It’s not often that a team would celebrate after its first loss of the season but after Baylor fell to Oklahoma 40-29 recently the Bears (5-1 currently in conference) were able to still find joy in the fact that mathematically they had done enough to win the Red River Collegiate North division for the second straight year.
Baylor scored 4 first half tries to gain the decisive table point need to secure the division with two games still left to go in the season. Captain Stewart Morris had this to say following the match: “It was disappointing to not come away with a win against OU but we did enough to win the division which was our #1 goal. The team will need to reset our focus on finishing the season with two solid wins and go into the championship with some positive momentum.”
The Bears will now wait to see who the South division champion will be and ultimately the opponent for the April 7th Conference Championship in Austin Texas. This week’s matchup between LSU and Texas A&M will likely decide the winner of the South division. LSU came out on top 17-10 in their last matchup but it was a tightly contested match for the full 80 minutes.
Baylor defeated LSU 25-22 last season to win the Red River Collegiate Conference and advanced to the D1A National Playoffs where they finished as one of the final 8 teams in the country. The Bears are hopeful that history will repeat itself and Baylor can take home their second conference title in as many years.
Regardless of who comes out of the South division Baylor Head Coach Mason Hering knows they will be a formidable opponent. “Both A&M and LSU have played really well this year and deserve to be in the finals. We have to wait and see who gets the upper hand but I have no doubt that whoever comes out on top will be looking to take our title away from us.”
What is known is the fact that Baylor Rugby is the Red River Collegiate North division champion for 2017-2018 and will fight for another conference title on April 7th in Austin. Fans, friends, and family of Baylor Rugby should plan on making their way down to Austin April 7th to support the Bears.