HTH and San Pasqual Face Off in SoCal(Click on images to enlarge) Two unbeaten teams in the Southern California will clash this weekend in the Varsity White San Diego Conference. High Tech High/Point Loma is 2-0 in league play, with official scores being 40-0 and 45-5. However, SoCal Youth Rugby has a rule whereby no reported winning margin can be more than 40, so HTH/PL actually won those games by a bit more. Same story for San Pasqual, which beat Patrick Henry 40-0 just as HTH/PL had done. San Pasqual also beat Rancho Bernardo 26-12.
Aircraft Charter Solutions PoW - Gabe WahlWhen Gabe Wahl and Drew Falk graduated from the San Clemente Youth Rugby program, they wanted to keep playing, but they found there was no team at their school. No problem; they made one. “We just wanted to keep on playing, so we decided to make a team,” Wahl told Goff Rugby Report. “We know Ibbo [Ian Ibbettson] from his coaching at San Clemente, and Craig Hartley was working with San Clemente, and they had coached us, so we got them to help.” Thus started the Dana Hills High School team.
HTH, San Pasqual, Torrey Pines Find Non League WinsSeveral non-league games were held in the Southern California Boys HS divisions as the teams look to get back into league play Jan 9. HTH/Point Loma won again. After winning their first two league games by wide margins, they dispatched Palos Verdes of the Los Angeles division 47-7. Meanwhile, San Pasqual is also 2-0 in the Varsity White San Diego Division, and won a non-league game against Tesoro 37-12. San Pasqual rode a strong forward pack to win their game - they have experience up front and have utilized a lot of pick-and-goes and inside balls to get go-forward. With captain and front-rower Sergio Rangel powering through and freshman No.
Dana Hills, Mira Costa Win in SoCal
Mira Costa and Dana Hills are now at the top of the Los Angeles Conference in Southern California's Boys HS Varsity White Division after both won big games this weekend.
Dana Hills defeated Wilson HS 27-5 to improve to 4-0. Gabe Wahls scored three tries for Hills, while Gunnie Amouroux added a try of his own and Anton Grigoriou, just back from the HS All AMerican winter camp, kicked two conversions and a penalty. Dana Hills played without Head Coach Ian Ibbotson, who is in the UK attending his father's funeral services. Without their coach, the Dana Hills boys played some inspired rugby in a tough, physical match.
2015 Boys Single-School Rankings Week 1
The Goff Rugby Report Boys Single-School Rankings are out for the beginning of the 2015 season.
Several Southern California teams have already started play, and their results are incorporated into the rankings, which go to #20 for now, but will expand to #50 within a few weeks. We acknowledge that there's a lot of guesswork in this, but it's a starting point. Jesuit, who finished 2nd in the NIT last year, are #1 because they lost that NIT final by a single point, and Gonzaga has graduated some key components to that winning team. Jesuit, meanwhile, also had their B team win the NIT Tier II, so we know they have the depth to reload.
Penn has some outstanding players, including some HSAA camp standouts, so they are #2 while Gonzaga has something to prove at #3.
2015 Boys HS Club Rankings Week 1
Goff Rugby Report brings you the opening Boys HS Club rankings of the 2014-2015 season. Yes some teams in Southern California have started plaiyng already, as have one or two other teams, but this ranking still serves as the de-facto pre-season rankings.
Three-time HS Club champs Cathedral remain on top, and the team that faced them in the last final, Santa Monica, is #2. Danville is a very strong #3, and they could well bounce up to #1 in a very competitive NorCal league.
HSAA Picture Clearer After CampThe HS All American Winter Camp is done and dusted, with the top tier of players facing off in a scrimmage on Wednesday. The entire post-Christmas week was a chance to reload for a program that has aged out some important talent. No more Calvin Whiting. No more Ben Cima. No more Malcolm May. No more Hanco Germishuys. No more Justin Allen, Seth Halliman, Wes Parker or Vili Helu. But the young guys coming in, said prop Kalisi Moli, don’t really need that much help. They are doing just fine on their own.
Gonzaga HS Embraces Tough ScheduleGonzaga College High School’s varsity rugby program has announced its 2015 schedule, which includes trip to Chile and Canada, and games against several state champions, as well as national HS club champs Cathedral. “This is probably the most challenging schedule that we have ever had. Our goal is always to try to play the best possible competition to test ourselves, but at the same time we want to get the balance right between performance and development," said Head Coach Peter Baggetta. "We think that with this season’s schedule we have a good balance of both, and are very excited about the quality of our schedule.
2014 Boys HS Awards!
Goff Rugby Report brings you the 2014 Boys HS awards.
We give you a gallery of articles, photos, and video on the winners, with the following categories:
Toughest League
Game of the Year
Issue of the Year
Club Team of the Year
Single-School Team of the Year
Select Side Team of the Year
7s Player of the Year
Breakout Player of the Year
Forward of the Year
Back of the Year
Player of the Year
See it all, starting when you click here.
Hard Work Center of HSAA Winter CampWith the HS All Americans Winter Camp closing up shop on Wednesday, Head Coach Salty Thompson has a lot of work to do figuring out who will play 7s in Las Vegas and Rosslyn Park, who will be the JV squad going to Europe, and who will be on the varsity 15s squad going to South America. Thompson pushed hard for players to maintain fitness standards, and tested them all on the first day. They scored better than before, said the coach, “but they are not where we’d ultimately like them to be. I asked them, ‘is there a reason why you can’t get to a certain standard? Are you too old?’” It was a joke, but one with a message. If you’re going to get international rugby fit, now’s the time. Still, Thompson saw some improvement, and also saw a pretty experienced, hard-nosed group of forwards.
Video Interview Winter HSAA Camp - Matthews
In thie video interview with Alex Goff, Back Bay and USA High School All American Aaron Matthews talks about how the backline players are working together at the HSAA Winter Camp.
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Video Interview HSAA Winter Camp - Iscaro
Iscaro talks about what he and the other forwards have learned and are learning about scrumming. He tells you why he had no problem sending in his fitness reports to Coach Salty Thompson, and he talks about the facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz.
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HSAA 2014 Winter Camp Outline The USA Rugby Boys High School All Americans (BHSAA) 2014 Winter Camp commences this week with 130 players assembling in Casa Grande, Arizona under the direction of Head Coach Salty Thompson. This year’s camp is running from December 26 to December 31, with Thompson and the staff eager to commence the 2014-2015 BHSAA cycle with events in Las Vegas, England, France and Belgium, and Argentina on the schedule. This year’s camp sees 130 players from 25 states invited to participate, along with Americans in from Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The camp roster includes 24 that represented the BHSAAs in 2014, along with 39 returners from the 2013 Winter Camp.
HSAA Players at Winter CampThe High School All American Winter Camp wraps up today and tomorrow with a series of scrimmages among the teams. Over 130 athletes have been housed, fed, and put through their paces at the Grande Sports Academy in Casa Grande, Ariz. The facilities are first-rate, with multiple classrooms for teams and team units, cold-plunge pools for recovery, tons of outdoor field space and an indoor training facility, also.
Germishuys Makes Instant Impact At GloucesterNebraska high school product Hanco Germishuys, who played for the HS All Americans, USA U20s, and the USA Youth Olympic 7s team in 2014, is now happily ensconced at the Gloucester Academy in the UK. His arrival has coincided with two straight victories for the Gloucester Academy in the U18 Premiership. The latest was a 39-20 defeat of the Worcester Warriors, with Germishuys scoring a try for his new team. This is the first big step for Germishuys in his push to get a pro contract. It takes a while, but he has made a strong impression in his first few weeks.
