HS Around the Country Tonight
Here;s a quick roundup of what's been happening in Boys HS Rugby.
We do have a more detailed report on the Gonzaga Tournament here: Gonzaga Tournament Provides Plenty of Challenges
Indiana
Pendleton beat Penn 17-12 in a classic game that puts Pendleton at the top of the league in the Hoosier State. Westside Black Swarm, meanwhile, won well over Bishop Dwenger. Details on these games to come by we can tell you that Dwenger and Westside were deadlocked 5-5 at halftime. And for Pendleton, Nick Trout, who is having some kind of season, score all of his team's points with two tries, two conversions, and a penalty goal.
Gonzaga Tournament Provides Plenty of Challenges
Not all of the games scheduled for Day One at the Gonzaga Tournament were played as the DC area was hit with torrential rain and thunder and lightning late in the afternoon.
But a large chunk of the Premier pool games were indeed played and organizers garnered sufficient information from those games to work up a good Sunday schedule.
Teams were slated to play two 40-minute games on Saturday and the same on Sunday. Not every team got to play its two pool matches, but as luck would have it, all the top seeded teams did get two matches in, and they all went 2-0, making the cup bracket much easier to put together.
Solid Win in Wintry Weather for Regis Jesuit
Regis Jesuit logged a workmanlike Thursday-night victory over the Palmer Terrors in Colorado despite some pretty brutal weather.
"I am excited for some nice spring weather in May," said Regis Head Coach Ethan Pougnet, who took his side on a March tour to Arizona only to get rained on there.
The game with Palmer was eventually ended early because of a brutal snow squall that descended on the venue in the second half—snow and sleet made the players wet and cold and the wind came in to make the situation especially difficult for the athletes. But they had played long enough for it to be considered a full match.
Outside center Zach O'Reilly scored three tries in the game and was a handful for the Palmer defense throughout. His midfield mate Luke Daly was a defensive force and was often the man setting O'Reilly up for his tries.
Dallas Jesuit, Strake Jesuit Face Off in Texas School Final
Strake Jesuit faces off with Dallas Jesuit Saturday in Houston for the Rugby Texas single-school final.
Strake Jesuit beat Lake Travis comfortably last week, taking the semifinal 66-17. Strake's Varsity Green team, which is the side that is playing in the semis and final, is now 9-0, including three teams within a try during the early going. Strake has been improving through the season and can point to their March 24 shutout of Dallas Jesuit (31-0).
Westside, Pendleton Get Midweek Wins in Indiana
Pendleton and Westside recorded victories this week as Rugby Indiana's league season starts to ramp up.
Pendleton backed up their win over Bishop Dwenger with a 24-19 defeat of HSE Mudsock Wednesday night.
Mudsock battled well against a Pendleton team that has some high aspirations. Paced by the continued outstanding play of flyhalf Nick Trout, Pendleton led by two scores late in the game before HSE made it somewhat closer, but the score is perhaps a fair representation of where they are. Mudsock did beat Royal Irish by a point over the weekend and has been right there with the stronger teams in the state.
In other action, Westside Black Swarm defeated Carmel 36-0 in a rematch of the 2021 state semifinal game, which Carmel won.
HS Nationals Seeding On The Mind in HS Games This Week
Minnesota and Massachusetts get their league seasons going and Connecticut gets going in earnest.
We have several pretty important games this weekend, with seedings at HS Nationals being on the line, and more. besides:
SOC Raptors play Thunder Rugby in what appears to be a winner-take-all play-in for Nationals. Both teams are 0-2 against their other rivals in SoCal and so the final spot should be contested between these two. Meanwhile, San Diego Mustangs and Belmont Shore, having both beaten SOC and Thunder, are also playing in a game that likely decides the top team in SoCal's HS Club competition, and also likely decides who will get a stronger seed at Nationals.
SE Polk, WSR Lead in Iowa
Round 4 of the Iowa Youth Rugby Association is set for Friday with only two teams now still undefeated.
Last week Ankeny came into Friday night's games with a 4-0 record and found themselves on the losing end 21-10 to Cedar Falls and 19-0 to Waverly Shell Rock. Valley also entered the games 4-0 and were defeated 19-12 by SE Polk ... more on Polk in a bit.
(Iowa's league is a 7s league only, with teams playing two matches each Friday night.)
Surging, then, are Cedar Falls, which beat Ankeny and Fort Dodge in close games to advance to 5-1, joining Valley with that record.
Leading the way are SE Polk and Waverly Shell Rock at 6-0.
GRR HS School Team Rankings Week 13
We had a nice conversation with Rugby Ohio and we've got a few teams mischaracterized (school vs club).
