SoCal HS Club Playoffs Set
The playoffs are set in the Southern California HS Club boys league.
South Bay and Back Bay won via forfeit, as did the Irvine Rhinos.
In the game actually played, Belmont Shore continued their run of strong results with a 27-23 defeat of Santa Monica in an intense contest. As a result, Belmont Shore ends up 6-0, Back Bay 5-1, and Santa Monica 4-2. All three Gold North teams are into the playoffs.
In the Gold South, th Aztec Warriors defeated San Clemente 37-21 but it was too little too late for them. Irvine got the forfeit win and also beat Wallabies 74-34. The San Diego Mustangs shut out Tri-City.
Xavier Revitalized in Trip to Canada
Xavier headed north to Ontario for their Easter break tour with a mission to right the ship after losing on the final play of the game against Gonzaga April 1, and playing below their standard against St. Ignatius.
As all tours do, it gave the players time to focus on skills and strategies as well as develop closer team bonds.
Red Mountain Wins Arizona
Red Mountain defeated Ahwatukee to win the Arizona state HS championship for the 6th year in a row.
Red Mountain's U16 team also won the state U16 title, for the 3rd year in a row.
"We started off a little slow, but that is expected after not having a match the last three weeks," said Red Mountain Head Coach Jared Baker. "As a whole, the boys played basic, simple, clean rugby."
Ahwatukee has a lot of pace, but Red Mountain did not let them find any space and it was the Red Mountain defense that was most impressive.
"All the boys played well with every player making an impact," said Baker.
Captain Stephen Schultz was very strong, playing at a high pace and laying in some hard hits. He scored two tries and converted six.
South All-Stars Latest - Camp Upcoming
The USA Rugby South select side program is looking ahead to a crucial selection camp and also the RAN Championships in July.
Th South Panthers program will combined with Eagle Impact Rugby Academy to have a combined camp in Chattanooga, Tenn. Sunday, April 30.
EIRA Coach Brendan Keane will run a skills session from 10am to 1pm.
See more here: https://media.wix.com/ugd/8a98bc_0bef84a4b4b94e0eb7a21fff8f26ba0f.pdf
Cost is $50, with a $25 for USA South players who pre-register for the South tryout.
From 2pm to 5:30pm the South coaches will run combine sessions and skill development/assessment drills.
The camp will be at Montague Park; 1175 East 23rd St.; Chattanooga, TN 37408
For more on the USA South program contact:
Genesis, United Tie 12-12
In a game that felt like a must-win for both teams, neither team accomplished what they came to do as Genesis and United played to a 12-12 tie.
Genesis is the 13th-ranked HS club (ranked by Goff Rugby Report), and United is ranked #16.
United got on the board early in the first half. After poaching a ball from a ruck and working it down the field using both their forwards and backs, they were able to punch one in with some bruising forwards. The conversion kick was no good and the game stayed at 5-0 going into halftime.
Genesis came out the second half looking revitalized and within the first 10 minutes, junior scrumhalf Tai Kauwe was able to find some daylight in the defense and took the ball in for the score right under the posts. The conversion was good which put Genesis on top 7-5.
Herriman Handles Westlake
Herriman built a 40-point halftime lead and cruised to a 55-24 win over Westlake in Utah Youth Rugby league action Saturday.
With stranger than usual spring weather, consistent games have been tough to come by at times, and the Mustangs were happy to get back out on the playing field - for their first home contest of the year, no less.
The hosts were able to go on the attack immediately as lock Drew McDaniel caught Maea Leakehe's beautiful opening kickoff in stride and advanced in to the heart of Westlake territory. A penalty saw No. 8 Zak Barker with a strong run on the quick tap, followed by a nice skip pass from the breakdown to center Juney Leakehe, who powered over for the try less than two minutes into the contest. High winds would challenge the kickers all day, and the conversion would pull wide.
Jesuit NOLA Takes Louisiana Final in OT
Jesuit of New Orleans took the Rugby Louisiana state title with a dramatic overtime decision.
The Bayou Hurricanes finished 1st and Jesuit 2nd in the regular season, with the Hurricanes defeating Jesuit 29-23 in their league meeting April 1. Both teams went on to win their semifinal games to set up the rematch in the final. And this time, it was Jesuit on the winning end, kicking a penalty in overtime to win 25-22.
