Several states run a division 2 boys HS championship, but few could point to a winner as dominant as the Palmer HS Terrors in Colorado.

The Colorado Springs-based team really only played one close game - the state final against Monarch - but aside from that they hardly seemed tested. In nine league games in the Colorado DII North, the Terrors were 9-0, scoring an average of 52 points and allowing an average over just under 4. The Terrors also beat Monarch, who went 7-0 in DII North league play, 46-12 in a non-conference game that was basically a JV game.

In the playoffs, it was still the Terrors and Monarch show, with the Terrors slamming Boulder in the quarterfinals 83-3 and Monarch winning 35-12 over Westside. In the semis, the Terrors won 48-15 over the GV Griffs - the most points Palmer HS had conceded all season - while Monarch downed Highlands Ranch 55-12.

So going into the final, the Terrors carried a record of 12-0 against DII opposition, with an average scoreline of 59-6. Monarch was 9-2 with an average score of 45-12. But Monarch had studied film and battled all the way through. In addition, the Terrors actually had a bit of a travel problem - for the first time all year, Palmer HS provided a bus to take the players to the game. But there was a mixup on the pickup time and the bus never showed. The team scrambled to get to the game on time, and didn’t start well.

But, in the end, they pulled it out. flyhalf Wido Canales was impressive at flyhalf, while the back row, including Joe Rusert-Cuddy and Joe Kamara caused Monarch plenty of problems. Center Bo Epperson was an offensive force. All of those players are juniors.

The Terrors deep three were also on the Palmer HS 4x100 meter track relay team that made the state meet. All of those players were in the original group who started as U13s.

Meanwhile, they’ve added some additional athletes, including multi-tool lock Calvin Welshon.

But it really all started way back in 2012. That was when a group of coaches started a youth program, and asked the local school district if they could get official sanction. According to Terrors Coach Amy Rusert, the response was positive, but in a way that made the coaches think no one would ever think anything would come of it.

“We took it as a challenge,” said Rusert. 

So the players got older and they started a high school team with a bunch of young, small players who had learned some skills. They made the DII semis in their first year, and then this year, with mostly underclassmen, won the division.

“You could see the rugby maturation,” said Rusert. “We have this core group of players who take rugby seriously, and they were huge for us.”

Even if they weren’t all huge.

The Terrors are another example of how starting at the pre-high school level can be the model for developing successful high school teams. It will be interesting to see how the future looks for the Terrors. They are expected to move up to DI for next year. That will be another challenge entirely, but judging from their success so far, they should be fine.