Submitted Photo – The HSU men’s rugby team, in the black jerseys, played Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.

The Humboldt State men’s rugby team continued its fast start to the season with a second win in as many weeks, defeating Cal State Monterey Bay by a score of 24-22 at College Creek Field on Saturday.

The final few minutes, however, were a little closer than the Jacks would have liked.

The home team held a comfortable 12-point lead late in the game, before giving up 10 points in the final three minutes to make for a nervy finish.

The wet conditions didn’t help matters, with ball handling mistakes affecting both teams.

The Jacks improved to 2-0, having also defeated University of the Pacific by a score of 38-0 the previous week, and will head to Saint Mary’s this weekend, in what will be a tougher test for the visitors.

“The players on our squad were happy winning but know there is a lot of hard work ahead,” assistant coach Vince Cellotto said. “The practices are going to be a lot tougher this week as we prepare to play one of the top programs in the country.”

This weekend, the Jacks will be hoping to utilize more of their dynamic speed, and get the ball out wide more.

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.