Phoenix Alpharetta Opens Season with a Win
Phoenix Alpharetta opened their 2023 season with a new Head Coach and a victory.
New to Alpharetta Phoenix this season is Head Coach Erik Saxon, who made a non-rugby-related move from Charlotte to Atlanta last Summer. He joined an already stellar coaching staff and fine small core group of returning players along with a crop of players brand new to rugby.
The new-look season kicked off against Greer out of South Carolina.
Top HS Clubs Tie in NorCal
The big clash in Northern California Boys HS rugby saw nothing settled.
Longtime rivals Danville and Granite Bay played to a 26-26 tie Saturday.
Photos by David Barpal
It was a well-attended game with plenty of physicality. Granite Bay expected to win this game and came away disappointed.
"Danville took it to us and minimized their mistakes," said Granite Bay Head Coach Chris Miller. His Grizzlies, on the other hand, didn't bring the right level of energy against a tough opponent.
HS Fixture List Growing
St. Thomas Aquinas, which had such a great run last season, is back on the field and that's a good thing.
They take on St. James in what is becoming a slightly stronger league around Kansas City. Oklahoma's Bixby comes to town, too.
We have a championship game in the North Carolina with upstarts Marvin Ridge against more established Hough. Overall these two teams are 14-0 with points for and against of 509-92, which seems pretty good. Few have come close to stopping Hough's attack.
Heating Up in NorCal
A quick nod to the growing group of single-school HS teams helps the Northern California season heat up, but there's more going on, too.
Coming off a bit of a jamboree of games at Jesuit Sacramento, several of the school teams are pitted against each other looking toward an early-season single-school cup before the rest of the season is capped off.
The event at Jesuit was a big success. De La Salle and Jesuit brought over 70 players while Bishop O'Dowd and newer team St Francis showed solid depth, too.
Every team got two games shortened games with good referees and the Jesuit parents fed all the players.
First Gamebreakers of the Winter
We are back with the Gamebreakers in Boys HS Rugby.
Here's a look at some of the players who made an impact in the last few weeks.
Kai Caulfield, Torrey Pines
The Torrey Pines hooker played a strong game and scored a the try that gave his side a lead over San Clemente that they would not relinquish.
JJ Ah Hoy, Hough Huskies
The Hough freshman has been a non-stop worker in the Huskies forward pack as they surged to a big win over Laney to make the North Carolina single-school final.
Broc Weaver, Cardinal Gibbons
Weaver returned to the Gibbons lineup to help his side rebound from an opening weekend weekend loss and beat Tampa.
Jackson Wilson, South Meck
Wilson scored a try and set up another in a close loss to Marvin Ridge in the North Carolina single-school semifinal.
GRR HS Club Rankings Week 4
We have a new #1 and a new #2 and, yes, part of that has to do with the fact that those teams are playing.
Could we see the Southern California HS clubs claw back up to the top? Sure we could. They will sort themselves out as their school-team league ends and the club league begins.
Same goes for the North Carolina clubs.
Right now is the Texas-NorCal-Florida time, and for Florida their relative isolation makes it tough to get them up to the Top 10. If, as we sometimes see, a Florida team goes to the Charlotte Ruggerfest in a few weeks, we will get a chance to compare.
Anyway, this week Granite Bay put in a very good performance, and will play Danville this coming week, which will influence both teams' rankings.
Torrey Pines Downs San Clemente
Torrey Pines won a fierce clash with their main SoCal Single-School rivals San Clemente over the weekend.
San Clemente led early as they answered a Jonty Lee try for Torrey Pines with two unconverted scores, punish Torrey penalties.
Torrey Pines tied the game with a penalty just at the stroke of halftime, and then started to build a lead.
Registrations Up in Youth and High School Rugby
Player registration in youth and high school rugby is ahead of where it was a year ago, according to US Youth & High School Rugby.
Registration numbers for specific states: Texas, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee, have already exceeded the number of players registered for the entirety of the 2022 spring season.
Several other regions, such as North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Southern California, and Northern California, are ahead of where they were at the same time last year.
