HTH and San Pasqual Face Off in SoCal
HTH and San Pasqual Face Off in SoCal
Photos of HTH/Pt Loma in action courtesy HTH/PL Rugby.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Two unbeaten teams in the Southern California will clash this weekend in the Varsity White San Diego Conference.
High Tech High/Point Loma is 2-0 in league play, with official scores being 40-0 and 45-5. However, SoCal Youth Rugby has a rule whereby no reported winning margin can be more than 40, so HTH/PL actually won those games by a bit more.
Same story for San Pasqual, which beat Patrick Henry 40-0 just as HTH/PL had done. San Pasqual also beat Rancho Bernardo 26-12. Both 2-0 teams won non-league games last weekend, and now look to take command with a victory on Friday.
San Pasqual Head Coach Ray Steel said his team, having returned as many as nine starters, is in a solid position. The young players moving into starting positions have played well. Flyhalf Jordan Smith is a nifty sidestepper who is excellent at making tacklers miss. He gets the offensive moving. Up front, captain and hooker/prop Sergio Rangel is a big bowling ball of a player, trundling over defenders.
Freshman No. 8 Connor Contreras has become a try-scoring threat.
“We’ve had patches of terrific rugby,” said Steel. “But we know we can do better. We’re excited about playing High Tech High, but we know this will be a tough game.”
Meanwhile, HTH/PL Head Coach David Barnes said his team is slowing maturing. They have executed well in the set pieces, and with improving depth “our support play is what has kept us rolling. But we still have to work on staying in our game plan; we have a lot of seniors and they are good athletes, and they’ve played well as a unit. For me, consistency is what will bring us success.”
Barnes preaches the fundamentals, and he says of his team that “nobody catches the ball standing still.”
A good goal, and they will need it against a tough San Pasqual team. Leading the cargo for High Tech High / Point Loma is Christian Bernard, who moved from hooker to open side flank and has been excellent, and center Jake Glover, who is a solid power runner. Augustin Centurion is back playing well at flyhalf after a year off due to injury.
Also on the slate in Varsity White:
Mission Vista (0-1) plays 0-2 Rancho Bernardo, while UC/Clairemont plays a non-league game against Fallbrook. UC/Clairemont is 1-0 but won’t be eligible for the post-season because they don’t have at least 70% of their players from a single school.
In the Los Angeles Conference, league-leaders Dana Hills play 2-2 Stern MASS, while 2-1 Mira Costa faces 1-1 St. John Bosco. Palos Verdes, 0-3, faces 2-2 View Park Prep.
And it seems to already be decided, or close to it, in the Inland Conference. Citrus Valley defeated Dead Rabbits 51-29 to improve to 2-0, and the Blackhawks get the week off while the La Quinta Dead Rabbits take on a Desert Sands team they beat 22-5 in December. Citrus Valley is now 2-0 in league play and the Blackhawks are in excellent position to finish 4-0.
