BC High Wins in MIAA Opener
The Massachusetts IAA league kicked off this weekend with a clash between the two divisional winners in 2024.
BC High, which won D1 last season, took on Weymouth, which won D2. Weymouth has moved up to D2 but always knew that would be a challenge.
BC High took this game 57-14.
"Again, our defense stood solid, really not allowing Weymouth to get going at all," said BC High Head Coach Paul Carty, whose team won the Fairfield NE Jesuit tournament last week thanks to their strong D. Eagles scrumhalf Braxton Blind controlled the attack smartly, repeatedly finding players with a gap, and when the space was near him, he was able to exploit that, as well.
Forwards Wyatt Averett and Mike White controlled the breakdown, while backs Charlie Thomison, and Owen Hurley finished their chances.
April Brings More into HS Rugby Action
We're seeing a few leagues wake from their hibernation now that April is upon us, and that's great news.
A few top teams are back from touring and others are on a trip.
We want to focus on a couple of teams in the middle of the country.
The first is Wichita. The Kansas team was playing in Oklahoma but has switched to Kansas (the travel times for both states are similar) looking for more consistent competition. It has already worked out. Their A-side beat the Kansas City Jr. Blues 15-14 last week, with their JVs winning the same fixture also by a point, 22-21.
Does this mean Wichita has arrived? Not quite, said Head Coach Paul Enegren.
"We got started early," Enegren said. "What that means was we got a few late arrivals from wrestling and other sports. But that also allowed some other players to get time."
NorCal Single-School All-League Selections Confirmed
Northern California single-school league has named it's all-league selections.
The league, which runs through the first half of the NorCal winter/spring season, has expanded significantly over the last couple of years. Two teams joined the league this year, although they played an at-large schedule—the teams were Acalanes HS and Dublin HS. That makes it 12 school teams in Northern California right now, and word is that more are coming.
The problem isn't recruiting boys to play, it's finding the coaches who can commit the time.
St. Francis won the top division, beating De La Salle in the final, while Bishop O'Dowd beat Serra in the Open division. St. Francis went on to beat Torrey Pines in the all-California final.
Irish Rugby Tour Sets St. Thomas Aquinas Up for Success
St. Thomas Aquinas has returned from their tour of Ireland ready to launch into a run for the second half of the season.
"It was a good tour, good, hard competition," said Head Coach Tim Kluempers. "We got a good run with the boys, got some confidence playing, and it was beautiful weather every day. the funny thing was the guys wanted some mud, they wanted to play in the mud, and we got a muddy day the last year."
Add to that coaching sessions and a good variety of experiences.
"The backs and the forwards were all a new combination this year, so this was a great opportunity to just get better," said Kluempers. "You see that lightbulb go on and you realize maybe you're doing something right!"
Iowa HS Season Kicks Off With Close Games for leaders
Iowas HS 7s league kicked off last weekend with nine teams in two divisions going 2-0.
As has happened in the league for many years now, teams play just two 7s games in an evening and are tracked in a league format. The format centers around school teams and there are 38 teams in action, including the JV squads, and 26 varsity teams playing.
In 1A, Columbus Catholic, Denver HS, Norwalk HS, and Bondurant-Farrar all swept their two games. Bondurant was the most dominant, led by Sam Pruismann’s three tries over the two games. Norwalk preserved their 2-0 record with a squeaker, falling behind 12-0 and then getting a penalty try followed by a try from Matthew Handley, converted by Keegan Johnson, to win 14-12.
Columbus Catholic won two games decided by just a try, with Spencer Schaefer, Bokmij Bokmij, and Sean Monaghan all scoring two tries on the day.
HS Boys Club Top 50 2025: Week 11
We had to make a large number of changes in the HS Club Top 50.
The Friendship Cup had an impact, but we also just felt we had to revisit some teams and, as leagues really start to take on the season.
KC Jr. Blues lost by a single point to Wichita. This is a good win for Wichita and an indication that they should be ranked and should be ranked relatively high. The Blues dropped ... maybe too far, we'll see. There are more games to come.
What the Friendship Cup Told Us
So what did we learn at the Friendship Cup?
First, a caveat—we at GRR don't look down on rugby teams just trying to get a team on the field, a team that might be losing a lot of games. We see you, we respect you, we always honor the fact that you wish to take the field. So when we talk about high-level teams, it's not because we don't celebrate all rugby teams, it's just that high-level teams have needs, too. No one wants to lose 110-0, but no one wants to win by that score, either.
With that in mind ...
1. Target great teams and make it possible for great teams to play, and they will come. The fact that there were only seven teams in this event was a good thing (other than seven is a terrible number for a tournament). Keep the tournament tight and ensure the games will be competitive.
HS Boys School Top 50 Week 12
As we told you, St. Francis's days at #1 were numbered because they don't play anymore—their season ended at the beginning of March.
Still, their record is their record and they will hang around.
St. Ignatius went 5-1 in their six games (using three sides of varsity-level players) in Spain. They were very good against opposition that was solid, but maybe not super-challenging. (Their 19-12 win over Real Ciencias was probably their best, if their closes, win.) April 12 against Xavier in Pennsylvania remains the big decide, especially after Herriman lost to LCA.
there is a massive backup at #6 to #17 or so ... most of these teams are pretty much the same level But we do expect. Gonzaga has a shot to put some rough results behind them at their own tournament in April 12.
