John Brown University produced the upset of the weekend, but it was a success long in the making. During Saturday’s 39-32 win over DII Mid-America conference leader Kansas State – a team that had defeated John Brown 54-5 in the fall – the collegiate Canterbury Player of the Week also emerged.
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Formed in fall 2015, the Arkansas program played a year of friendlies before officially joining the Mid-America conference’s west pool for the 2016-17 competitive season. The team had retained eight players from the previous year, and John Brown’s first league game occurred against Kansas State in September.
“Kansas State is a very physical team, so that first game was a very real trial-by-fire game,” explained John Brown women’s team coach Jarrod Heathcote, who coordinates with fellow alumni coaches Brock Erdman and Ryan Cowell. “We spent 90% of the game on defense, but I knew if any of those ladies came back after that game that they had earned their rugger status. After that game the team bonded. I think they realized this is a tough sport and it takes everyone giving 100% to win a game.”
Behind the leadership of captain and No. 8 Rebecca Baugher, president and center Julia Hightower, and match secretary and hooker Micah Wood, the team won the remainder of its fall league games. During wins against Arkansas (24-14), Benedictine (46-30) and Nebraska (88-5), players like flyhalf Bridget Wray and Kelsey Bredthauer – a small, fast, fearless wing with good field vision – distinguished themselves. Baugher and Wood were also selected to the Mid-America All-Stars.
The New Year began with a 97-0 win over Benedictine, and then it was time to face down Kansas State.
“We were nervous for the rematch but we had grown as a team, and the rookies were no longer naïve about what it would take to beat this physical team,” Heathcote recalled. “We had worked on the basics this semester. Building confidence in basic skills helps the team realize that they could play well. … We also had an awesome home crowd that really showed up and supported us.”
John Brown jumped out in front with tries from Alexis Barnes, Wood and Alison Friesen, and then Kansas State launched its response.
“I keep going back to one moment in the game that really made a difference,” Heathcote explained his nomination for Player of the Week. “In the second half K-State had come back within five points, and the momentum had really shifted in their favor. … We were playing really well but they had been dominating possession and kept pounding us. I told them we just need a big play to flip the field and get on offense.
“That’s when Karlie Bright got the ball and broke loose for a good 20-30-meter run,” the coach praised the scrumhalf. “That set us up for a try a couple of phases later. It really changed the momentum of the game and gave the rest of the team the hope we needed to not let the game slip away.”
Bright had a great day at nine and earned Heathcote’s endorsement for Canterbury Player of the Week.
“Karlie is scrappy! Just like our team,” the coach continued. “She has picked up the game so quickly and she loves her teammates and always gives 100%, and that’s why I think she is our MVP and is the perfect picture of JBU Women’s Rugby.”
The Mid-America season finishes on March 18 and then it’s conference playoffs. Canterbury Player of the Week is named for both college and high school athletes, and at month’s end, readers will vote for Player of the Month, who will receive a complimentary giveaway from Canterbury, our sponsor.
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