HS Boys

North Carolina JV Boys Win in South

The North Carolina Junior Varsity finished the South Regional All Star Tournament 4-0 in the JV bracket, beating Georgia to finish a North Carolina sweep in the boys divisions in Marietta, Ga.

The team was led by Reid Brandt (Charlotte Catholic) and coached by Justin Goonan, and had to battle through some close games to get to the final.

They started out with an impressive 22-5 victory over South Carolina behind two tries from Brandt. A rain delay slowed things down on Saturday and then made the field muddy for the rest of the day. That was against Georgia, where NC took a 7-0 lead on a long run from Brandt. That was all the scoring they could muster, however. Georgia scored with nine minutes to go, but couldn't convert. With the score 7-5, Georgia got a penalty about 35 meters out and at a tough angle; the attempt at goal sailed wide.

North Carolina Champs at South RAST

Washington Boys Thunder to GNC Title

A Washington Boys all-star team that wasn't exactly highly-regarded, upset Southern California 27-14 to win the Great Northwest Challenge Sunday in Portland, Ore.

Washington worked their way through a tough pool on Saturday, beating Northern California 22-10 and Hawaii 12-5 thanks to some outstanding defense, and excellent work in the breakdown. On Sunday, they slammed Oregon in the semifinals, winning 50-0, and then shook up Southern California in the championship match.

SoCal had done pretty well, themselves, having swept their pool of Oregon and Montana, and then handing Northern California a shocking 36-0 defeat. Southern California's precision in their passing and in their lineout, where Northern California had some excellent and very tall jumpers, was the difference.

Sunday All-Star Tourney Scores

Scores from Sunday action in HS Regional All-Star Tournaments around the country:

Great Northwest Challenge, Portland, Ore.
Varsity Boys Semis
Washington 50 Oregon 0
Southern California 36-0 Northern California

Varsity Boys Consolation Playoff
Hawaii 27 Montana 5

Consolation
Hawaii 25 Oregon 12
NorCal 61 Montana 0

Final: Washington 27 SoCal 14

Varsity Girls Semis
Washington 14 Northern California 12
Southern California 32-0 Oregon

Varsity Girls Consolation Playoff
NorCal/Ore 24 Montana 5

NorCal/Ore 7 Montana 0
NorCal 32 Oregon 7

Varsity Girls Final: SoCal 27 Washington 10

JV Boys
Northern California 20 Oregon 0
Washington 18 Southern California 17

Final: Washington 12 SoCal 0

Indiana, Florida Winning in Pittsburgh

Indiana and Florida are 2-0 after Day One of the Boys Varsity Bracket at the Rugby Challenge Cup in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Fullback Casey Smith of Penn HS handled the opposition kicking games and directed the back three in counter=attacking for Indiana. But their games were won by the forwards, said coach Eddie Abel.

Front rowers Jason Taylor (Warsaw) and Ollie Brookins (Pike) were excellent in the set piece and covered the field as well. Royal Irish No.8 Jake Ney led the team in scoring and was a playmaker for the Indiana offense, while Noah Schrader (Royal Irish), Connor Marsh (Penn), and Trevor Rothhaas (Brownsburg) all defended well in the forwards.

Washington, SoCal Lead the Way in GNC

Washington and Southern California led the field of Boys Varsity teams Saturday at the Great Northwest Challenge Regional All-Star Tournament in Portland.

In a very competitive bracket, Washington won both of their games in Pool B, but had to work for it. The Loggers weathered some early attacks from Northern California, before scoring one first-half try. Washington’s superior work in the rucks and their methodical offensive work with the forwards got them started, and a nifty kicking game helped them gain some territory.

Led by a strong game from loose forward Brian Nault, and with the defense working all through the lineup, Washington scored three more tries to win 24-5. NorCal had already beaten Hawaii 22-12 in a game that was way too close for comfort, but Hawaii didn’t capitulate.

