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Divsion 3 Midwest Championship features Grand Rapids and Bremer County in bid for spot at National run

2016 midwest playoffs round 2 2016 05 01 Milwaukee rugby

This weekend saw the top 8 Division 3 teams in the Midwest square off for their conference titles.

Western Conference Playoffs — Waverly, IA

In the Western semi-finals, a forfeit by the Milwaukee Rugby Football Club (Milwaukee, WI; #3 seed) resulted in a bye for the Bremer County Bucks (Waverly, IA; #1 seed) and an automatic spot in the conference final.

The other Western Conference match-up was a lop-sided affair with the Fox Valley Maoris (St. Charles, IL; #2 seed) defeating the Milwaukee Barbarians Athletic Club (Milwaukee, WI; #4 seed) 66-7.

In the final, Fox Valley met a rested Bucks side. With home advantage on their side, the Bucks wore down the Maoris, taking the Western Conference title with a final score of 25-12.

Eastern Conference Playoffs — Grand Rapids, MI

In the East, Grand Rapids Rugby (Grand Rapids, MI; #1 seed) shut out the Cleveland Rovers (Cleveland, OH; #4 seed) with a score of 35-0.

Meanwhile, the Columbus Castaways (Columbus, OH; #2 seed) were victorious over Fort Wayne RFC (Fort Wayne, IN; #3 seed) in a competitive match: final score 44-30.

In the Eastern final, Grand Rapids put on a clinical display and were ahead 35-0 at halftime over the Castaways. At the final whistle, Grand Rapids earned a spot in the Midwest final with a 55-5 victory.

Midwest Championship — Chicago, IL

Bremer County Bucks will meet Grand Rapids in Chicago on Saturday, May 7th to decide which team will represent the Midwest in the Men's Division 3 National Club Championship.

The winner and Midwest Champion will travel to Pittsburgh in 2 weeks and play Saturday and Sunday for a spot in the National Finals.