Navy Rugby Rolls Past Mary Washington, 55-6, in Rugby East Opener

Navy men’s rugby continued its dominant start to the 2026-27 season Saturday, overwhelming Mary Washington, 55-6, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to open Rugby East Conference play.

The Midshipmen improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Rugby East while handing Mary Washington a loss in its season opener. Jack Skidmore, Trevor Gayron and Reid Gerber each scored two tries as Navy turned a 17-3 halftime advantage into a runaway victory with a dominant second half.

It was another statement performance for a Navy program seeking its fifth consecutive Rugby East championship. The Midshipmen entered Saturday having gone 27-1 against Rugby East opponents during their previous four seasons in the conference, and Mary Washington became the latest opponent unable to slow Navy’s combination of physicality, depth and scoring ability.

Skidmore gets Navy started

Navy needed less than 11 minutes to break through.

Skidmore took a pass coming out of a scrum and raced down the sideline before evading a defender and finishing the play for the opening try. Navy did not convert but grabbed an early 5-0 advantage and immediately forced Mary Washington to play from behind.

The Midshipmen struck again in the 20th minute. Andrew Baublitz broke through the middle of Mary Washington’s defense before offloading the ball to Sean Donohue, who completed the sequence with Navy’s second try.

That pushed the advantage to 10-0 and demonstrated the versatility that has made Navy difficult to defend. The Midshipmen could create scoring opportunities through their forwards and set pieces, but they also possessed enough speed and skill to turn openings into explosive plays.

Mary Washington finally broke through in the 35th minute with a penalty kick, cutting Navy’s lead to 10-3. Remarkably, those were the first points surrendered by the Midshipmen during the season after Navy opened with consecutive shutouts against St. Bonaventure and Air Force.

Navy made sure the Eagles gained little momentum from the score.

Just before halftime, the Midshipmen used a powerful maul to drive Gayron across the try line. Jake Cornelius converted the kick, sending Navy into halftime with a 17-3 advantage.

Navy explodes after halftime

Whatever possibility Mary Washington had of mounting a second-half comeback quickly disappeared.

Navy needed barely two minutes after the restart to score again. A well-placed cross-field kick found Skidmore, who secured the ball, broke a tackle and completed his second try of the afternoon.

The score increased Navy’s advantage to 22-3.

Mary Washington answered with another penalty kick shortly afterward, making it 22-6, but those proved to be the Eagles’ final points.

From there, Navy took complete control.

Baublitz scored a try in the 48th minute after bursting through the middle of the defense. Cornelius converted, extending the lead to 29-6.

Only 88 seconds later, Navy was back across the try line.

Gayron powered his way in following a five-meter scrum for his second try of the match. Cornelius again converted, and suddenly a 17-3 halftime game had turned into a 36-6 Navy advantage.

The Midshipmen had scored 19 second-half points in roughly seven minutes.

That stretch effectively put the game away.

Gerber scores first career tries

With Navy firmly in control, Gerber provided another highlight.

Gerber powered through Mary Washington’s defensive line in the 63rd minute and scored the first try of his Navy career. Sam Pirkl converted the kick, increasing the Midshipmen’s advantage to 43-6.

Gerber was not finished.

Approximately 10 minutes later, Navy again used its scrum to create a scoring opportunity. Gerber finished the possession with his second try, giving him two scores in a span of roughly 11 minutes.

Pirkl converted again, pushing the score to 50-6.

Navy added one final score in the closing minute. Following a lineout deep inside Mary Washington territory, Pirkl found space and ran untouched into the try zone to complete the 55-6 victory.

The Midshipmen finished with nine tries from seven individual scoring plays, with Skidmore, Gayron and Gerber each crossing twice.

Skidmore, Gayron and Gerber each finished with 10 points. Pirkl produced nine points with a try and two conversions, while Cornelius added six points by converting three kicks.

Navy’s defense remains dominant

As impressive as Navy’s 55 points were, the defense continued its remarkable start.

The Midshipmen have allowed only six points through their first three official matches.

Navy opened the season Aug. 29 with a 50-0 victory over St. Bonaventure before crushing Air Force, 78-0, on Sept. 11. Mary Washington’s two penalty kicks therefore account for every point Navy has conceded through three matches.

That gives Navy a combined scoring margin of 183-6 through three official games.

