Dozens Of Teams At Maryland Festival Of Youth
The Maryland International Youth Festival was held this past weekend, with .over 30 teams in a variety of brackets both girls and boys.
Here are most of the scores. Thanks to KLG Photos for the pictures:
Boys Varsity |
Jesuit Beats Tourists
Playing on Senior Day, the Jesuit High School rugby team played their final spring match before they start their playoff run. The first ten minutes was all St. Pats, with Jesuit committing a mistake every minute. The visitors were able to score first just five minutes into the match.
Jesuit New Orleans Wins Louisiana State Title
On Saturday, April 21, 2018, the undefeated Jesuit Blue Jays of New Orelans squared off in the Lousiana Boys HS state championship match against a surging and powerful Brother Martin squad.
The outcome was far from certain as the belligerents were each hungry for the title. Both had something to prove. Brother Martin had not been in the state title in a decade and were determined to plant a Crusader flag atop the high peaks of Louisiana rugby. The Blue Jays, for their part, were looking to defend their state title and become the first team since the Blue Jay squads of 2010 and 2011 to be repeat champions. The Crusaders were looking for victory. The Blue Jays were looking for legacy.
Georgia Holds Multiple Championships
Over the past three weeks teams from U14 through U19 battled for the right to be crowned Rugby Georgia State Champions in their respective age groups.
Rugby Georgia has seen an increase in player enrollment since emphasis was placed on rookie rugby and growing middle school programs. After a few years of seeing teams merge or fold at the high school level, the strategy of growing from the ground up is paying dividends. However, with the U19 teams, not all have been able to show the depth to play a championship 15s season, and so the finals was actually a 7s tournament.
Herriman Comes Back To Beat United
Herriman used some big plays and a deep bench to come back from behind for a 34-25 victory over United, in a game that was yet another classic between the two teams in Utah Youth Rugby action.
Herriman came in to the game unbeaten on the season, while United has been riding high from several quality wins from a very experienced side.
MSIRL Final Four Set At Tigers, SG Win
The Mid-South Indepdendent Rugby League is set for its playoffs with the top two from each fonerence facing off.
On Saturday night, Phoenix Alpharetta, which won the Western Conference, will take on Eastern Conference #2 Charlotte Tigers. Phoenix has looked very strong in the West. Meanwhile, the Tigers defeated Chapel Hill 44-33 in a barnburner this past weekend to sew up the #2 seed. It was a winner-take-the-spoils game.
With Chapel Hill up 26-25, Tigers center Ethyn Baker took a stolen ball and raced 95 meters to score a crucial try.
"It was odd because they scored most of their tries on a missed tackle and a long run, and we scored most of ours on building phases, but that try was a long run for us, and we needed it," said Charlotte Coach Erik Saxon.
SoCal Varsity Red All-Conference Team
The Southern California Varsity Red Divison has named its all-conference team.
Coaches voted for the honors, with Cathedral Catholic loose forward Mile McCormick getting the Player Of The Year honors.
Check out these players in the FloRugby Player Rankings
Player of the Year
Miles McCormick - Junior - Cathedral
Props
Mike Perrone - Senior - Torrey Pines
Jordan Mazzola - Senior - La Costa Canyon
Hooker
Aidan Ryan - Senior - La Costa Canyon
Lock
Sam Hussan - Junior - La Costa Canyon
Gonzaga Beats #1 St. Edward
Gonzaga HS defeated #1-ranked St. Edward of Ohio Sunday in a crossover non-conference game that may well shake up the FloRugby single-school rankings.
In a tight, back-and-forth game, Gonzaga scored a try right at halftime to lead 22-8 at the break, only to see St. Edward make it 22-15 early in the second half. Gonzaga scored two more to lead 34-15 and held on 34-20.
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Will Lyke was a force at No. 8 for Gonzaga. while center Alex Billups continues to emerge as a dangerous player.