Hough, Marvin On to NC Single-School Final
Hough Rugby and Marvin Ridge will face off in the final in North Carolina's single-school next week after both won semifinals this weekend.
Hough exploded for a convincing 45-5 victory over Laney HS. Under Head Coach Bruce Colson, who handles the set piece and forwards, and Coach Mathieu Lesgourgues, who has added some French flair to their attack, Hough found their rhythm.
The Hough forwards handled themselves well against a much larger Laney pack but using their speed, fitness, and tackling technique to win the contact point. All of that combined to execute in the scrums and lineouts, and as a result the Hough backs were able to attack constantly.
Laney needed to dominate physically but they couldn't quite get there.
Fallbrook Edges St. Augustine to Earn Spot in SCIRF Final
Fallbrook edged St. Augustine 14-13 in the SCIRF league, clinching, just barely, a place in the league final against Cathedral Catholic.
"A very intense game," said Fallbrook Head Coach Sierra Arteaga, who was on the last Fallbrook team to make a major regional final. "It was great to be a part of it."
Fallbrook's defense has been impressive all season and they held the Saints scoreless until late in the first half. They scored a try to lead 7-0 and then coneded a penalty just befoee the break for a 7-3 halftime scoreline.
Another try from Fallbrook put them ahead 14-3 with time winding down.
Strong Early Showing by Granite Bay
Granite Bay is picking up where they left off, as the defending national HS Club champions won comfortably over a tough Wolverines team 60-10.
Even emptying the bench does little to easy to pressure form the Grizzlies as Granite Bay is experiences and deep.
"We only had six seniors last year," noted Granite Bay Head Coach Chris Miller, adding that the GB JV side won NorCal's JV championship over Danville and those players are champing at the bit to show what they can do on the Varsity squad.
In addition, 2022 starting flyhalf Jared Quenga, who broke his leg while on tour midseason last year and missed nationals, is back healthy. Returning to rugby also is Spencer Patton, who played for Miller in middle school before taking a break from the sport. He is an impressive athlete.
Jesuit New Orleans Beats Tourists
Missouri-based tourists Park Hill United were defeated by Jesuit New Orleans in United's second game of their trip to Louisiana.
Brother Martin Wins in Tense Comeback Over Tourists Park Hill
Anderson Happel played his first game for Jesuit and scored two tries from the wing. Meanwhile the halfback combo of Matt Cashio and Andrew Newell worked very smartly together and kept turning the field around with their precise box kicks (from Cashio) and crossfield kicks (from Newell).
Woodlands Downs Touring Rainier Highlanders
Woodlands beat the touring Rainier Highlanders out of Washington state 61-0 Friday night.
The Texas hosts had to work for it and were quick to take the points option on penalties. An early penalty was put over by Woodlands flyhalf Devon Smith for a 3-0 lead, and Smith would add two more in the first half.
Woodlands punched one over through lock Sky Feletoa, and then outside backs Trace Biltz and Nicholas Beagle found some space. With Smith converting first two tries before adding two penalties, Woodlands led 28-0 going into the break. Right on the stroke of halftime center Tommy Kratt's try and Smith's conversion put the Texans in control 35-0.
Brother Martin Wins in Tense Comeback Over Tourists Park Hill
Brother Martin logged their first victory of the season with a comeback win over touring Park Hill United out of Missouri Thursday night.
Torrential rain the night before left Farnet Field in City Park in New Orleans a swampy mess for the two teams. The Kansas City-based Park Hill seemed to handle the wet conditions and ran out to a 19-0 lead before Brother Martin mounted their comeback.
Playoffs, Almost Playoffs, Major Games in HS Action This Weekend
We have some early playoff-important games in some of the earlier leagues.
North Carolina Looks to Single-School League Semis
Fallbrook vs St. Augustine Decides Who makes SCIRF Final
We also have some early-season tours. The Rainier Highlanders, with a renewed commitment to play tough games despite not many resources, is making a trip to Texas to play Woodlands and Four Points (not St. Pius as previously stated). This is a superb challenge for all concerned and a nice crossover matchup.
Speaking of Texas, Strake Jesuit vs St. Thomas is a clash of two teams that are 2-0 in the single-school league.
