Plenty of Action at 2017 Axemen Hall of Fame Game
The 2017 Jacksonville Axemen made their debut this past Saturday when they took on Axemen from years past in the Hall of Fame Game. Up seven tries to 4, the current squad came out victorious even with the Hall of Fame team making it difficult for them.
The challenge from the opposition team came from former Axemen players including Brent Shorten, Kenny Britt, Jamie Uyttewaal, Gaz Walker and Hall of Famer Bob Knoepfel, just to name a few. With the score close until half time, the Axemen gained their footing and dominated the second half.
“I’m happy the veterans gave us a good contest,” said Axemen Head Coach Sean Rutgerson. “This allowed me to identify what we need to work on, which is our defense and ball handling at this point. Everyone got a chance to have a run and there were no major injuries. We started poorly but played much better in the second half.”
Brent Shorten was officially inducted into the Jacksonville Axemen Hall of Fame, an honor well deserved after 6 seasons of selfless dedication to playing rugby league in Jacksonville and growing the sport in the United States.
“We can’t thank Shorto for his enough for his commitment to the Jacksonville Axemen,” said Drew Slover, Co-Founder and General Manager. “His loyalty to the team helped shape it into the success we are today and he will forever be part of the Axemen family.”
Our officials were also hard at work during the event as part of the Level 1 RLEF/USARL Official Course and were going through training throughout the weekend. We look forward to working with our officials throughout the season.
The pressure is on this Saturday, May 27th as the Jacksonville Axemen will host the USARL South 9’s Tournament at UNF. The first teams kick off is 3:30pm, gates open at 3pm. Come out and join us for this exciting new event!
Photo Credit: Allene Rachal