HS Boys

Penn Edges Royal Irish for Indiana Title

Penn HS upset the current national champion Royal Irish team 19-17 to win the Rugby Indiana Super League final Saturday.

Archmere, Rock Unexpected HSRC Finalists

It's sevens experience that has the two surviving single-school boys high schools in the final of the HSRC at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. this weekend.

Delaware state champions the Archmere Auks play 7s all season, and they showed they were very comfortable with the shortened version of the game, defeating Malvern Prep, Downingtown, and St. Augustine to win their pool. They gave up only three tries in those three games, and then the Auks defeated the vaunted Perry Street Pride 19-10.

"They played some smart, disciplined 7s," said Archmere Coach Drew Cocco. "We just played our system, tried to stay out of contact, use the space, and be there in support. Our defense was outstanding. Playing 7s all spring really helped us, I think. The guys just played their system."

State Champs Crowned - Latest

Here s the latest from state championship playoffs around the country:

West Shore, Exiles to HS Club 7s Final

West Shore United will play the Exiles in the Boys HS Club final of the HSRC 7s tournament at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Sunday.

Both West Shore and the Exiles won their pools, with West Shore winning big over Narberth and North Thorn, and then 19-12 over Utah Lions 2. That final game was a tough one against a Lions program that had been stung somewhat with their 1st team losing two pool matches. More on that in a moment.

In the semifinal against Rocky Mountain, West Shore ran out to a 21-0 halftime lead and then “hit a wall,” said West Shore Coach Sean Robinson, who also brought in Chris Rumple to handle 7s for the highly-ranked 15s team from Pennsylvania. “They came back. They’re a tough team, and then Gage Shackelford iced it for us.”

West Shore won 28-12.

HSRC Latest

After Day One at the HSRC 7s tournament in the Philadelphia area, some teams have gone as expected, and some have produced a few surprises.

The New Jersey Blaze and West Shore United were both very impressive in going 2-0. The Blaze surprised the Utah Lions, who finished the day 0-2. Doylestown, Greenwich, Perry Street, and Archmere were also convincing winners over two games.

Scores and standings:

More HS State Finals

It’s another big weekend for boys HS state championships - here’s a list of them and links to more info:

Indiana

The Super League final is Penn v Royal Irish (more here). Meanwhile, HSE takes on Fishers in the DI final, and Carroll plays Pike in the DII final after both survived close calls in the semis.

Michigan

As expected, Grandville plays Rockford in the final, although thanks to West Ottawa it was a close run thing (more here).

Minnesota

Technically not a final, as this week it’s just the semis (more here).

Pulaski, Middleton, Meet for Wisconsin Title

Were down to two teams in Wisconsin as Pulaski faces Middleton Saturday in the state final.

Pulaski, which is one of the few teams from the state to consistently find games outside their region, somehow survived a very tough semifinal Monday against Elkhorn. Meanwhile, Middleton showed how far they had come with a 46-3 pasting of Whitefish Bay, a team they had tied earlier in the season.

For Pulaski, close games are normal. They edged newly-minted Illinois state champions Morton 10-8 in a friendly, and performed well in a tough single-school bracket in the Midwest championship tournament. Their only losses were in that tournament, to Brownsburg and Notre Dame De La Salette. 

Minn. Semis Tough Call

Minnesota is down to the semis as Hopkins takes on North Shore (Duluth) and Edina faces Minnetonka.

Most of these teams have faced each other this season, but in non-conference games, as they all ended up winning their respective conferences.

Hopkins defeated Edina 29-26 and Duluth 29-17, while Duluth also logged a 20-0 win over Minnetonka. However, Duluth lost to Edina while Edina were defeated by Minnetonka - both by identical 28-26 scores.

So, in the end, it’s a crapshoot on Saturday, with the final and 3rd/4th games to be played a week later.

“We feel pretty comfortable,” said Hopkins Head Coach Dan Johnson. “Everybody seems to be healthy and we’ve had a week of rest.”