All-Star Tourney Scores

Great Northwest
Varsity Boys
SoCal 15 Montana 0
NorCal 22 Hawaii 12
Oregon 46 Montana 6
Washington 24 NorCal 5
SoCal 32 Oregon 14
Washington 12 Hawaii 5

Varsity Girls
NorCal 81 Montana 0
SoCal 36 Washington 7
Oregon 52 Montana 0
Washington 31 NorCal/Oregon 0
SoCal 56 NorCal/Oreong 3
NorCal 46 Oregon 5

JV Boys
SoCal 11 NorCal 7
Washington 22 Oregon 8
NorCal 56 SoCal 0
Washington 24 NorCal 10

JV Girls
SoCal 22 Oregon 10

South RAST
Varsity Boys
No. Carolina 29 SMAC 15
Georgia 15 So. Carolina 12
Louisiana 36 Florida 10
Louisiana 17 Tennessee 7
North Carolina 41 Georgia 3
South Carolina 7 SMAC 0
Florida 15 Tennessee 12

NorCal Boys Look Ahead to GNC

Northern California Executive Director Max Carney says his boys all-star teams are ready to take on a hugely competitive field at the Great Northwest Challenge Saturday in Portland, Ore.

Getting the teams to come together took a while, said Carney, "and we are still not quite there yet, but we should be very competitive with both [Varsity and JV] teams," he said.
 
The Varsity team hosts three High School All Americans in the front eight and three in the backs, with two more potentially in the mix for the HSAA tour to Argentina. NorCal is in a very competitive pool with Washington and Hawaii, and perhaps might be on track for a clash with Southern California, who are favored in Pool A.

"We are not taking any of the sides lightly," said Carney. "These are all-star teams for a reason, and every team up there could win out."

19 at All-Star Tourney in Pittsburgh

SMAC All-Stars Named

The Smokey Mountain Athletic Conference (SMAC) has named its boys all-star team to play in the South Regional All-Star Tournament this weekend in Marietta, Ga.
 

NorCal Boys Selected for NW Challenge

The Northern California boys all-star program has named its rosters for both Varsity and JV in advance of the Great Northwest Challenge this coming weekend in Portland, Ore.

It is a diverse group, with most of the Varsity team not coming from regional champs Jesuit or Danville. The Varsity is almost entirely made up of juniors, while the JV is all 9th- and 10th-graders. 

Heart of America Wins With Teamwork

Having made the final of the Rocky Mountain Challenge and losing to a tough Utah team 17-8, the Heart of America Boys all-star squad has got to feel fairly pleased with their efforts this spring.

Head Coach and former USA prop Tim Kluempers said the performance, including a 3rd-place finish for the JV team, was an indication that the region is getting stronger.

“We had a really good attitude from the players,” enthused Kluempers. “We are senior-heavy, and the rugby knowledge of the team is getting better. Every year we have about three weeks to prepare and the commitment was better from the kids, and that created a sense of trust within the team.”

Boys Single-School Rankings for 13-14 Season

Finally, finally, finally GoffRugbyReport gives you our end-of-season Boys Single-School rankings.

It was very, very tough to do this, especially on the lower end of the spectrum, where there are some other programs that deserve to get in, but eventually we capped the list at 35.

Gonzaga is #1, no surprise there. Jesuit #2, no surprise. The teams of note, really are Snow Canyon, who beat pretty much everyone they played and won a very, very competitive Utah league, and Notre Dame de La Salette, which won and lost a few really close games, but basically proved they belong in the conversation of the top teams. 

East HS in Utah was a bit of a surprise, and De la Salle out of Northern California didn't play on a national level, but were good enough to be there.

Washington Looks to Score at Great NW Challenge

Six highly-comeptent teams descend on Portland, Ore. for the Great Northwest Challenge Boys All-Star tournament.

The GNC also features a JV Boys, Varsity Girls and JV Girls bracket, making for a total of 19 teams facing off at Delta Park in Oregon's biggest city.

Southern California, Oregon, and Montana make up Pool A, a division of the competition which might make some shape their heads as Northern California, Washington, and Hawaii populate Pool B - a group that has to be considered the stronger.

NorCal, SoCal, Oregon, and Washington are in the JV competition.

South All-Star Tourney Set for Saturday

Life University hosts the South Regional All-Star Tournament this weekend, with seven teams in the Boys Varsity Bracket.

With the programs expanding ever into JV and, in the future, middle school select-side rugby, tournament host Dan Payne said that this South RAST may well outgrow Life's rugby facility. But for now, the size it just right.

"With seven Varsity teams and four JV teams, we are running 11 games on Day One as it is," said Payne. "It's great. We wanted to do this because we wanted to facilitate High School rugby in the South. We are in a central location, so it made sense, but because it's been successful it will probably outgrow us."