Xavier Holds Off Tenacious Staples in Tri-State Matchup
“They were a physical team,” said Xavier senior lock Hanoi Nelson describing Staples High School after a match played in slippery conditions at Aviator Field in Brooklyn. “They ran at us hard, wouldn’t go down easy, and they tested our grit.”
Although the Knights scored a 39-12 victory over the Connecticut state champs and perennial rugby powerhouse, there was nothing but admiration for the Staples Wreckers who brought the Knights their biggest physical challenge of the season.
“We knew they were a big team ... and they certainly were,” said Xavier head coach Greg Norris. “And we also knew with their size and level of coaching that we needed to treat them with respect.”
Brother Martin Pulls Away from St. Paul in Louisiana
Brother Martin and St Paul moved its game form Saturday afternoon to Friday night to avoid the severe weather forecast for Saturday, and in the end Brother Martin rode a stormy second half to the win.
The game kicked off under the lights at St Paul’s stadium.
St Paul started fast with a try within three minutes, finding gaps in the Brother Martin backline to go ahead 5-0. Brother Martin came charging back as senior loose forward Nate Malek broke a few tackles and then offloaded to lock Blake Cardova for the score. Cameron Coughlin made the conversion and Brother Martin took the lead, 7-5.
Br Martin was awarded a penalty in front of the St Paul posts and Coughlin hit the penalty kick to make it 10-5. But St. Paul wouldn't go away and a converted try put them ahead 12-10.
Jacksonville, Key Biscayne Stand Strong in Florida
Key Biscayne remains atop the Florida HS league with a 5-0 after a close-run win over Wellington.
The Rates did use the game to some players and Wellington did put in a good performance, as well, but KB Head Coach Javier Casserly said his team played well in the 1st half, and poorly in the second. All of that, in the end, is neither here nor there; Key Biscayne is 5-0 and, with that added experience for some players, nicely-placed to keep winning.
They will face a bit of a challenge April 12 against Jacksonville. The Wolverines shut out Boca 42-0 over the weekend to move to 3-1, tied with Okapi White, who lost to Key Biscayne by a try 33-26 on February 8. Okapi White then beat Jacksonville by six 25-19 two weeks later.
HS Boys Club Top 50 2025: Week 9
Massive changes hit the HS Club Top 50, and that's partly due to results and partly do to us making mistakes.
... Or at least overlooking stuff.
We got a bit of, shall we say, feedback, on Granite Bay's win over Marin. We had understood this game to be maybe not a full A-side match but here at Goff Rugby Report World Headquarters we reminded ourselves that worrying too much about that stuff can just lead to madness. As it is, Granite Bay logged a very nice win over Jesuit the following week, and SFGG won a close result over Marin so all of that stuff prompted a major NorCal shift.
Next Phase Rugby and Eagle Impact Rugby Academy Form Partnership
(Press Release)—Next Phase Rugby and Eagle Impact Rugby Academy have joined forces to assist the thousands of EIRA student-athletes in pursuing higher education while playing top-level collegiate rugby.
Through this partnership, EIRA will promote Next Phase Rugby’s recruiting platform to its players, providing them with the tools and resources to connect with college rugby programs and take the next step in their athletic and academic careers.
Rye Logs Impressive Win in New Orleans
Rye HS out of New York logged an impressive road win over the weekend, defeating Jesuit New Orleans 40-17 on a March trip.
The two teams actually played three matches—A side, B side, and freshmen.
""Incredible hospitality from Coach Adam Massey and the Jesuit New Orleans families," said Rye Head Coach James O'Hara. "Top notch."
Rye sophomore Jagger Fenton was named Man of the Match at the post-game ceremony for his strong kicking game both from hand and from the tee. Jagger scored 20 of Rye's 40 points, notching a try, three conversions, and three penalty goals.
Jagger's older brother, Archer, shone at fullback and also scored a try.
HS Boys School Top 50 Week 10
An interesting phenomenon showed itself this week.
Usually, when we're asked the question as to whether the HS Clubs or Single-School teams are stronger, our answer is this: at the top, they are fairly close, but the club top list is probably a bit longer, the medium-ranked school list is a bit longer, but then there's a sharp drop.
This year, however, it looks like those school teams ranked 35-60 or so (and, yes, we keep a list of teams that aren't in the rankings yet), are stronger than they have been in recent years. This is because, in part, the COVID freshmen have now graduated, and what COVID did to sports participation, especially rugby, is starting to fade into history. Now the players were middle-schoolers when COVID hit and not being able to play sports stuck with them ... they resolved not to waste that chance in high school.
Granite Bay Wins Close One in NorCal
Northern California’s Premier league is now underway and Granite Bay put up an impressive marker with a 29-22 victory over Jesuit of Sacramento.
Senior Carter Keller was outstanding for Granite Bay. The openside flanker showcased a high work rate and was, said Head Coach Chris Miller, “a tackling machine.”
Co-Captain Abe Antrobus played both flyhalf and fullback and was effective, especially with his goalkicking. Meanwhile Deacon Ogden led the attack at scrumhalf.
It was a tough battle for both teams. Jesuit took a 17-7 lead into halftime led by captain and flyhalf Jack Patock, who has been enjoying some excellent form.