Aquinas Florida Downs Okapi for State Title
In a result that was something of a surprise, given previous meetings between the two teams, St. Thomas Aquinas of Florida beat the Okapi Wanderers 27-18 to win the Florida Youth Rugby Boys HS state championship Saturday.
STA got a massive game from loose forward Chase Schor Haskin, who has put in a series of impressive performances through the playoffs. Haskin was named the game MVP.
Gonzaga over Fort Hunt in Jesuit Classic
Gonzaga HS defeated Fort Hunt 10-3 to win a somewhat rain-soaked Jesuit Classic Sunday.
With rain limiting some of the games, not all of the brackets were played to a conclusion, however the cup bracket was.
Gonzaga and Loudoun/Prince William had also entered 2nd sides in the varsity bracket in the tournament, and those two teams did not play on Sunday to ensure other varsity teams could play. Several of the JV and freshman games on Sunday were not played, however Raleigh went on to win both of those brackets.
In the Varsity Bracket, 16 teams played on Saturday in a knockout/consolation format.
Rugby Indiana Latest - Penn Wins Big
Penn HS put in a big score Saturday in the Indiana Boys HS Super League, beating Hamilton SE 97-5.
Strength in th scrums allowed Penn to launch their back row attack. That, coupled with being able to steal four scrum put-ins, gave Penn a nice attacking platform.
Head Coach Bart Bottorff said he was pleased to see his team move the ball unselfishly.
"The timing of passes before and out of contact into a gap was fantastic," said Bottorff.
Eleven players combined for 17 tries for Penn.
Senior No. 8 and captain William Vakalahi scored four tries while junior Moa Alovili can off the bench at halftime at prop and scored three.
Quins Colts Wrap Up Late Season Surge
The Dallas Harlequins Colts proved wrapped a nice bow on their conference title in the Rugby Texas North with a 51-26 defat of the Allen Eagles.
The victory meant the Colts finished 7-3, and dropped Allen to 6-3-1 for the season.
St. Ignatius 22 Royal Irish 21
St. Ignatius of Cleveland edged Royal Irish of Indianapolis 22-21 Saturday in a game between the #1 single-school team and the #2 HS club team.
It was a game where Royal Irish spent large periods in control of the run of play, but failed to get the tries they needed at the crucial moments.
The two teams battled each other in the early going, but Royal Irish took a lead 15 minutes in with a penalty goal from scrumhalf Jake Christmann. St. Ignatius replied when fullback Alex Chura fielded a kick at midfield and countered toward the right-hand corner. He made it and Ignatius led 5-3. Royal Irish came right back to put on some pressure and, with another Christmann penalty goal, led 6-5. Right before halftime, one more penalty from the Royal Irish scrumhalf made it 9-5.
But for some soft defense on that counter, Royal Irish might have been in control.
Jesuit Final Stop for Sydney Tourists
Saint Ignatius College Riverview, one of the top rugby schools in Sydney, made their final stop of a ten-day tour in Sacramento to take on Jesuit High School.
Coming off big wins over top single schools on the East Coast the boys from Riverview were able to spend a couple of days with the host families from Jesuit before facing off in a much anticipated match on the Jesuit campus. It was the first time the Australians would be able to play on a grass field and they were ready to run.
Highland Defeats Olympus
Highland HS moved to 8-0 with a nicely-taken result of Olympus Friday.
After playing some games where they won comfortably, Highland had a chance to build on their earlier win over well-regarded Herriman, and did so, dispatching Olympus 44-10.
Lock forward Tevita Noa, and flankers Ismael Vaifoou and Lilo Clark were very strong on the day. Clark is also the team captain.
Fullback Ben Berg played well defensively, but the key to the win, said Head Coach Dan Berg, was the forward pack playing a fast and aggressive game.
Next up for Highland is East HS, which lost a close one, 19-17, to Genesis earlier in the season, and is slated to play Herriman this weekend.
Boys HS Games April 19-23
It's a busy weekend in high school rugby, so remember to check back for scores.
Among the events to watch out for - the Jesuit Classic is full of excellent HS teams. We preview here.
The Louisiana and Florida state finals are kicking off this weekend, while the top single-school team plays the #2 HS club team (St. Ignatius v Royal Irish).
