Fort Hunt Shocks West End in Barnburner
The Fort Hunt Warriors, ranked #28 among HS clubs by Goff Rugby Report, upset #11 West End this weekend in a game that turned many heads in Rugby Virginia.
The game was a wild one, with 88 points scored in total. Fort Hunt prevailed 57-31 thanks in large part to an outstanding performance by their back row of Gabe Rudasill, Chadi Adballa, and Max Dacey.
Both Rudasill and Abdalla are relatively new to the team, but have shown a great understanding of running lines and how the game flows. Rudasill was an excellent ackler on the day for the Warriors, while Abdalla's running was very effective. Dacey is the captain and an experienced head at No. 8. Those three scored a total of five tries.
Fairfield Shocks Greenwich
In a result that was considered quite the shocker around the country, Fairfield Rugby Club defeated Greenwich HS (ranked #7 among single-school teams by Goff Rugby Report) 29-10.
The two teams battled to a close first-half scoreline, with Greenwich smartly recognizing some inexperience in the Fairfield deep three and chipping over the top to space for a try and adding a penalty goal, as well.
But some halftime positional adjustments, and some more advice during a delay for lightning allowed Fairfield to shore up that issue. And up front Fairfield controlled things. The forwards played a determined, physical game, and the Fairfield midfield ran well and defended doggedly.
Scrumhalf Eric Naposki kept the offense moving, but it was defense that really won the game for Fairfield.
Latest HS Boys Scores
Latest Boys HS rugby scores from March 30 through April 3 - check back as more scores are being added.
O'Dowd Caps Comeback in NorCal QFs
Bishop O’Dowd defeated Bullard 27-21 Friday night in the first of Northern California’s Boys DII quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal clash with De La Salle.
O’Dowd will be eager to avenge a 20-19 loss to De La Salle earlier in the season - a game lost on the final play of the game - but it looked as if they might not get to that rematch Saturday, as Bullard raced out to a commanding lead. Bullard scored a converted try 25 minutes in, and another just on the stroke of halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Bullard led 21-0 after another converted try, and the O’Dowd Dragons needed a little fire in their breath to change the momentum.
They found it. Just a minute after giving up that third try, O’Dowd found a little fire in the form of center Andrew Crudo, who raced in for a crucial try, converted by fullback Robert Crosby.
20 HS Teams at STL Ruggerfest
Twenty HS boys teams are in St. Louis this weekend for the HS Boys bracket of the St. Louis Ruggerfest.
Bixby, which has already upended Union in Oklahoma and is looking for a few more conquests, heads up a tough bracket that also includes the Kansas City Jr. Blues (those two will play in the opening round). The Little Rock Jr. Stormers, are always strong and are led by HS All American scrumhalf Ruben de Haas. Little Rock takes on Eureke out of Missouri. The Chiefs out of Illinois face Priory, and Germantown out of Tennessee plays St. Louis University High.
The teams that lose in the opening round can't win the tournament, but can finish as high as 3rd. The losing teams go into a consolation round. If they win that consolation round, they play the losers of the semifinals. In this way, everyone gets funneled through to a chance to play competitive games.
Four HS Teams Play at U. Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is hosting a meeting of four HS teams, two from Tennessee, and one each from Ohio and Indiana.
Defending Tennessee state champions South Doyle, 2015 runners-up Ravenwood, 2015 Rugby Ohio runners-up St Edward (who won the Midwest championship), and Indiana DI team Culver Academy all will bring two sides for the two-day meeting.
On Saturday South Doyle faces St. Edward at 11:15am, and Ravenwood faces Culver Academy. The B-sides play also, and Kentucky plays Louisville in a college matchup in the middle of it all.
On Sunday, St. Edward plays Ravenwood while South Doyle takes on Culver.
Colorado Springs Heating Up as Weather Warms
Everyone wants snow during the winter in Colorado, but it would be nice if the flakes would hold off once rugby season starts - but that hasn’t been the case so far this year.
The league has been slow to start, and fans were denied an early top-level clash between East HS and Regis Jesuit. But they did have games earlier this week, with Colorado Springs defeating Arapahoe, and PAC beating Chaparral.
“We were happy with the win,” said Colorado Springs Coach Otis McGregor. “The weather taxed the boys. We made a lot of mistakes and we have plenty of things to improve on. For four of our guys, this was their second game of rugby ever.”
Illinois Latest - Watch Out for Neuqua
Rugby Illinois is just barely underway and already there are indications of a possible changing of the guard.
Defending state champions Morton didn’t exactly slip up badly, but they did lose, 17-14 to Arlington. Perennial contenders Brother Rice also found themselves on the losing end in the new, tightened-up Division 1. Mt. Carmel sits 1-0 in the Catholic Conference, which features five Catholic schools in the Chicago area. Arlington sits 1-0 in the Suburban league, which is also made up of five teams.
