Christendom Downed in Shield Match

Front Royal, Va. – The Christendom Crusaders battled Franciscan on Saturday in the annual Frassati Shield Match, with the visitors coming away with a 29-5 victory to retain the Shield for a second straight year.

Franciscan opened the scoring with an early try and conversion to go ahead 7-0, and added another score soon after to extend the advantage to 12-0. Christendom responded just before halftime with a hard-fought try-line push, narrowing the margin to 12-5 at the break and giving the Crusaders momentum heading into the second half.

That momentum proved short-lived, however, as the Barons controlled the remainder of the match. Franciscan broke through for three more tries in the second half, outscoring Christendom 17-0 after the break to close out the 29-5 win.

The result marks the second consecutive year that Franciscan has held onto the Frassati Shield, following a nine-year stretch in which the Crusaders had kept it in Front Royal.