ASU rugby routs Ohio State in Rugby Bowl

The Arizona State rugby team shut out Ohio State 59-0 in blowout fashion in the feature scrum of the Rugby Bowl on Saturday at Scottsdale Stadium.

"We controlled the ball, we kept possession, we tired them out, kept banging up," ASU coach Gary Lane said. "When we knew that they subbed in we spread the ball wide. We knew they were heavier than us and so we just needed to be able to hold onto the ball and that's exactly what we did."

Defense reigned supreme in the larger portion of the first half, with the first try by forward Kevin Harris coming 20 minutes into the first half. ASU took the early 5-0 lead after the conversion kick by Keenan Mayfield blew just right of the post.

Both teams played scrappy throughout the half, with ASU controlling most of the first-half scrums.

Ohio State was on the brink of tying it up after ASU was penalized for attempting to pull down the lineout. However, a tough defensive strategy punctuated with punishing tackles allowed ASU to overcome its mistake and boost its morale.

With nine minutes remaining in the half, 6-foot-5, 240-pound ASU forward Eric Rygiel barged his way into the try zone to add another five points to ASU's total. After a completed conversion, Ohio State was down 12 points.

The Sun Devils wouldn't stop there. Two rucks, a maul and a couple of lateral bullets later, ASU back Alex Sandstrom found a lane with one minute left and broke away for the team's final try of the half. Another completed conversion left ASU with a 19-0 advantage going into the locker room.

The Sun Devils came out of the second half on fire with zero indication that they felt comfortable and would let up. They continued to look explosive on offense. Mayfield started off the second half quicker than the first with another long drive into the try zone followed by his own conversion kick to put ASU up 26-0.

"This is a dream way for me to go out and finish my ASU career off this way," Mayfield said. "It's just magical really. I think this was our best team effort of the whole entire year."

ASU added salt to the wound for the remaining 15 minutes of the game, scoring five tries for 25 more points and the shutout victory.

"I'm proud we never gave up but great team in Arizona State," Ohio State head coach Ron Bowers said. "Their back row was really really good. They played an outstanding game we just couldn't match what their six, seven and eight had going. They were all over the field."

This was the first time in program history that ASU won the Rugby Bowl.

After the first fingerprints tarnished the shine of the championship trophy, Lane used one word to describe how he and his team felt:

"Vindicated."