HS Boys School Top 50 Week 4
For the most part the results we saw among School teams this week were as expected.
Dallas Jesuit put in a very night result, while we weren't sure what to expect in GGA vs Vienna—that ended up being 7-3 for Greg's and we are sort of holding steady for them with that result. It's very early for the cold-weather teams.
NorCal School League Action and Oaks Win Close One
Northern California HS rugby just had its busiest weekend of the New Year, with the single-school competition kicking off its opening weekend.
There Was Club Action Too
Before we get to the schools, here's a look at one preseason club game. Danville came back to defeat Marin in a very close game. And to show how competitive both programs are, it's worth noting that the JV contest was 12-12. In the varsity game, Marin wing Tyler Weisberg's try was the only scoring of the first half, and in fact the Highlanders held onto that lead well into the second half. Danville started to piece things together in the final 20 minutes or so, and Christ Leibrandt's try, converted by Jared Randall, made it 7-5 Oaks.
Wild Finish for Cathedral-vs-Torrey Pines Game
The big game in Southern California saw the top SoCal Youth Rugby single school team against the leading SCIRF team in Cathedral Catholic.
These teams are both feeders for the San Diego Mustangs club, so it was a bit of a Mustangs cup. And in a very, very well-played game played in front of a robust and loud crowd, the teams played to a 28-28 tie.
The game was tight throughout and late in the game Torrey Pines spent a good portion of time bashing at the Cathedral line. Finally, after a tap penalty play, the Falcons were able to get it over and, with the conversion, tie the game. With time up, Torrey Pines had a penalty from about 30 meters and off to the left side of the field. The Falcons opted for a shot at goal but the kick was short.
Oceanside HS Edges Murrieta in SoCal
Oceanside HS won a meeting of two 2-0 teams in Southern California’s Multi-School league, beating Murrieta 36-31.
It was an exciting and tightly-contested game as top of the table was at stake. Oceanside’s strength was probably in the forwards. Thomas Reynoso, Zavier Leatherman, Jonah Tua, and Kingston Faatili all provided powerful carries and tested the Murrieta defense.
Freshman outside center Exodus Taele was dangerous out wide and scored.
This is something of a rivalry. Oceanside HS is basically the old Carlsbad HS team—these teams draw players mostly from one high school and strong support at Oceanside prompted the school rugby efforts in Carlsbad to gravitate there.
But really, whether it has been Carlsbad HS or Oceanside HS, their rivalry with Murrieta is heated.
Rugby Ohio Elections Are Done and the Results are Mixed
Rigby Ohio's new elections are completed and the results aren't decisive one way or the other.
For the agents of change who wanted to see a new Board, the election did not deliver a landslide.
For the incumbent group of Boardmembers, the election did not deliver a vote of confident.
Six spots on a new nine-member Board were up for election, with three spots from the previous Board up for re-election in August.
The group hoping to sweep in with a mandate to change things secures four of the of the six spots, short of the five or six that they wanted.
Texas, NorCal Feature in Busy HS Weekend
Well, well. Something like 45 games are on our Boys HS slate this week.
North Carolina's single-school league is coming to a culmination. This week we do have games that don't carry a lot of weight unless there's a big upset. But, yes, we might see an upset, but we also have a forfeit.
In SoCal they have a league that is sort of a school league but also played with teams that are not completely single-school. Called the "Multi-School" league, that competition has two undefeated teams in Murietta and Oceanside facing off this week.
HS Boys Club Top 50 2025: Week 2
We are woefully late in this week's HS Club rankings.
And it's funny because sometimes it's more difficult to rank teams when there've been a small number of results than it is with a lot of results.
We don't want to over-react to some results and that's kind of what we're doing with the Marin win over Elsie Allen. We do bump up Greer in part because, shortened games or not, they beat two opponents.
AYR Golden Eagles also moved up thanks to one result. We will have to keep a close eye on all of these teams.
Gamebreakers in Boys HS Rugby for Jan 24-26
Here's a look at some of the boys high school players who had a good weekend on the field.
This is just a sample, and we always welcome nominations each week. But these players impressed:
Lukas Lupinski, Charlotte Catholic
Lupinski led a massive forward effort that helps stymie a vaunted Hough defense in a 24-19 win.
