Midwest Wolfpac – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

by Brian Turrel

Rugby at City Park

A crowd of about 300 people packed City Park field on Saturday afternoon to watch the KC Derby, the 56-year-old annual match between Kansas City’s two rival rugby clubs, Kansas City Rugby Football Club and Kansas City Blues Rugby Club.

KCRFC, frequently referred to as “City,” has been playing its 2022 home games in the aptly named City Park.

City started on the front foot and took a big first-half advantage, but the Blues’ strong running brought it back in the second half for a 34-25 win.

A game between the City second team and Blues D3 team, won 69-0 by the Blues, preceded the main event.

Later in the afternoon, the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints played the Junior Blues in varsity and junior varsity matches. The Saints won the varsity game 62-12 and junior varsity 61-5.

Central Plains Football League

The Midwest Wolfpac defeated the Topeka Twisters 30-6 Saturday afternoon at Soccer Nation KC in Turner. The Wolfpac defense dominated throughout, giving up just one third-quarter touchdown after the game was well in hand.

Quarterback Adam Lunderman led an efficient Wolfpac offense that combined effective running with some opportunistic downfield passing strikes.

The Wolfpac will be back at Soccer Nation KC next Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be live-streamed as the CPFL game of the week.

The Blues strong second-half running got the team back into the match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

City vainly tried to block a Blues line-out. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

City scored a try at the end of the first half. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

The Blues D3 team defeated the City second team 69-0. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Aquinas scored a try in the first half of its win over the Junior Blues. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Quarterback Adam Lunderman threw a long touchdown pass in the third quarter. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

The Wolfpac scored on a long touchdown throw in the third quarter. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

The Wolfpac defense limited Topeka to just one touchdown. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

The Midwest Wolfpack ran to a 30-6 win over the Topeka Twisters. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

The Wolfpac runner kept pushing for extra yards after contact against the Nebraska Lawdawgs defense. The Wolfpac won the game 36-6. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Saturday afternoon, the Midwest Wolfpac defeated the Nebraska Lawdawgs 36-6 in the second game of their Central Plains Football League season.

The Wolfpac’s home base is Kansas City, and their home games are played at the Soccer Nation facility at K-32 and 55th Street in the Turner area.

The CPFL is a semi-professional league, funded by a combination of attendance, player fees, and fundraising. Players range from recent high school graduates still working to improve to veteran players who still want a taste of competitive football.

Pat Harris, Wyandotte High School graduate, long-time area coach, and now assistant football coach at Turner, is the head coach and part-owner of the Wolfpac. He sees the team as a way to give back to the community, “to reach others that did not make it to the professional level or college” and to “bring some excitement.”

David Jones, quarterback and part-owner of the Wolfpac, led the team on the field. Jones made the most of the eight-man, arena-style format, with quick hits to receivers mixed with enough running plays to create defensive confusion in the Lawdawgs’ secondary.

After the game, Jones gathered both teams around him at midfield, and he re-emphasized the theme of community. No matter how competitive the athletes are before and during the game, he said, after the game they remain a community, “a brotherhood,” of mutual respect and a shared commitment.

The Wolfpac’s next home game will be on April 16 against the Topeka Twisters, starting at 4 p.m.