Big Games In HS Rugby This Weekend
Some key games this weekend.
Rugby Washington is coming down to the wire, with Eastside the only unbeaten team and leading the league, but Liberty hot on the Lions' heels.
Penn takes on Royal Irish in an Indiana state title preview, and a look at two national title contenders. St. Thomas Aquinas of Kansas is in New York and takes on Xavier. St. Edward visits Gonzaga (#1 v #4), so that's a good one, too.
Louisiana and Florida crown state champions, while Herriman takes on United, Highland plays Snow Canyon, United faces Genesis, West Jordan plays Provo, and Olympus plays East ... phew, that's a lot. And NorCal is into the playoffs now too!
Check back for scores
Harpeth Harlequins Strong Through Tennessee Conference Play
Since their 2018 debut at NashBash, the Harpeth Harlequins remain the only unbeaten team in the Middle Tennessee Rugby Conference with one week remaining in regular season play. Still showing their strength on both sides of the ball, the Harlequins have put up 174 points for the season so far and allowed 87. Here are highlights of their conference matches to date:
SUMNER COUNTY
Aspetuck Makes A Statement In Connecticut
The last two weeks have produced two wins and three losses for the Aspetuck Valley Rugby Club in Connecticut, but don’t be fooled, that 2-3 record now has the team on the rankings radar.
Consider that the first loss was 38-31 to longtime poet Greenwich. Then Aspetuck beat Myers Park (NC) and West End (VA), not pushovers at all, in the Gonzaga Rugby Classic before losing 41-10 to Gonzaga in the semis.
Herriman Pulls Away From East
Herriman defeated East HS 38-14 in Utah action that sets the team up nicely for two tough games this week - United and Kahuku.
It was a very tight game in the first half. East did well to take care of possession and were patient in scoring two tries. Herriman tried to force the issue and made some mistakes, and it was evident they were a bit slow coming back from spring break.
Still, Herriman led 19-14 at halftime.
"East is very talented, and I think they are syncing up and starting to really play well together now that they have firmed up their lineup and personnel and have some good consistency going," sad Herriman coach Jeff Wilson. "We played a lot better in the second half."
Herriman's defense was better and three tries later the Mustangs had a 38-14 win.
Xavier Beats Australian Tourists
Back from a tour of Ireland, Xavier HS logged an impressive 29-12 defeat of a touring team on US soil.
The New York HS team defeated Oakhill College out of Australia. It capped a very nice week for Xavier during which the B side also beat Oaklhill's Bs, and the freshman team won the freshman bracket at the Gonzaga Rugby Classic (beating the Gonzaga frosh 44-0 in the final.
It's been a cold season in New York, but Xavier continues to produce the results.
Adam Smith photos of the As (solids) and Bs (stripes) against Oakhill.
Gonzaga Takes Gonzaga Rugby Classic
Gonzaga won the Gonzaga Rugby Classic (a tournament Gonzaga hosts) for the 9th straight time this weekend, finishing off the two-day tournament with a 21-3 defeat of Fort Hunt.
Twelve Boys HS teams (as well as JV and freshman teams) from all over the East converged on Virginia for the tournament, which featured two shortened games per day for each team.
No. 1 St. Edward Downs No. 2 Ignatius
St. Edward probably secured its #1 single-school ranking for now with a 21-14 defeat of #2 St. Ignatius last week.
It was an exciting all-Rugby-Ohio league game that came down to the final moments, and St. Edward, led by center Grant Gutchall, lock Collin Haas, and tighthead prop Noah DiMichele scored three tries to take the game.
See FloRugby Rankings Here
“The boys are communicating well,” said St. Edward Head Coach Tom Cleary. “We played Jesuit in California and I felt that St. Ignatius played a lot like them. So it was great to have already had that experience.”
St. Edward beat Jesuit, and St. Ignatius has already beaten Gonzaga, and both Ignatius and now Edward have been ranked #1 by FloRugby.
