Eastside, Chuckanut Win as Washington Playoffs Loom
Eastside Lions defeated Chuckanut 29-7 over the weekend at Chuckanut's Polo Grounds.
The Lions welcomed Luke Leddy back at lock and he gave Eastside a spark.
Both teams worked hard to find a way through and Eastside's defense led to the Lions getting fir first scoring chance. No. 8 Peleki Vuatalevu broke through Chuckanut's defenses from a scrum on their 5-meter line and was over. Eastside soon increased their lead to 12-0 after fullback Parker Jackson touched down in the corner and KIeran O'Meara hit the touchline conversion.
Unfazed, Chuckanut Bay fought back with strong territorial kicks and capitalized on Eastside's lineout struggles, scoring a converted try. However, Eastside regained control and ended the first half with a 19-7 lead after prop Kolani Masunu powered through.
Major HS Results This Weekend
Playoffs and major games in Boys HS rugby this weekend so far.
Northern California Playoffs
Danville defeated De La Salle for the second week in a row, this time in the NorCal Premier semifinals, 35-12. It was close into the second half, with Danville leading 14-12 with 25 minutes left. But the Oaks backline started to find some space and pull away late.
Granite Bay followed up with a 63-14 dismissal of a very tough Jesuit team.
"We play as a team and that's what counts," enthused Head Coach Chris Miller. "We peak when we're supposed to, which is now."
Avion Ganse, Talae Tuimaunei, and Jackson Launey all led by example in this game with captain Jared Quenga crucial to the effort. Juniors Will Walker (vice captain), Cole McCracken, Masi Koi and Marcus Maveety were all very solid on the day.
Greenwich Shuts Out Aspetuck
Greenwich put down a bit of a marker this weekend with an emphatic 26-0 shutout of Aspetuck in the rain.
Benja Thompson was outstanding at scrumhalf as the Cardinals ran their attack well while the entire team showed up defensively against an Aspetuck team that has plenty of weapons.
Even when the reserves came on the Greenwich defensive structure held.
High Rankings Games All Over This Weekend
So many big games this weekend.
We have some context here to help you:
GRR HS School Team Rankings Week 14
Rebels Hold Off Phoenix Alpharetta in Thriller
As the evening sun was setting, casting a crimson hue across the sky, the shrill of the whistle signaled the start of the final game for the Rebels Rugby season.
It was a tightly contested game from the outset, with both teams dotting over the try line and taking the extra conversion points to bring the score to 7-7. The excitement continued as consecutive unconverted tries quickly came for both teams, taking the score to 12-12.
The match was a bruising encounter, characterized by multiple carries by the forwards up the central channel of the pitch. Seniors Jacob Siler, Merrick Edmondson, Henry Troutman, and Jamie Reinhardt, along with Maddox Tinker and Landon Lockhart-Keener, made notable contributions in this regard. Ayden Muse stood out for his fearless and immense tackling throughout the game.
GRR HS Club Rankings Week 14
Well we have a new #1 and it's not a surprise.
Given that we had two games between Top-Ten teams and some other high-profile matchups it was inevitable that someone would move past the idle Okapi team. In addition, while the Woodlands has continued to have a great season, we're taking a new look at some of the teams they played and a couple aren't quite as strong as we thought earlier. So a win against those opponents are nice, but not necessarily a reason to be #1.
So Okapi's 15-10 win over Woodlands, while impressive, is not strong enough when you look at the constant high-rankings efforts in Southern California and Northern California.
The Charlotte Cardinals unleashed their astonishing upset of St. Andrew's, and while they lost to Gonzaga in the Gonzaga Classic final, they competed very well.
Green Bay and Westside move in.
Baltimore Poly Takes Down Exiles
Baltimore Poly defeated the Maryland Exiles 26-17 this past weekend, setting themselves up for a run at the playoffs.
The Exiles went into the game unbeaten, so to take this result was a big deal for Baltimore Poly.
"It really makes a difference for a game when a club travels together as a team, warms up as a team, and is prepared on time for a good rugby game," aid Head Coach Michael Delia. "We got on them early and often and I feel that was the difference in this game."
GRR HS School Team Rankings Week 14
A lot of movement here because there has been a lot of action.
Dallas Jesuit moved up and Strake Jesuit moved down after Dallas won the single-school finals in Texas. St. Martin's out of Kansas moves up mostly because they have been logging very good results. Yes they did earlier lose to SLUH, but in general we've decided to not let that result dictate everything.
Regis Jesuit moves up with a good result and also because East HS, which beat them in a close one, has moved up. Also we have Highland and Medina in the school rankings because that's where they should be instead of the club rankings which is where we had them.
Belmont HS moves into the Top 50 with a series of good results.
Granite Bay, Danville to Top of NorCal
Granite Bay and Danville are both unbeaten in Northern California league play and will be the top two going into the playoffs.
