Cincinnati (red) winning its lineout
Cincinnati has a lot of post-season experience at the Midwest level, and represented the region at DII nationals in 2018. In fall 2019 – the final season before Covid-19 – the Kelts finished runner-up to Palmer College at the Midwest championship. Today, Cincinnati is like many teams in that it is refortifying after the emaciating effect of the pandemic, and that process is occurring in the Midwest’s new DI/DII hybrid league.
RELATED: Fixtures & Results: Sept 8-12
“A couple of years prior when I took over the coaching, we had a pretty older club with a lot of veterans, and the goal was to get to nationals and win a championship,” Cincinnati Kelts head coach Ryan Frentzel said. “This year it’s more about developing players and getting more playing time. It’s a pretty big turnover as far as goals are concerned.”
Frentzel took over the women’s team in 2018, which coincided with the end of his decades-long playing career in Ohio. During that time, his wife, Lisa, helped start the Cincinnati women’s team in 2000, and so when he was ready to transition to coaching, the Kelts were a nice fit.
During the playing hiatus, Cincinnati held some combined men’s and women’s team practices once per week in the fall, but that was it. And in spring 2021, the women played two games, and a handful of players participated in summer 7s.
RELATED: Fort Wayne Beats Grand Rapids 24-21
“We were definitely worried about numbers for the fall, because we had quite a bit of turnover,” Frentzel said. “In the spring we had barely 15 to field a team, but we did some recruiting and are back up to 25-30 on the roster, which is good. Half of those are kind of first-time players.”
Cincinnati’s plan for a more developmental season, however, detoured a bit when the Kelts were placed into the new DI/DII hybrid league in the DII East.
“We were a little concerned just because of our turnover on numbers and the travel being a little bit farther in the hybrid league. We might struggle a bit with road games,” Frentzel said. “Coming out of Covid, we wanted more local games and time to develop, but now we might struggle to get newer players field time while still trying to be competitive in this division. But I think the other clubs are probably in the same situation as us.”
The Kelts still have lock Monica Christian, who is also serving as captain, and flyhalf Raven Jones, and the important veterans help run drills when Frentzel is busy. Jones is also the head coach of the Cincinnati Walnut Hills high school team, and club president Nicole Yannetti serves as assistant coach to both Jones and Frentzel. That connection has provided some quality, young talent to the squad, like starting flanker Divine Moore, who is superb on defense, makes the hard tackles, and knows how to score. Starting center Jayla Twitty is also a powerful addition and stood out for the Midwest High School Thunderbirds as a teenager. She, too, has had a positive impact on the team’s performance.
Buffalo traveled to Cincinnati on Sept. 11 for the teams’ season-opener. In the past, the teams never saw each other in the regular season but they do have a history in playoffs. Outside of fall 2019 (Cincinnati 48-7 Buffalo), the previous three post-season meetings have been decided by three points or fewer.
“There were definitely quite a few small mistakes – knock-ons – and everyone was rusty for only playing a couple times the last year-and-a-half,” Frentzel said. “But our defense looked pretty good, giving up only eight points against a very great team like Buffalo. So that’s pretty impressive. We had a good mix of new, young players and vets on the pitch the whole time, and so when people came off the bench, there was no drop-off in play.”
Frentzel called out wing Maddy McGuire for a solid defensive showing along the sideline and making those big one-on-one tackles. No. 8 Schera Sampson also had a big day, initiating the scoring with a try and driving that momentum throughout the match. Youngsters Twitty and Moore showed well, and the flanker also scored a try. At game’s end, the Kelts had a 28-8 win on the books.
“I was pretty pleased,” Frentzel said. “I thought we could play that well. We looked really good during the past couple of weeks of practice, so that was pretty much what I expected. Buffalo came and gave us a great game. I’m sure they were a little shorthanded with the long travel. If we had to go out to Buffalo, I’m sure the score could have been the other way around.”
Frentzel confirmed that everyone was excited with the win and the fact that the bench emptied and everyone got playing time. The Kelts hope to roll that enthusiasm into this weekend, when it travels to DI Detroit, which dropped its opener 54-21 to Pittsburgh Forge.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time right now, just trying to get enough numbers to get up to Detroit this coming weekend,” Frentzel said. “We’re hoping for 18-19, so it’s really about getting the numbers week to week.”
MIDWEST
Club results from Sept. 11-12
DIVISION I
Chicago Lions 114-0 Chicago
Metropolis Valkyries 67-0 Wisconsin
DIVISION II
Pittsburgh Forge 54-21 Detroit (DI)
Cincinnati 28-8 Buffalo
Akron 33-22 South Buffalo
Cleveland @ North Buffalo CLD
Ft Wayne 24-21 Grand Rapids
Dayton 35-5 Lexington
Chicago Sirens 50-12 Fox Valley
Oconomowoc 63-0 County Will
Minneapolis @ Milwaukee
Palmer College 38-15 Twin Cities