Navy has scored at least 50 points in each victory.

The Midshipmen also defeated the Potomac Exiles Rugby Club, 57-17, in an exhibition Sept. 5, although that result does not count toward their official 3-0 record.

The Air Force victory was particularly dominant. Navy scored 12 tries in the 78-0 rout, with Baublitz, Ian Bullock, Donohue, Cornelius and Adam Mertens each scoring twice. The 78-point margin matched the third-largest victory in program history, while the 12 tries tied for fourth-most.

Navy then carried that momentum onto the road against Mary Washington.

Director of rugby Gavin Hickie emphasized afterward that winning convincingly away from Annapolis presented a different challenge, but he was pleased with how Navy adjusted and executed.

Navy continues its Rugby East dominance

Saturday’s victory was also another chapter in Navy’s remarkable run through Rugby East.

Navy joined the conference ahead of the 2022-23 season and captured the league championship in each of its first four seasons. The Midshipmen entered this fall with a 27-1 conference record during that span.

Mary Washington has had particular difficulty against Navy.

Saturday marked the sixth meeting between the programs since Navy elevated rugby to varsity status. Navy had won the previous five meetings by a combined 191-46 score entering Saturday.

The programs met twice during the 2025-26 season. Navy dominated the regular-season matchup, 65-3, in Annapolis before eliminating Mary Washington from the CRAA Division I-A playoffs with a 40-11 victory in April.

Saturday brought another convincing result.

Navy has now outscored Mary Washington 246-52 across those seven games, including three consecutive victories of 65-3, 40-11 and 55-6.

Gayron continues to lead

Gayron’s two-try performance was especially notable because of his expanded leadership role this season.

Navy selected Gayron and Edmund Soeder as its captains for the 2026-27 campaign. Gayron entered the season after making 11 starts in 12 appearances during 2025-26 and had accumulated 28 career appearances and 22 starts before this season.

His performance against Mary Washington showed that leadership is extending onto the scoreboard.

Gayron’s first try came through Navy’s maul just before halftime, while his second resulted from a five-meter scrum early in the second half. Both scores illustrated the physical advantage Navy created around the try line.

Skidmore provided a different type of threat.

His first try came after taking possession from a scrum and attacking down the sideline. His second came after a cross-field kick, demonstrating Navy’s ability to stretch the defense horizontally rather than relying exclusively on power.

That balance helped make the Midshipmen difficult to stop.

Army is next

Navy does not have much time to celebrate.

The Midshipmen return to Annapolis for one of the biggest matches of their season when Army visits the Prusmack Rugby Center on Saturday, Sept. 26, for the annual Army-Navy Star Match. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The rivalry already carries considerable importance, but Navy’s start adds another layer.

The Midshipmen enter the matchup 3-0 and have outscored their opponents 183-6. Navy also enters after consecutive victories by 78 and 49 points.

Army and Navy also have recent postseason history. The programs met in the CRAA Division I-A quarterfinals last spring, another example of how significant the rivalry has become within the national college rugby landscape.

After Army, Navy continues Rugby East competition against Southern Virginia on Oct. 3 before traveling to Life on Oct. 10 and Mount St. Mary’s on Oct. 17. The Midshipmen then host Saint Mary’s and Penn State to close the fall portion of their schedule.

MSB Take

Navy has not simply started the season 3-0. The Midshipmen have overwhelmed everyone in front of them.

Scoring 183 points while surrendering six through three matches is extraordinary, and Saturday may have been Navy’s most informative performance yet. Unlike the first two games, the Midshipmen were away from Annapolis, playing their Rugby East opener against a Mary Washington program that reached the CRAA playoffs last season.

Navy still won by 49 points.

The most encouraging aspect may be how many different players are contributing. Skidmore, Gayron and Gerber scored twice Saturday, while Baublitz, Donohue and Pirkl also found the try line. That comes after five different Midshipmen scored multiple tries against Air Force.

Now comes the game Navy has been building toward.

Army arrives in Annapolis Saturday for the Star Match, and Navy will enter with three convincing victories, an offense averaging 61 points per game and a defense that has yet to surrender a try this season. Mary Washington managed only two penalty kicks against the Midshipmen.

Navy could hardly have asked for a stronger start to its Rugby East title defense. The next challenge is also its biggest one yet: Army-Navy at the Prusmack Rugby Center.