Morton Wins Tight Illinois Championship

Morton High School rode some late-season momentum and a knack for winning close games to the Illinois Boys HS championship this past weekend, edging two of their biggest rivals to get there.

Three teams from the Illinois DI East made the playoffs in Illinois, and they finished 1-2-3, with Arlington, despite a 2-4 regular-season record, defeating Brother Rice for 3rd.

Morton, which finished the conference 4-2, defeated defending champions the Fox Valley Chiefs in the quarterfinals, before just getting by Brother Rice 15-12 in the semis. That set up a clash with New Trier, 6-0 in the regular season and winners over Mt. Carmel (22-19), and Arlington (22-17).

Delbarton On to NJ Final

Delbarton is in to the New Jersey state final after hammering St. Peter’s 71-5 in the state single-school semifinal.

Photos courtesy Delbarton Rugby.

The Green Wave will face longtime rivals St. Augustine in the June 7 final, the team that gave them the most trouble this season. 

Union, Newberg Set for Oregon Final

The Oregon single-school final is set for Saturday with Union taking on Newberg in a clash of two teams that have lost only once - and that was when Newberg lot to Union.

The Union Titans defeated the Portland Pumas 56-29 in their semifinal in a game where the Titans were able to ring the changes at the break. Austin Holloway, Tristan Sperling, Kyle Vermuelen, Chris Berry, Tre'von Turner, Tyler Dione, and Brendon Curle all touched down in the first half leading to a 41-5 advantage for the Titans. 

With some younger players on for Union the Pumas ran in four nicely-taken tries. Curle added two for Union and Dione scored his second.

Curle organized the Union offense nicely, and his influence has spread further into the team as it was his aggressive recruiting of his friends in his sophomore year that led to Union gaining momentum.

HSRC Preview

Friday sees the High School part of the CRC Weekend kick off with the boys HSRC on the fields of Neumann University in Aston Township, Pa.

Thirty boys teams will play in two separate competitions, one for single-school teams, and one for multi-school clubs. The teams will play their pool play at Neumann University in Aston Township, Pa., and then on Saturday shift to the new satellite fields around PPL Park in Chester, Pa. On Sunday, the Cup Final for the two brackets are expected to be played in the PPL Park Stadium (we say “expected” because the CRC website says it will happen, but their 2015 full schedule on the same site seems to have the single-school final on one of the outside fields - but they also have the girls final listed twice).

Some of the pool games will also be played in the main stadium.

Nevada Crowns HS Champion

Liberty High School won the Nevada State Championship, defeating Coronado in the final.

With rugby still working on growing in Nevada, the state championship was a 7s tournament, with six teams involved - Las Vegas HS, Liberty, Coronado, Arbor View, Green Valley, and Clark HS. Several of the players on the teams came from the Las Vegas Rugby Academy and Las Vegas Aces HS club teams, but other players are new to the sport. 

The six teams played in two pools of three, with the top two from each going into the semis. Liberty and Coronado got by Arbor View and Clark to reach the final.

"It went really well," said Las Vegas Youth Rugby chief and former USA national team star Vaha Esikia, who is the driving force behind the growth of rugby in Nevada. "We got a lot of athletes and fans. The adult rugby players came to watch, which was really great."

Royal Irish, Penn to Clash for Indiana Title

Penn HS and Royal Irish will compete for the Rugby Indiana HS Boys Super League championship Saturday after both won their semifinals this past weekend.

Top-seed Royal Irish, fresh off their National Championship run in the HS Club division, defeated Notre Dame De La Salette 31-10.

“I was very pleased with our win,” said Royal Irish Coach Scott Peterson. “We got off to a slow start again, with them jumping to a 7-0 lead early. After that, we settled in and played very well. I think it was a little bit of a nationals hangover, or like a trap game.”

Royal Irish won the National Championship thanks to a strong defensive front, and it was their defense that kept them on an even keel on Saturday. Once they realized they would likely hold La Salette out, it was a case of the offense just plugging away.