South Carolina Are SCRC Champs
South Carolina are the 2014 SCRC champions after a 50-22 win over Alabama on Sunday. A physical Alabama team kept the game close through the first half before the Gamecocks pulled away with a series of tries including late-game scoring from Zach Mullineaux and Michael Rudzinsky.
The win sets up a Palmetto State final at the SCRC Bowl Series in Charlotte this weekend. USC will play Clemson at 8 p.m. on Saturday in a clash of conference champions. (The Tigers won the Atlantic Coast Rugby League title after defeating Maryland on Nov 8.)
For South Carolina, the championship caps a series of accomplishments in recent years proving the team’s status as a regional power, including an undefeated spring 15s season, SCRC coach and player of the year honors and two USA Rugby academic All-Americans.
Alabama Getaway
Alabama can hold their head high after a dramatic overtime win against heavily favored Tennessee in the semifinals on Saturday. Regulation time ended with a 20-20 tie as Tennessee recovered from a 20-10 second-half deficit, but the Volunteers' hopes for a comeback victory were dashed in overtime as the Crimson Tide scored two tries to clinch a spot in the final.
SCRC Championship Results
Alabama vs Tennessee
Alabama, a clear underdog in the contest, started strong, played strong and finished strong against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide scored four tries, but without conversions, accumulated only 20 points in regulation.
Mississippi State vs South Carolina
The University of South Carolina (East #2) (7-1, 5-1 SCRC) defeated a strong Mississippi State (West #1) (5-1 SCRC) squad by a score of 55-7 in the semifinal round of the SCRC Championships in Columbia, SC. In the process, USC clinched a spot in the ACRC Bowl Series.
Alabama vs South Carolina
South Carolina has claimed the SCRC Championship, but perhaps the biggest news of the weekend among the SEC teams is that they didn’t beat Tennessee in the final, they beat Alabama.