KC 7s Finals

Lions Defeat Barbarians in KC

By Alex Goff (Mark Roberts is back and scoring tries. Dobson Images)

The Chicago Lions took the Kansas City Blues 7s tournament with a convincing 29-5 defeat of the Denver Barbarians in the final.

The Lions were led by two veterans who were back for their first tournaments of the summer – Mark Roberts and Scott Peterson – and a newcomer in Bowling Green star Rocco Mauer. Roberts and Mauer tied for the team lead in tries with seven.

The Lions breezed through their pool games 48-0 over the Huskers and 29-7 over hosts Kansas City Blues. In the quarters they handed Denver Barbarians B a 45-0 hiding, before facing the Dallas Harlequins.

“Dallas was very young and very fast and I was impressed with them,” said Chicago head coach Aaron Manheimer. “They came up very fast with a blitz defense and were in our face from the kickoff. They scored the most points on us and tested us. However, our guys adjusted pretty well.”

Chicago beat Dallas 24-12, and the game might have taken the wind out of the Harlequins’ sails as Aspen defeated them for third place. Chicago then took care of Denver, winning all five matches on the day by a total scoreline of 175-24.

“We worked on the things I wanted to work on today, especially getting all seven guys talking on defense all the time,” said Manheimer. “That was the key. We were able to sub in guys as well and I think the big difference between last year and this year is our depth.”

Kansas City Blues 7s Order of Finish
1. Chicago Lions
2. Denver Barbarians
3. Aspen
4. Dallas Harlequins

This was the fifth tournament of the USA 7s LLC-sponsored Club Championship Series. The top two teams from each CCS tournament qualify for the finals in February in Las Vegas. However, Chicago has already qualified, leaving a spot open for a Wild Card team.

CCS Qualifiers:
Las Vegas Midnight 7s: Humless, East Palo Alto
Lakefront 7s: Chicago Lions, Milwaukee
PAC 7s: CAS Sharks, NYAC
Cape Fear: Pacific Barbarians*, NOVA
KC Blues 7s: Chicago Lions** Denver Barbarians

*Ineligible for finals
**Qualified twice, but will enter only one team