So next week you'll see a couple of teams we have been ranking as clubs into the school list.
Anyway ... aside from that, right now everyone is chasing Gonzaga. Who could challenge them? We suspect St. Ignatius is a bit stronger now than they were when they lost to Gonzaga a few weeks ago. But it's just a suspecting. De La Salle? Yes, maybe. Jesuit of Sacramento? A team to watch.
GRR HS Club Rankings Week 13
This is one of those weeks when teams win games and they move down.
Now, of course, you don't move down ... someone else moves up.
Oh, right, we have another #1. Okapi beat the #1-ranked Woodlands on the road. You kind of have to move them up. Will they hold onto it? Well, with the Northern California and Southern California leagues coming to a climax it will be tough. Yes Florida has playoffs too, but it will still be tough.
No matter—enjoy Wanderers ... enjoy.
Okapi Downs #1-Ranked Woodlands in Texas
Perhaps the biggest game of the weekend was just a little touring matchup.
Florida-based Okapi Wanderers, ranked #11 among HS clubs, defeated Woodlands, ranked #1, in Texas. The scoreline was close, 15-10, but close or not it was a remarkable achievement for Okapi.
"It was a fantastic win for Okapi on Saturday against an amazing Woodlands side," said Okapi Head Coach Juan Orfila. "We knew it was going to be the toughest game of the season, and talking with Woodlands coaches they felt the same way, seeing this game as a great test in preparation for the Nationals. The game was as we expected, a very physical one, with dominant defenses on each side. Woodlands has very strong centers and they continuously attack through them with the support from a big and solid pack of forwards.
San Diego, Belmont Shore Win Again in SoCal
San Diego Mustangs and Belmont Shore lead the Southern California Boys HS Club league with 3-0 records after both beat well-regarded opponents over the weekend.
Belmont Shore defeated Thunder 44-10, dropping Thunder to 1-2. It was another impressive showing from a Belmont Shore team that has blossomed in its ability to play fast and wide. In two games (one non-league) against what is a very good Thunder team, Belmont Shore has scored 95 points.
As for San Diego, the Mustangs held off a very tough SOC Raptors team 19-14 in a bit of a nailbiter.
Vienna Gets By Fort Hunt in Virginia
In a clash of the two strongest HS club teams in Virginia, Vienna held off Fort Hunt 19-10.
"It was a super-physical game," said Fort Hunt Head Coach Dale Roach. "Strong defense from both teams and hard running. We look forward to seeing them again in the playoffs."
"Fort Hunt has improved a ton this year and has some big strong athletes," said Vienna Head Coach Kendall Erickson. "But we must have been penalized over 25 times. Our boys lack of discipline and unforced errors is frustrating."
No. 8 Juan Cat scored the first and the last of Vienna's three tries, while Andrew Evan returned from injury and scored as well. Camden Erickson converted two.
Erickson echoed Roach's observations about the power of the defensive tackling. But he added that his team needs to show more.
SLUH Shows Well in All-Catholic Tournament
St. Louis University High hosted the All-Catholic Rugby Festival over the weekend, which included one team from Canada in a contest of four varsity teams and four JV teams.
Finally the weather cooperated (somewhat) for this weekend and the teams faced off over two days.
SLUH showed well. They beat St. Martin's Kingfishers out of the Kansas City area 29-12, St. James Academy out of Kansas 36-5, and Winnipeg's St. Paul's 33-5.
It was a new tournament for SLUH to host and was a success as they look to expand the event over time.
Eastside Downs Liberty in Washington
Eastside continued their strong run of results in Washington state with a 31-8 defeat of rivals Liberty at Pat Ryan Memorial Field.
This was an intense clash between two very good teams. Liberty started off with a blast, making a penetrating run down the right wing that took some desperate defense from Eastside to prevent an early score. It was an early wakeup call for the Lions.
Eastside's forwards dominated the next phases, resulting in a rolling maul that saw the team advance from outside the Liberty 22. Kai Holec, an immense presence in the second row, dotted down on the seven-minute mark. Kieran O'Meara slotted the tough-angle conversion and it was 7-0.
USRF Awards Scholarships to 17
The US Rugby Foundation awarded a total of $23,000 in college scholarships to 17 deserving student-athletes. Out of the 24 students that applied for the scholarships, 17 were chosen based on their exceptional academic records, as well as their commitment to the sport of rugby.
Each of the scholarship recipients will receive a minimum of $1,000, which can be used to cover the costs of tuition, fees, books, or other school-related expenses. The recipients come from states including, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, and many more!
