Once again, the Penn State men's rugby team has demonstrated that it has what it takes and remains undefeated.

The Ruggers moved their overall record to 8-0, shutting out league opponent George Mason Saturday with a score of 70-0. Captain Tim Ryland said once the team got started, a great team effort was to thank for the league victory.

"We started off slowly in the first 10 minutes, but after that, we really got the ball rolling," he said.

Second row R.J. Krempasky got Penn State on the board after 12 minutes of play by scoring off of a line out. A try from Matt Miller, who had an eight-man pick from a scrum 10 meters out followed, and Justin Lotter converted the kick, increasing the score to 12-0. Minutes later, winger Mike Sell had a long 60-meter break around the outside. Lotter again made the kick, putting the Ruggers up, 19-0. Breaking through the defensive line, scrumhalf Mike Petri contributed a try, and as a result of several good passes, winger Alex Jaffe also scored around the outside. Moving the ball and scoring off of a team effort was something the Ruggers excelled in against George Mason.

"We kept them not accustomed to what we were doing and spread wide and beat them on the outside," Ryland said. "Our support defiantly improved this match."

Just six minutes left in the half, Sell scored again from the outside after two breakdowns, and Lotter converted the kick. With almost no time left on the clock, Ryland scored had a 35-meter break away leading the Ruggers into half time with a 41-0 advantage.

With only one substitute, a tired George Mason team had no chance of catching the Ruggers in the second half. The Patriots' lack of subs was no match for head coach Don Ferrell's bigger, stronger Penn State team.

"George Mason only traveled with about 16 guys, so we were able to put them under a lot of pressure," Ferrell said.

While they were busy keeping their opponent out of scoring range, the Ruggers continued doing damage on the offensive end as well when Jaffe scored his second try of the match to open up the second half. The Ruggers lead increased to 51-0 after flanker Steven Wallick went around the outside of a break down, picked up the ball and dove into the tri zone. George Mason remained scoreless.

"The key to this shutout was that we didn't give them any looks at our try zone, and the ones they did get were few and far between," Ryland said.

Even with a substantial lead, the Ruggers kept putting additional points on the board by scoring three more times before the end of the match.

A try from flyhalf Justin Hundley, in addition to two successful kicks and a try from Lotter at the full back position moved the Ruggers lead to 65-0. The game closed after a try from winger John Huttenberger with Penn State on top, 70-0

By finishing strong offensively, Ferrell was pleased to see the Ruggers come together and have a variety of his players contribute to the win. Something the team has been working on all season is minimizing individual efforts and playing more as a team.

"We executed our game plan well and everybody had some scoring opportunities. On the other end, the tackles were there, and we played some pretty good team defense," Ferrell said.

"This was just the kind of match we needed going into one of the biggest matches of the season next weekend."

Now 5-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union, the Ruggers will take on rival and league opponent Navy on Saturday in Annapolis, Md.