High School 7s talent that was on display this past weekend at Sandhills Community College in North Carolina, where Southern Pines, Hoke County and North Raleigh squared off in the first round robin tournament of the year.
 

Southern Pines Gators and Hoke County Rhinos started the day in a close battle where both teams sought to get their legs and wits about them.  The Gators dominated possession in the first half, but only managed a lone try by Gus Williams (So. Pinecrest) before Hoke tied it up at the halftime time whistle.  Hoke County took the lead right after the kickoff, 10-5, but Ian Delisle (Sr. Pinecrest) tied it up and Nathan Philips (Sr. Pinecrest) put in a final try for the 15-10 win.

Next up for Southern Pines were the North Raleigh Red Hawks. North Raleigh was unable to stop a first half onslaught by the Gators who tore through their defense for three tries, two by Blake Lawrence (Jr. Union Pines), and one from Riley O’Neil (Sr. Union County) and in the second half Anthony Whitfield (Sr. Pinecrest) and Gus Williams added insurance tries, before North Raleigh put a try through to make the final 27-5. 

After a break in the action for the Gators, where Hoke County defeated North Raleigh 17 to 5, the second half of the round robin began.  The Gators needed to beat Hoke County to secure the tournament championship.  A win by Hoke County would keep their chances alive, but the Gators would have none of it in a 52-19 route.  The first half saw tries by Ian, Anthony, Blake, Riley, and Gus in the for a 31-7 lead.  Ryan Quinn (Sr. Union Pines) started off the second half scoring, followed by two tries from Riley and a final try by Nathan to earn the championship.

The heat must have got to the Gators as they were unable to maintain a perfect record as they fell in a final match versus North Raleigh 29-27.  Christian Jones (Sr. Pinecrest) had two first half tries and Blake added a 3rd for a 17-12 halftime lead.  A number of new players were put in unfamiliar positions in the second half and it showed.  The Red Hawks quickly tied it up, but Riley had another impress run for his 5th try of the tournament and a short lived 22 to 17 lead.  North Raleigh put in two tries through a suddenly porous Gator defense and a  29-22 lead.  The ref called last play of the game, but the Gators stole the ball from the Red Hawks and Joshua Hager (Jr. O’Neal School) scored, but the conversion kick to tie it went wide.

The Gators outscored their opponents 121-63 on the day.  Hoke County finished second with a 2-2 record and North Raleigh finished 3rd at 1-3.  Blake Lawrence commented after the tournament, “It was the most fun I’ve had playing rugby, I didn’t know much about 7’s before the day began, but I’m hooked now.”  The Gators will travel to the Raleigh 7s tournament June 7th and then the State Games June 28th.  Visit SouthernPiinerugby.com for more information and photos are credit to George Delisle.