Renegade Rugby - Downers Grove IL Football Club

HISTORY

The Renegades HS Rugby Club was founded as the Downers Grove Renegades High School Rugby Club in 2004. The first group of 19 players who started the club were from Downers Grove North & South High Schools and they selected the Renegade name.

These players began training in early March of that year with not one of them having ever played a game of rugby. Under the guidance of coaches Ken Westergaard and Brian Whalen the team learned how to play and made steady improvement throughout the season. On Memorial Day with only one available substitute player, the team beat Rockford 27-7 to claim the Tier II State Championship. The Renegades finished their first year with a perfect 10-0 record.

In 2005 the club had 4 players returning along with Coach Ken and a new coach, Dave Paull. They began the season 4-0 before suffering their first loss by a 17-12 margin to the Chicago Blues. A week later they again lost by a 15-12 score to the Blaze Youth. But in the play-offs they were able to pay back both of those clubs. After a narrow 1^st Round 7-3 win over Morton they pulled together and beat the Blaze Youth 21-7. In the Championship Game, a last second score secured the Tier II State Championship with a 19-15 win over the Chicago Blues. On the year the Renegades won 7 of their 9 matches.

For the 2006 season the Renegades returned 7 experienced players and had high hopes for another successful year. The club played well from the start of the season, rarely being challenged except for the Morton game where the Renegades prevailed 17-15. After finishing the regular season 6-0 they dispatched Hersey before facing Morton again for the right to play for the State Championship. The Renegades were down 3-0 for most of the match before scoring twice in the last 10 minutes to win 14-3. This earned them the right to play Montini. After falling behind 12-0 the Renegades tied the match at half time and came out on top by a 27-12 score to win their 3^rd straight Tier II State Championship.

In 2007 the Renegades were elevated into Tier 1, the higher level of play in the IYRA. Coach Matt Bando joined holdover coaches Ken and Dave. Their first match ended up in a 5-5 tie with Naperville. When they won their second match with a 19-12 victory at Brother Rice who were the defending Tier 1 State Champs, the league took notice. The only loss during the regular schedule was 18-7 at St. Charles (who would win the 2007 Championship) and the 4-1-1 record earned the #4 seed in the play-offs. Hosting Mount Carmel, the Renegades were down 19-5 at the half. Getting back to playing as they had all year the Renegades went ahead 26-24 with four minutes to play. But a great run by a MC player won the game with under a minute left in the match, final score 31-26 and a final record of 4-2-1.

With a young side for the 2008 season the club experienced some growing pains. The club gained a new coach in Tom Kostka which helped a lot when Coach Ken became unavailable for the season. After an opening 1 point loss to Plainfield (13-12) the Renegades lost to Naperville. Showing their spirit they came bck the next week with a 36-24 win over Glen Ellyn. The Renengades played tough against veteran clubs, St. Ignatius and St. Charles (2008 Champions), earning respect, but not victories. This earned a play-off match against Lincoln Way, #1 in the East Division. Utilizing an excellent pod style attack, Lincoln Way eliminated the Renegades by a 31-0 margin and an overall 1-6 record for the season.

TEAM COLORS
The Renegades official colors are Forest Green, Black and White.

PLAYERS (Underline = Senior)
2004 Roster (10-0 / Tier 2): Eric Diaz (Co-Captain), Erik Effrosinis, Casey Furlane, Jon Hardy, Brian Judycki, Mike Kawaters, Mark Lenkowski, Diego Llort (Co-Captain), Scott Marek, Joe McMahon, Carter Meng, Jim Moscato, Erick Newman, David Pollack, Rob Rega, Jeremy Redic, Dustin Szczepaniak, Kevin Tinsley, Joe Wesolek.

2005 Roster (7-2 / Tier 2): Dan Ashe, Andrew Bauer, Brad Blackwell, Bo Cielenski, Mike Gatto, Luis Gilbert, Christian Lopez (Co-Captain), Adam Lukanich, Casey McAuley, Joe McMahon (Co-Captain), John McMahon, Jim Moscato, Garrett Olsen, Kunal Parikh, David Pollack, Jeremy Redic, Will Seitz & part time players Cody Cielenski, Ryan McCabe and Justin Shelly.

2006 Roster (9-0 / Tier 2): Andrew Bauer, Jon Bentch, Mike Cosentino, Alex Danza, Nick Diehl, Andrew Hart, Dan Hart, Mike Gatto, Luis Gilbert, Jim Jacobazzi, Ken Jenke, Kyle LeBeau, Adam Lukanich, Tom McKenna, Phil O'Keefe, Kunal Parikh, David Pollack (Captain), Will Seitz, Nellie Shimon, Joe Skonie, Jerry Vassalla & part time players John Murray and Can Yalniz.

2007 Roster (4-2-1 / Tier 1): Matt Bury, Billy Carlson, Peter Crifase, Ben Cybulski, Alex Danza, Nick Diehl, James Gaston, Luis Gilbert, Ryan Gresko, Andrew Hart, Josh Hill, Ryne Jenke, Pat Lally, Kyle LeBeau, Adam Lukanich, Mike Matook, Tom McKenna, Phil O'Keefe, Joe Rizzo, Will Seitz (Captain), Joe Skonie, Fred Tolin, DJ Williams.