There is no doubt now that Mary Washington is the best team in the Chesapeake, and while the conference remains supremely competitive among most of its teams, the Mothers know best.

UMW is, of course, named the Mothers because Mary Washington was the mother George Washington, and thus thought of as the mother of this country. That's a lot to live up to, but UMW is doing just that, sitting comfortably at 4-0 now after beating a very tough Maryland team 43-26 on Saturday at home. 

Perhaps the biggest sidenote from this game was that the Terrapins actually scored that many points, more than doubling UMW's points against for the season. 

Mary Washington had the run of play in the early going and did see Tom Williams rumble through for a try and Matthew Gordon go over also for a 12-0 lead. But Maryland battled back and at halftime to cut the Mothers' advantage to 19-14.

Gordon, who plays No. 8, blew the game open with two tries in the opening 13 minutes of the second half -- one a 70-meter gallop down the sideline. With Gordon setting the tone, UMW pulled away.

Jack Levine scored two tries for UMW, and Terence McPhillips scored in his first game back from injury.

Meanwhile, James Madison squeezed by Towson 25-23 in a clash of two teams looking for their second win. JMU improved to 2-1, while Towson dropped to 1-3, with two of those losses being within a try. Mount St. Mary's beat Georgetown 58-26 to stay relatively close to UMW at 3-1. 

"With the recruits Mary Washington's brought in internationally they're doing a great job and they've set the bar for everyone," MSM head coach Jay Myles said. "But each week our freshmen are gaining in confidence and that's really exciting."

Archie Cullen at No. 8 was brilliant on the restarts for MSM, regaining ball and gaining territory and in loose play he was very strong.

The Mount started seven players who don't normally start, and while Georgetown put together some nice sequences and tries, the younger MSM players adjusted well. Myles said he continues to enjoy playing in the Chesapeake.

"Every team runs a different style, a different system, and different shapes," he said. "The players get to see a different approach to rugby every week. I love it."