Former LHS Rugger Took His Lakewood-honed Grit To BGSU

Sam Ciancutti (right) takes the field against the Ohio State University.

Former LHS Rugby Team Captain Sam Ciancutti returned home to Lakewood over the holiday break bringing news of his freshman year experiences playing prop for Bowling Green State University Men's Rugby Team this past fall.

Down 29 - 27 against Western Michigan with no time left, BG won a scrum at the 25 yard line and gathered a perfect bounce to score in the corner giving BG a 34-29 victory in the Mid American Conference (MAC) championship game and their 35th MAC championship in a row.

"To come into a program like BGSU has developed and find myself on a championship team after only 4 months on campus was like a dream," Sam Ciancutti said. "The team has such heart and dedication and I felt right at home remembering the grit and integrity ground out on the fields of Lakewood. The brotherhood and 'never-quit' attitude that rugby brings about is an absolute life lesson."

Ciancutti played with the Lakewood High School Team in his last 3 years at LHS including summer tournaments with the “Lakewood Goon Squad.” He was recruited to Bowling Green by former Lakewood resident Roger Mazzerella who has been heavily involved in Bowling Green State University Rugby for more than 35 years, currently as their talent evaluator and general manager.

Sam returns to BGSU in mid-January to resume his studies and begin training for the Spring “Sevens” series where BG has also dominated historically. The current men’s squad is ranked 15th in the country.

The team will travel to Wales (where rugby is religion they say) this May for a ten-day “exchange” including coaching and drill sessions with the London Wasps and matches against Brunel University, Cardiff University and York University.

“Ruggers” endure 2 seasons during a given year: It is “15 on 15” in the Fall and “7 on 7” in the Spring thus the nickname “Sevens Series.”