Stanford Preview

STANFORD PREVIEW: SECONDS TAKE ON STANFORD

Arizona Second XV vs Stanford

Saturday January 20

William David Sitton Field

2:00 PM

Garrett Walker earns the nod at Flyhalf after a stellar preseason.

January 18- The depth of the 2018 Arizona program will be on display this Saturday when Arizona Second XV hosts Stanford in the home opener for the Wildcats.

Bobby Butchofsky will lead a side of talented players who look to work their way in to the first side or prepare to play roles for the stretch run of what the team hopes is a long postseason run.

In the forwards, the Wildcats will look to build on the strong play in last week's 41-7 victory over Grand Canyon University Second XV, with standouts from that win like Chris McBride and Riley Kerr looking to continue their strong form. "Both these guys work their tails off in defense and they bring some dog that we look for" said Head Coach Sean Duffy.

In the backs, Flyhalf Garrett Walker, fresh of a strong Fall sevens campaign, earns the start at Flyhalf and pairs with a Robert Figley at Inside Center to give the Cats a nice mix of experience and youth. "Both these guys are big parts of our future, and they both made huge strides in our Fall both on the field and in the weight room, so a game like this is perfect to give them the stage for the day against what we know will be Stanford's best shot. Too many programs, including some in our conference, are in sign and sit mode, putting players on ice for three years until the guy ahead graduates. Not here. Guys in this lineup are our future. We're not spending this weekend in some resort in Colorado, we're out there building the next generation of Wildcats and giving these players the opportunity they deserve. If you want to play and not just "play", you've come to the right place if you've come to Tucson."

The match will serve as a PAC conference affiliate match, with the two PAC-12 rivals looking to grow the sport's profile. Stanford, a member of the PAC West conference, plays an affiliate PAC schedule with the two programs meeting last Spring in Palo Alto in one that went the way of the Wildcats. Arizona First XV has a bye this week and next before the start of league play February 3rd against UCLA at the Stubhub Center.

Second XV vs Stanford

6- Alex Rayton

7- Riley Kerr

8- Bobby Butchofsky (C)

9- Jonah Eldridge

10- Garrett Walker (VC)

11- Jack San Pietro