Lucas Schiermeyer, Tempe
In Tempe's win over Eclipse, the Tempe center Schiermeyer was a constant danger on attack and also led the defense in the midfield.
Bobby Barrett, Strake Jesuit
Barrett plays second row for Strake and is their captain He anchored a strong forward effort in a win over Faith Family Academy.
HS Boys School Top 50 2025: Week 3
This early in the season it seems a bit unfair to drop teams that haven't even really started, but we have to.
We've dropped out three teams not because they did anything wrong, but because we have to make changes. Among those changes is another thing that happens every year—we team changes status. The last few years we've seen some single-school teams move to club status as they accept more and more players from outside their school. But Neuqua in Illinois has gone the other way. True, they haven't played a game yet and fans of Archbishop Moeller, for example, might feel hard-done-by, but remember, it's early days, and any team can play its way up or down.
Charlotte Catholic Over Hough Tuesday Night to Remain Undefeated
In a game rescheduled from late last week due to weather, Charlotte Catholic defeated Hough HS 24-19 Tuesday night.
This game was between the two undefeated school teams in North Carolina, and the result confirms Charlotte Catholic is the #1 seed when the semifinals come.
Charlotte Catholic used their rush defense to put Hough under pressure, and with that they also worked to control the breakdown.
"Our forwards were immense," said Head Coach Jason Zehmke.
Lukas Lupinski, Keane Teeter, and Finley Costello led the forward effort for Catholic. For Hough, No. 8 Kai Campbell scored all three tries—this was the first time in four years that the Hough forwards scored more than the backs.
One More Time: USAYHS Steps in to Run Rugby Ohio Election (Updated)
As GRR reported on Monday, there was serious dissatisfaction in how the new Rugby Ohio election was being managed.
See the details here: This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Rugby Ohio Latest
The upshot is that the entrenched Rugby Ohio Board has repeatedly sought to slow to stymie a new election process and those who want to create some change.
This resulted in eight teams being told they couldn't vote, one elector told he couldn't represent his team, and two Board candidates taken off the ballot.
This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Rugby Ohio Latest
Today is supposed to be the first day of voting for the new Rugby Ohio Board, but there is trouble in paradise as the balloting and nomination procedure has been brought into question.
“We’re not happy,” said Mark Weidner, who heads up the group that wanted open elections.
Here’s what they are not happy about:
1. No communication was sent to the broader Rugby Ohio membership about who was on the ballots and who could vote. This meant that a) if a club neglected to select an elector, no one would know; b) if there were discrepancies between who was supposed to be nominated and who is on the ballot, those could not be corrected; c) it seems strange that for a representative Board, the general membership wouldn’t be made aware of who the candidates were.
Still Time Remaining to Apply for Boys HS Nationals-Here's How
There is still time to apply for the Boys High School Rugby National Championships.
The application window closes February 1.
Cathedral Shows Well in Win Over LCC in SCIRF
Cathedral Catholic put down another marker in the SCIRF with an impressive 52-12 win over a very good La Costa Canyon side.
LCC came into the game 3-0 in the SCIRF, having beaten Patrick Henry, Saints, and Los Alamitos. Head Coach Michael Mukuru said that while the Dragons had started well, they knew Cathedral would be a challenge.
"We won D2 last year and we knew we could be competitive, but Cathedral has so many good players," he said.
The game itself did hinge in part on those really good players.
Head Coach Matt Hawkins said the score, 52-12, somewhat flattered the Dons.
"We had three tries that weren't really anything from our pattern or how we play," Hawkins told GRR. "It was more a one-off play where the guys saw an opportunity and took advantage of a situation."
Icy Weekend in HS Action
Snow and cold weather hit a few parts of the country not ued to it, so we had a few cancelations and postponements.
The Louisiana teams battled through some snow, although we did have one game moved to later because of the snow. Bless their hearts down there in the bayou but they don't really have the resources to handle a snowstorm.
East Jeff and Jesuit New Orleans won, but as we have said before, the big news is also how there are more teams in the league.
In Southern California, Orange Lutheran won big over St. John Bosco. San Clemente continues their solid form with a big win over La Jolla 47-19.