Danville defeated De La Salle 22-7 in a game that really had no bearing on the playoff seeds. Still, it was De La Salle's Senior Night so they were up for it. DLS got an early try from Chris Biller but some good play from Ethan Younger set up an an answer from Danville. A nice counter on a clearance kick that failed to make touch put Danville ahead at halftime. Superb defense from the Oaks pretty much sealed the game after that, and they scored twice while DLS had a player in the sin bin.
But with Granite Bay winning it was clear Danville would be #2 anyway and DLS #3 and so this coming weekend they will meet again on the campus of Saint Mary's College.
Jesuit won twice this weekend to vault up to #4.
Pendleton, Westside on a Collision Course in Indiana
Pendleton looks to be the strongest team in Indiana after they defeated Penn over the weekend.
After beating Mudsock last week, Pendleton followed that up with a 17-12 victory over Penn.
The game was back-and-forth, and a try from Penn put them up 12-10 with five minutes to go.
Pendleton charged back and got a penalty in kickable range—flyhalf Nick Trout is a very good goalkicker and you might have expected him to slot that. Instead they took the lineout, and worked their way to the Penn line.
Finally Penn was penalized, Pendleton tapped quickly and Trout was over for the try.
There was still time for Penn. They kicked deep on the restart, put on pressure, and got a penalty. Opting for a scrum, Penn ran a weakside move but the key pass sailed into touch and the game was over.
Fairfield Prep over Loudoun in Gonzaga Classic Varsity Bracket
The Gonzaga Classic had various tiers in its competition and in the Varsity tier Fairfield Prep came out on top.
Outscoring their opponents 94-11 over the three games, Fairfield took another step forward in what has been a pretty solid season.
Fairfield Prep vs Salesianum
Two tries from Finnegan Murphy and tries from Ryan Smith, Malachi Mercer-Robinson, and Brice Muller saw Fairfield 34-0 over Salesianum.
Nick Vittoria added two conversions in a game that was highlighted by Fairfield's strong defensive showing.
Fairfield vs Good Counsel
Six tries from six different players along with three conversions made it 36-6 for Fairfield Prep. While Prep didn't shut out Good Counsel, they did keep them away from the tryline.
Massachusetts Teams Starting to Heat Up
The Massachusetts IAA season is just around the corner and both BC High and Belmont High have started well.
BC High had almost a month between matches because of cancelations, but they finally got to face an opponent this past weekend, taking on New Jersey's Delbarton.
Seven different players scored several different tries, with the tries nicely split between backs and forwards. Led by flyhalf Gavin McNicholl, who controlled the attack smartly and found space with his kicks, and with Oisin Allen cutting through gaps on counters and within the backline plan, the Eagles won 47-0.
"It was great to play another team," said Head Coach Paul Carty. "Ultimately, it was a good starting point for BC High. The attack functioned well, but we need to be a bit more consistently phase to phase on defense."
Gonzaga Wins a Gonzaga Classic Full of Surprises
Behind a very strong showing by their back row, Gonzaga defeated the Charlotte Cardinals 22-10 to win the Gonzaga Classic.
While pool play was shortened somewhat on Saturday due to lightning, the excellent weather on Sunday made for an excellent day of rugby throughout the 12-team boys premier tournament.
Four teams entered the day set for the semifinals, with British Columbia's Shawnigan Lake against Gonzaga, and South Africa's St. Andrew's pitted against the Charlotte Cardinals.
Gonzaga was 22-12 over Shawnigan Lake. THe Canadian side gave up some size to the tournament hosts but played a smart game with some excellent kicking and well-organized defense. Gonzaga, however, were clinical in close and had several danger men out wide.
St. Ignatius Wins Big Rivalry Game over St. Edward
It's difficult to fully represent the rivalry between St. Edward and St. Ignatius in Cleveland.
These two schools are just a few minutes' drive from each other and yet in some way are light years apart. You're an Ed's fan or you're an Iggy fan. You can't be both. Both schools have enjoyed success in a variety of sports and that includes rugby.
This past weekend St. Ignatius and St. Edward met at Ed's in three games—Varsity, JV, and Freshmen—in front of a packed house. Ignatius, defending national single-school champs but dealing with some injuries and the fact that most of their 2022 side graduated, were up against a St. Edward program that has drastically increased its numbers and is playing some much improved rugby this season.
In the end, Ignatius won the game, 37-5, but it was a battle as always and St. Edward took some key steps forward.
SoCal Latest: Belmont Shore, SOC Win Close Games
Belmont Shore is now alone atop the Southern California HS Club standings after a 33-26 defeat of the San Diego Mustangs.
"Good contest," said Mustangs Head Coach MAtty Sandoval. "The better team won; [Belmont Shore] is better than last year, probably the best team in the country. We played well."
"Good game played by both sides," chimed in Belmont Shore Head Coach Johnny Pua. "Credit to SD Mustangs. Their defensive line speed put us on the back foot majority of the game but we adjusted and applied pressure back at them with counter kicking."
Wing Ryan Curtis was key in those kicks, and flyhalf Lenny Ibarra tested the Mustangs with the boot also, putting them under pressure.
