The Charlotte Royals took to the road this past weekend to the Discovery City – Columbus, Ohio. What did we discover while we were there? Well, among many things, we discovered one of the newest additions to the IGRAB family, the Columbus Coyotes. Most of us were hosted by some of the players, Dale Litt, Jon Borland, and Joey Eckenfels who live in three of the coolest neighborhoods in Columbus.
As the Royals arrived Friday night, the Coyotes hosted a Meet and Greet at Claddagh Irish Pub. We got to meet most of the Coyotes, have some good food, and received some gift bags from the team…first class all the way!
On Saturday, we were up nice and early on a crisp fall morning and went to Wolfe Park for our match. Due to some scheduling issues, the referee was unable to officiate, but Amanda Vestal strapped on her whistle and the show went on. Both teams played 11 each, with a couple of subs ready to go and the match was on! Both teams played a great match – the communication was strong on both sides and each team got in some great tackles and rucks. Both sides also ran the ball well, putting up points on the board early. By the end of the match, the Royals were victorious with a score of 54-22. Scoring Royals were JT Wentz, Rob Butterfield, Frankie Brown and Thomas Southerland, with Frankie and Thomas scoring multiple times.
When the match was over, the teams ventured to Cavan’s Irish Pub for the Third Half. The food was great, the company was better, and the limes were all over the place. Adam Wood and Zak Rittenhouse definitely logged the most quality time with the lime! We sang rugby songs, the boot was shot a couple of times, and what is a Third Half without a zulu run? The runners of the day were JT Wentz and Rob Butterfield of the Royals and Matt Kretovics and Brock Flint of the Coyotes. The Royals named Jonathon Gordon, Alex Aguilar, and Chase Kuhn as their Men of the Match. The Coyotes named Brock Flint, Jon Borland, and Thomas Southerland as their Men of the Match. Congratulations guys! It was well deserved.
That night, a large group assembled at Jon Borland’s house and we walked to our first bar, Exile, in the Short North neighborhood. The ruggers weren’t there five minutes before there was box dancing afoot. The Royals bring the fun wherever we go and clearly the Coyotes do as well, because the three dancing boxes were full and the party was on! Next, the group went to Union to finish up the night with more dancing and festivities.
Sunday morning came quickly and as the Royals dodged closed streets and marathon traffic to get regrouped and packed, everyone assembled back at Union for a delicious brunch! The guys were still lively and enjoying the sass of our waitress, Kris. After the brunch ended, we all said our goodbyes, hugged, exchanged Facebook information, and were already talking about planning the next match.
The Royals are proud to welcome the Coyotes to the IGRAB family and look forward to a long and festive relationship! With you!