And of those, perhaps the team to watch is Neuqua. Located in Naperville west of Chicago, Neuqua upend their season in a festival in Florida, then lost a competitive game to Notre Dame de la Salette 38-17, and finally this past weekend, shut out both Grandville (35-0) and West Ottawa (44-0) - two of the better sides in Michigan - in the Penn Invitational.
2016 Boys Single-School Rankings #8
Easter Weekend and snow in Colorado made things a little slow last week.
But we did ave some big movers in the GRR Boys Single-School rankings nevertheless. Greenwich beat the defending NIT Tier II and New Jersey champs Union, by the score of 101-0. You can't ignore that kind of performance. Greenwich moves up three spots, and could have moved up more except that St. Ignatius went to Texas and beat everybody (so far). St. Thomas Aquinas beat KC Jr. Blues 15-0, and that's an impressive result too. It moves STA up six spots.
At the lower end of the top 50, Neuqua out of Illinois moves in after some solid performances, including a competitive loss to Notre Dame de La Salette, and then two wins over two of the stronger teams in Michigan. And #42 Providence in North Carolina got slammed by Myers Park, and so they drop out and Myer Park comes in.
CK McClatchy Defeated Sierra in Key Matchup
CK McClatchy defeated Sierra Foothills 52-26 Wednesday night in a game that decide who was top dog in the Sacramento conference of Northern California’s DI HS league.
Both teams came into the game unbeaten. McClatchy was 4-0 in league play and also finished 2nd in the Fullerton International Tournament, behind Santa Monica. Sierra Foothills was also 4-0.
In the game itself, the teams were very close in the first half, with McClatchy leading 26-19 at the break. But in the second half, McClatchy’s speed in ball-handling and their counter-rucking ramped up, and Sierra was tested. The result was four tries to one and a 52-26 McClatchy win.
St. Ignatius Downs Westlake
St. Ignatius made it three wins in three in their Texas tour, defeating defending state champs Westlake 22-14 Wednesday night.
The game was close all the way through, and while it wasn't flashy, both teams had their moments. Westlake pressured early and were camped out in the St. Ignatius end for several minutes. The St. Ignatius defense held for a while, but Westlake spun it wide and scored in the corner. The conversion was good from the sideline and Westlake 7-0.
Playoff Picture to Clear Up in Florida
After spring breaks and Easter interrupted the Florida HS season, we're back in business and ready to finish everything up.
The top four teams will enter the Cup semifinals on April 16, with the next four playing for the Plate, and the bottom two for the Bowl.
Right now, it's highly unlikely that Tampa will not make the top four. The Krewe sits 6-1 with 24 points, and for them to be ousted from the top four, they havr to go 0-2 in their final two games, Key Biscayne, RBMA, and Orlando have to win twice, and - get this one - Jupiter needs to beat Naples on April 9 and tie Key Biscayne on April 2.
A win by either Key Biscayne or Jupiter will mean the other cannot bypass Tampa. That doesn't mean they can't make the playoffs - it just means Tampa fans don't want a tie.
Playoffs Beckon in Texas
So it’s all about who makes the playoffs at this point in Texas HS rugby.
Lake Travis won THE big game last week, defeating Rock Rugby 24-14 and almost guaranteeing that LT will be in the semis. But almost, isn’t the same as a sure thing. Lake Travis will still have to get by Four Points, Jesuit of Dallas, and Allen.
“Beating Rock was huge,” said Lake Travis Coach Rick Medina. “For us the goal was to play better rugby. We knew they had athletes as do we, and they work hard, like we do. So if we out-rugby them, we’ll win.”
EIRA Player of the Week - Andrew Baldado
St. Ignatius won their opening game of their Texas tour in large part thanks to some precise kicking and smart game management from flyhalf Andrew Baldado.
The senior flyhalf was singled out by several observers as a key performer for the Ohio state champions, and Head Coach Dan Arbeznik agrees.
“Andrew is a special talent in American rugby,” said Arbeznik, who moved Baldado from fullback to flyhalf this year. “He can see space and exploit it with his foot, athleticism, speed, ball handling skills, power, or quickness. Defensively he is quick over the ball and will rarely miss a tackle or assignment. He's a great leader from a great family.”
St. Ignatius Just Gets By Cy-Fair
St. Ignatius ran into a tough competitor Tuesday night in the second game of the Ohio team's four-game tour of Texas.
Running on a somewhat changed lineup from the one that defeated St. Thomas on Monday, Ignatius had to content with a Cy-Fair team that is steadily improving. Recent Goff Rugby Report Gamebreaker player Quinterlo Baker was again a factor for Cy-Fair, scoring two tries.
However, St. Ignatius, which led 10-3 at halftime, held Cy-Fair off 15-13.
St. Ignatius Coach Dan Arbeznik was impressed with Baker and Cy-Fair as a whole.