Charlotte Cardinals Impressive in Win over Gonzaga
The two defending champions from Boys HS National Championships met Saturday with the 2024 HS Club top dogs, the Charlotte Cardinals, defeating Gonzaga 45-10.
Gonzaga came into the game working on some combinations and perhaps in something of a reloading phase after their impressive championship repeat last year. The Eagles came into the game 3-1, having lost to Gregory the Great but having beaten three other ranked teams, St. Joseph's Prep, Vienna, and Fort Hunt.
The Cardinals came into the game 3-0 in three shortened games at the Carolina Ruggerfest, but it's worth remembering that their players had been plying a full single-school slate before moving to North Carolina's club season. So as a group of players, they had enjoyed more training time and game time, and that manifested itself into a solid win.
Comeback for Berks as they Overhaul Aspetuck
Berks County Rugby secured a thrilling comeback victory over Aspetuck to also win a Boys HS National Championship play-in Saturday in an intense match at Kutztown University's Andre Reed Stadium.
The game opened with an early try from Berks' powerhouse No. 8 Josiah Boyer, capitalizing on a turnover to take a 5-0 lead. Aspetuck responded with a converted try to go ahead 7-5, but Boyer struck again, showcasing his size and power to regain the lead for Berks.
However, Aspetuck quickly answered with another converted try, carrying a 14-10 advantage into halftime.
Aspetuck extended their lead early in the second half with yet another converted try, making it 21-10. The next 15 minutes saw both sides locked in a defensive battle until Berks’ first-year prop, Jerry McArdle, powered through for a stunning 40-meter try, narrowing the deficit to 21-15.
St. Ignatius Defeats St. Edward on Rivalry Day
St. Ignatius defeated St. Edward and the wind Saturday to take the first leg of the Cavoli Cup.
The Cavoli Cup is the new challenge trophy between the two Cleveland rivals, with games from Freshmen to Varsity all counting towards the trophy.
Saturday was the inaugural games on St. Edward's new turf surface, which has been laid down the day before, with color-specific lines for multiple sports, including rugby. St. Ignatius won the Freshmen, Varsity B, and Varsity A games on the day. The Varsity A game pregame ceremony included the unveiling of the Cup plus friends and family of beloved teacher and mentor Dan Cavoli (who taught at both schools and died last year).
Three From Jones Sees Christian Brothers Past Fairfield Prep
Christian Brothers out of New Jersey edged Fairfield Prep 33-32 Friday evening in an exciting cross-border clash.
"It seems ridiculous to say in a high-scoring game, but defense won us the game," said Christian Brothers Head Coach Pat Moroney.
It was a good, physical game in which CBA was solid at the breakdown while Fairfield was powerful in contact. The lead changed hands four times in this match.
"Tough day for the Jesuits in New Jersey," said Fairfield Prep Head Coach Kevin Kerry. "A CBA team that is excellent at the breakdown and did a wonderful job taking advantage of Fairfield Prep mistakes."
Fairfield Prep got two tries from Harry Crawford and also tries from Alex Iadarola, Cole Westerlund, Henry Tymniak, and Anthony Dorsi. But they slotted just the one conversion.
A Concept that Deserves to be Spread Everywhere
This concept deserves a closer look.
The Cavoli Cup is a new recognition of the rivalry between St. Ignatius and St. Edward in Cleveland. This is a massive sports rivalry in any sport, and in rugby it's usually a sold-out game. But the Cavoli Cup is not just a challenge cup between the two varsity teams, but one that incorporates the games at other levels — JV and Freshmen.
The Cavoli Cup is named after Dan Cavoli, who attended Ignatius and taught there for about 10 years before moving to St. Edward where he taught for close to 30 years. Dan Cavoli was not an athlete or a coach, he was a teacher, who taught Latin and was deeply intellectual—he was valedictorian at St. Ignatius and, later, Holy Cross. There's a term in the teaching of especially intellectually gifted people and it is "Rage to Master" and certainly it seemed like Mr. Cavoli had that rage.
A Special Cup, Leagues Start, Nationals Play-Ins
It's a very active weekend this week.
First off we have a meeting of last year's HS National Championship teams, Gonzaga (Single-School) and Charlotte Cardinals (HS Club). Gonzaga has dropped a bit in GRR's rankings because they lost (wait for it ...) one game! Oh no! The Eagles are, we think, movin' on up and will improve on the things they need to. Charlotte Cardinals have been working together for a couple of weeks after their opening in the Carolina Ruggerfest.
This isn't a peak-of-the-season game, but it should be pretty great.
HS Gamebreakers for the Last 30 Days
We're back with our Gamebreakers, looking at top HS performers around the country.
Since we haven't done this for a while we go back a few weeks for some of these.
Gianny Jeudy, Xavier HS NY
The Xavier lock set the physical tone in his teams win over Gregory the Great. He led the defensive effort in a win over St Edward.
Mone Pifeleti and Kingston Keanaaina
Superb performances by these two leaders led St. Francis to a NorCal Single-School and All-California Single-School championship.
La’aufausia Maka, Rainier Highlanders
The Highlanders' hooker was impressive throughout the game and scored a clutch try in what was ultimately a losing effort vs Eastside.
Will Kelly, Fairfield Prep
Kelly scored a try right at the end of the game to put Fairfield Prep over Aspetuck.
