick for points at 23 minutes, 31 minutes, and 40 minutes. At halftime, Cal was ahead by a narrow nineteen-point margin and the Bears were clearly frustrated.

In the second half, despite the Cardinal's best efforts, Cal was able to score six times. However, a strong run by outside center Steve Brown put Stanford on the board at sixty minutes. Number eight Johnny McCormick's conversion was successful. The final score: Stanford 7, Cal 58. Though it might not have been reflected in the score, the game was hard-fought for eighty full minutes. Rounding out a month in which Stanford had faced off against the top three teams in the nation, the club is confident heading into the second half of league play.