Despite losing one player to the HS All Americans and three more to the Stars & Stripes assembly, the Union Rugby Club HS team out of Tulsa, Okla., won the Parrothead 7s this past weekend. Union played well, said coach Jason Todd, but actually played better earlier in the Tornado Alley 7s, when their split their squad and finished 1st and 2nd. Union won the HS Rugby Challenge at the Collegiate Rugby Championships invitational in 2013, but this year had to essentially start from scratch, said Todd. "We really only had one player who was experienced in 7s, and he's in South America right now," said Todd, speaking of Thomas Lorenzo. So Todd brought in his son, and former HS All American, David, to drill the players. "He has a good depth of knowledge and knows how to talk in terms the players understand," said Todd the elder, who credits his wife, Tracy, with doing all the hard work in getting the team organized and ready to play. So armed with a little bit of 7s knowledge and a little bit more athleticism, Union won the day, led in part by the play of Amani Griffith. Normally a back, and one with plenty of pace, Griffith was drafted into the forwards because of the loss of Lorenzo and also Malon Al Jiboori, Latty Wyatt, and Chance Wenglewski to the Stars & Stripes game. "He had to make the adjustments and he did really well," said Todd. "We've got a good group of players, but very young. But we've got something going and we want to put ourselves in a position to go compete in February in Las Vegas."