HS Boys

Boys HS Games Feb 16-19

Now that's more like it - games everywhere as the Boys HS season builds.

Check back for scores, but also here are some games to watch:

There are the Southern California semis in Varsity Red and Varsity White. We preview all of that here: SoCal Playoffs!

The Rugby Texas league will get a bit of a sorting out - Rugby Texas Latest - with Lake Travis v Jesuit Dallas a game to watch. 

Northern California? Well there's the case of the #2 single-school playing the #1 HS club ... yeah, there's that. Danville v Jesuit Highlights NorCal Weekend

Danville v Jesuit Highlights NorCal Weekend

It's not often you get a #1 v a #2 HS game in February, but we have one this weekend.

Danville, the #1-ranked HS club in the country, takes on Jesuit of Sacramento, the #2-ranked single-school teams in the county. It's early, vry early, in the season to have this type of game, but that's what you get when you have a premier league like the NorCal Premier. Two weeks ago it was Granite Bay v Peninsula Green. This time it's Jesuit v Danville.

Jesuit has started well enough with wins over Marin and CK McClatchy. But against CK they gave up 40 points, and had to mount a stirring comeback to win it.

SoCal Playoffs!

It's playoff time in Southern California for the Varsity brackets.

In Varsity Red, which is the league for fully, 100% single-school teams, we're down to the top four after the final games decided who was 1st and who 2nd in the two divisions.

Mira Costa Takes 1st in LA Varsity Red

Last-Second Try Sees LCC by Torrey Pines

Rugby Texas Latest

Lake Travis meets up with Jesuit-Dallas Friday night in a marquee clash for Rugby Texas this weekend.

Both teams have high aspirations in the league, but Jesuit had a bit of a hiccup two weeks ago when they tied Allen. Allen went on to beat the Dallas Harlequins Colts, and given that Jesuit's other win was by two points, it's plain that the DFW Division in the Rugby Texas is going to be a dogfight. 

For Lake Travis, their first two games were dominant victories, so this will be a good test for them. Carson Pepe is an accomplished football player who is reportedly going to attend Cal to play rugby. Given his form of late, it seems like a smart move for Cal. Dylan Briscoe has moved from scrumhalf to flyhalf and done so smoothly. Drake David, Gabe Escalante, and Jackson Robertson have also all been playing well for Lake Travis.

Boys HS Club Rankings Week #5

Quite some movement this week in the Boys HS Club rankings.

We will see a lot more as we go on. Several sources say we've got the Florida teams ranked a bit high, so they take a bit of a hit this week, and at the same time with the Carolinas and Arizona getting active, some others are moving up. It will be interesting to see also if Jesuit of Sacramento's close win over CK McClatchy was a sign of vulnerability for Jesuit (unlikely) or a sign that CK is strong this year (certainly could be), or just pre-season weirdness. Same goes for Granite and SFGG, who tied. We've been cautious in reacting to those results.

But winning does have its privileges and Chapel Hill, Woodlands, Charlotte, Tucson Blackbirds, Union County, Allen, and Irmo all join McClatchy and SFGG in moving up.

Gamebreakers HS Boys

We've got a wide range of top performers this week in Boys HS Rugby - here are our Gamebreakers.

Jonah Tavai, Mira Costa

The Mustangs No. 8 scored three tries in the SoCal Varsity Red clash with St.John Bosco, a game that clinched 1st in the LA division for Mira Costa. Tavai has been at the center of Mira Costa's efforts all season, scoring tries in the open field, in mauls, and whenever they seem to be most needed.

Boys Single-School Rankings Week #5

We've got quite a bit of movement, or at least potential movement, in the middle portion of the GRR Boys Single-School Rankings this week.

The top teams haven't at the moment, done much, but we also haven't seen anyone jump out to challenge them ... yet. Georgetown Prep drops somewhat after a loss to Fort Hunt, and that happened despite the fact that Fort Hunt is ranked higher in the HS Club rankings than G-Town is in the Single-School rankings. Why? Because there are other single-school teams winning, and they are moving up.

Brother Martin Makes a Move in Louisiana

In the lone Louisiana Rugby league game of the past weekend, the Brother Martin Crusaders moved to 2-0 with a 34-19 defeat of the NOLA Barbarians.

It was a hotly-contested game, and a good result for Brother Martin. Senior inside center Logan Neill  scored two tries, busting through tacklers to do it. Captain and No. 8 Cole Boudreaux led by example and was a force throughout. Scrumhalf Nick Gonsoulin kept the attack moving and score on a heads-up quick-tap.

Wild Game as SFGG, Granite Bay Tie

SFGG and Granite Bay battled to a 25-25 tie on Saturday in a game that served a couple of purposes.

For SFGG, the result spelled out some reason for confidence as the league season progresses. Head Coach Tony Wells said he’s getting the culture right and the players are starting to see how much hard work goes into succeeding in Northern California.

For Granite Bay, it was, perhaps, a wakeup call that strong season or not in 2015-16, they will have to put in the effort to get back to national contention. At the same time, the Grizzlies also showed plenty of heart as they came back in the second half.

Changes in Rugby Illinois, Indiana Boys Leagues

Big changes are afoot in the Midwest leagues, as both Rugby Indiana and Rugby Illinois have made some adjustments.

The changes come about because of Notre Dame de La Salette. The small Catholic school in downstate Illinois has for years been a nationally-ranked program, and has traditionally played in the Rugby Indiana Super League.

Tigers to 4-0 After League Opener Win

The Charlotte Tigers was already 3-0 before the team hosted their first home game.

The Tigers won three Mid-South Independent Rugby League (MSIRL) games on the road, and so there was some buzz as the team hosted the North Meck Vikings Saturday night in the North Carolina league opener.

The Vikings, a longtime and respected opponent of the Tigers who are always tough, came with the size and speed. But the Tigers are looking very strong this year, and scored eight tries without reply to win 48-0.

SoCal Varsity White QFs Latest

Four teams are now left in the Southern California Varsity White division after they won their quarterfinal games this weekend.

Wilson HS defeated San Marcos 35-15 in one of those quarterfinals. San Pasqual hammered Santiago 44-7. Los Alamitos defeated La Jolla by a wide margin (officially recorded score 66-26), and University City beat the San Clemente HS Tritons 40-24.

So there were no upsets. All four conference winners beat the #2-seed teams they hosted.

Preseason Success for Fort Hunt

The Fort Hunt defeated Georgetown Prep to complete a three-game series of preseason games for the Virginia team.

The Warriors beat the Maryland Exiles 59-0 two weeks ago, and then the Bethesda Roosters 45-0. This past weekend, it was Georgetown Prep going down. Fort Hunt did give up their first points of th season, but still no tries as the Warriors won 36-6.

Head Coach Dale Roach said the team is starting to show maturation, and will look to be tested with some out-of-state games as the new Mid-Atlantic Premiership kicks off. The Warriors started only three seniors in last year's Virginia state final, a game Fort Hunt won (Fort Hunt Wins Virginia).

Blackbirds Take Wing in 2nd Half v Ahwatukee

Rugby has a habit of injecting some humility into life and certainly Ahwatukee got a dose of it a week after a big win.

The Arizona club had defeated the Las Vegas Blackhawks last week, and looked in position to build on their solid start against the Tucson Blackbirds this week. However, the Blackbirds had other ideas, and came back from a 24-5 deficit to defeat Ahwatukee 41-34 in Arizona league action.

“It was a game of two halves,” said Ahwatukee Head Coach Roger Tushingham. “Whatever adjustments [Tucson Head Coach] Tim Pappas made at halftime were very effective. All credit to Tim and his team.”