La Salette Impresses Against Ranked Opponents
Notre Dame de la Salette made a bit of a statement this weekend with two well-taken wins over St. Edward and St. Martin's.
St. Edward from Cleveland and St. Martin's Kingfishers from Kansas converged on La Salette's campus in Illinois for a weekend of games. St. Martin's beat St. Edward 36-24 while NDDLS beat both by similar scores: 45-5 over St. Edward, and 43-13 over St. Martin's.
On Friday night in the first matchup, wind, which was to be a theme the whole weekend, was gusting up to 40 mph. La Salette, however, was unfazed playing into the wind, racing out to a 26-0 lead at halftime. The second half continued is similar fashion. Playing against the wind, and struggling to keep pace with La Salette’s outside attack and especially their ability to offload out of contact, St Edward was unable to close the gap.
Xavier Handles Conditions, Cardinals
“I think Adaptability was the name of the game today,” said Xavier senior scrumhalf William Scariano. “We came in and we didn't expect the weather conditions to be what they were.”
Xavier vs Greenwich HS kicked off just the temperature dropped 40 degrees and howling winds whipped up. This created creating a 23-minute stalemate in the first half as both teams struggled with the wind.
“They had us,” said senior fullback Edward Marquz-Miles. “They played a strong first half. They might not have gotten a try in the first 20 minutes, but they kept pushing, and that was good rugby.”
BC High Defense Leads the Way in NE Jesuit Tourney
Boston College HS won the Northeast Jesuit Tournament in emphatic fashion Sunday, beating hosts Fairfield Prep 34-0 in the final match.
BC High fields two teams in the nine-team tournament. Their 2nd side didn't get a win but competed well. The 1st side was impressive, beating McQuaid Jesuit and Fairfield Pegasi in pool play by a combined score 114-7.
On Sunday they beat Trumbull HS out of Connecticut 26-12.
"Trumbull provided a stern test, with their big strong ballcarriers and their defensive pressure at the breakdown," said BC High Head Coach Paul Carty. "We struggled to get out of our own way at times, giving away penalties—often at the breakdown.
BC High took a 15-5 lead into halftime. Then captain Mikey Smith scored two tries to seal the win.
Meanwhile, Fairfield Prep won 26-12 over Fordham Prep to make the final.
Key Win for LCA in Utah
Two of the top teams in Utah met up this past weekend with LCA beating Herriman 31-22.
Herriman came in a bit beat up, with a few injuries. They also were without their two captains, one with injury and one (Ryker Syddall) with at the Rosslyn Park School Sevens in the UK with the Rebel Rugby Academy.
Still Herriman battled well and were smart and disciplined, but LCA was the better team.
Solid Showing for Rebel Rugby at Rosslyn Park School Sevens
It was a good showing for the Rebel Rugby Academy at the Rosslyn Park 7s over the weekend.
Rebel took a roster of 28 players to England, with everyone eligible for the top side. The squad underwent five trainings and then picked the team for the Boys U18 Cup, and the squad for the Boys U18 Vase.
Here’s how they did.
In the Boys Cup, Rebel was in Pool F with Ipswich School, St. Benedict’s, Radley College, and Gosforth Academy. They could hardly have done better, beating St. Benedict’s 32-7, Gosfroth 35-12, and Radley 28-19. Their only loss was a close loss to pool winners Ipswich—score 19-15.
The pool winners were then tracked into the Cup groups. Coming second in their pool, Rebel went into the Place Pool.
In Plate Pool B Rebel bear Warwick School 29-21 but lost to Epsom College 26-0 and Hampton School 12-7.
SOC Raptors Join Mustangs Atop SoCal
SOC Raptors moved into a tie with the San Diego Mustangs atop the SoCal HS Club league after beating Thunder 33-13 Saturday.
The first half between the two teams was very tight, with Thunder keeping the Raptors pinned in their end. Thunder kicked a penalty goal, but as the half progressed, Raptors gained territory, and after some very strong, hard running, Nolan Abayeta scored.
Fullback Jesse Torres converted. Abayeta and Torres were both very effective through the game.
The 7-3 lead lasted to halftime, but Thunder scored another penalty to make it 7-6 right after the break. The Raptors responded by exerting defensive pressure.
Rounding Up HS Rugby Statements
Who is leading their conferences or making statements in boys HS rugby this weekend? Let's take a look.
Northeast
Rye out of New York beat Staples out of Connecticut 51-7.
This was Rye's first home game of the season and they came out firing, getting over the line three times in the first 15 minutes.
Rye co-captains Archer Fenton and Owen Saya were outstanding leaders and Fenton earned player-of-the-game honors. Fenton had been out sick but returned to the field to score three tries in the first half alone. Wing Sam Surak scored two tries of his own while hooker Jack Anderson had another physical performance on both sides of the ball.
Offense was working for Rye but defense was probably what they were most pleased about.
Staples is powerful and physical and Rye held them out until late in the game.
