The game was either team’s to take fifteen minutes into the second half, with the San Francisco State University men’s rugby football club and California State University, Chico Wildcats both one score away from each other.
It was here that the visiting Wildcats ran their way into the tryzone to extend their lead 20-12 with a five-point try. The Gators regrouped themselves attempting to anchor their opponents and prevent them from re-entering the tryzone. If the Wildcats were an inch away from the tryzone, the Gators turned that inch into yards. But it was too little, too late.
The Gators walked off the field with a 34-12 loss to the Wildcats, but their performance on senior day was beyond what the score indicated. Despite the deficit, the home crowd stood by their fighters in purple and gold. A chant of “Let’s Go Gators” began in the stands of over 200 attendees at Cox Stadium. The rugby club kept fighting to the final minute, with the support at home sparking something in them beyond the score.
“I’m grateful to play for the team, grateful to be a Gator and I’m grateful to play for my brothers,” said senior club secretary Will Hubbell. “I am grateful to die for these people. I love these people to death and I’m just [feeling] endless gratitude for this team.”
The hosts kept the Wildcats on their side of the field for much of the first half, seeking to pull the first trigger on home grass. However, it was Chico State who landed in the tryzone 31 minutes in and struck first with a try and a complete two-point kick.
The Gators, unfazed and with early energy, inched their way closer with a try by Caleb Kingsbury to crack the board 7-5. The Wildcats responded immediately, unleashing a running back-like dash into the goal zone to retrieve Chico’s seven-point lead. Chico would try to repeat this play again, but they could not break the Gators’ firm defense throughout the final minutes of the first half.
During the halftime huddle, Hubbell told the team to slow it down, reminding them they’re still in the game. The messages among the coaches and the leader club members boosted an early response by SFSU to tie the game at 12 all early in the second half.
“The expectation was obviously a win, given the fact that this is the one home game, our very last home game, at Cox [Stadium],” Hubbell said. “We were intended for a win in the first half. It was a dog match, we fought all the way through, made a promise to bleed and die for each other, leave everything on the field and just continue working to leave everything out there.”
Ending as a 22-point loss for the Gators, the club and their head coach Otto Wacker saw something that game’s numbers don’t tell: a team with the heart and drive to play.
“They’ve gotten so much better. I have nothing but accolades for the men that play,” Wacker said. “I think they’re impressive. They’re resilient. Two or three weeks ago, we played American River College and we lost something like [134] to 14. The next week at practice, everybody showed up. It was raining, [but] nobody cared. They showed up. They came to play. It’s games like that where a devastating loss could be a tombstone, but they changed that tombstone into a cornerstone of a new foundation, a new resilience and strength. I see their power in this game, so I’m very happy with them.”
Club president and graduating senior Kiril Gupta said the matchup was a full circle moment as Chico State was the first opponent the club played against when he first saw playing time on the grass.
“It’s just crazy to see what this team has gone from,” Gupta said. “We were just trying to play games. We didn’t have a coach back [when I first joined]. We didn’t care about the wins and losses. We cared about the brotherhood and how we all stuck with each other.”
Being among the seniors who will depart after the season concludes, Alec Shelton said the emotions will gradually hit more as these final moments run out.
“It definitely weighs on my heart a bit, especially being one of those guys who’s leaving,” Shelton said. “I was definitely weighing down a bit and I know probably after the next game, my emotions are gonna be even greater. But I’m just incredibly proud of how much we’ve been able to do.”
Dominic Morales will return to the club next season. He looks to continue the momentum and transformation they worked hard to bloom.
“We’re going to have to hit recruiting hard. A lot of the guys starting right now are coming back next year, and we’ve built a great foundation with Coach Mark [Dillon],” Morales said. “He’s built a great foundation at practice and on the field, so we’re gonna keep that going next year. ”
The club will close the 2025-2026 season next Saturday at the University of Nevada, Reno. Shelton said the team will continue to work extra hard before saying their farewell to the spring season and their graduates.
“Just make sure we still work on what we’re good at, get better at what we’re not good at and then [focus on] execution,” Shelton said. “It’s perfecting those minor details to where it’s automatic.”
Editor’s Note: The first try was originally credited to Alec Shelton, but it has been changed to Caleb Kingsbury.
