In an excellent showcase of high school rugby in Southern California, Torrey Pines defeated La Costa Canyon Saturday night to take the SoCal Varsity Red title.

Varsity Red is for fully-100% single-school teams that have in-school sanctioning. Torrey Pines and LCC had met in the regular season - the final game of the regular season, in fact - two weeks ago, and LCC had come away with a 14-13 victory. Last week, La Costa Canyon beat St. John Bosco convincingly to make the final, while Torrey Pines needed overtime to get past Mira Costa.

Torrey Pines led early, but their first attempt to get points missed. Normally in rugby games that are played on fields with fixed goalposts at the back of the in-goal, referees allow anyone kicking for points on a penalty to move up ten meters to compensate. In this game that didn't happen, and perhaps for that reason TP's Oren Cargill's first penalty attempt hit the post.

Injuries to the backline at the end of the regular season caused Torrey Pines to bring up Cargill, a freshman, for the playoffs. He has paid off, kicking brilliantly. Playing both scrumhalf and flyhalf on the night, Cargill showed he can also run, and scored the first two Torrey Pines tries, converted both, and added a penalty goal for a 17-0 lead.

The Mavericks replied. Flyhalf Justin Petersen sliced through a gap and set up one, and a blocked kick and chase made it 17-10 at the break.

LCC rode that momentum in the second half. The opening kickoff didn't go ten meters and LCC took the scrum at midfield. From there they worked the phases all the way down and scored once more, making it 17-15, Torrey Pines still in the lead. LCC took that elusive lead five minutes later when scrumhalf Nico Gilli zipped over to make it four unanswered La Costa Canyon tries. The saving grace for Torrey Pines was that all four tries were unconverted.

And so the Falcons re-took the lead with a try from Matt Goena, which Cargill converted. Back came LCC with a try, and it was 27-24 Mavericks.

But the final ten minutes belonged to Torrey Pines, as lock Tanner Wyandt scored, and then a movement with Carson Ward going 50 meters before Goena picked up and dove over from a ruck. That put it away. Cargill was good on both conversions, and logged 23 points on the day as Torrey Pines won 38-27.

Torrey Pines Head Coach Matty Sandoval had to make several player moves for this game, notably moving Cargill from fullback to flyhalf. However, it wasn't that simple, as Goena moved from flyhalf to play center part of the time and fullback part of the time, and regular scrumhalf Beau Morgans was sometimes in the midfield while Cargill jumped in at halfback.

It all worked, and Torrey Pines are champions.