Santa Monica Wins Fullerton Tournament
The Santa Monica Dolphins won the Fullerton Invitational Sunday, capping the two-day tournament with an 18-0 defeat of CK McClatchy out of Northern California.
On Day One, Santa Monica won their bracket by defeating San Diego Aztecs 33-14, Belmont Shore 19-0, and Prince of Wales School 26-5.
That set up the semis for Day Two, with McClatchy facing Belmont Shore and Santa Monica facing Empire Rugby.
Santa Monica scored within a couple of minutes of the kickoff, trapping Empire in their own 22, stealing the ball, and seeing Oscar Ockomichalak pick-and-go over the line. Tries from Santa Monica’s Dylan James and Chase Capiti, and three conversions and two penalty goals from John Conor Shalloe saw the Dolphins win comfortably 27-0.
Washington Promises to be Another Tight Battle
We're just two weeks into the Rugby Washington Boys DI league, and already we've got some interesting developments.
The first development is that recently-promoted Rainier Highlanders, who won the D2 competition last year, now sit 2-0 after beating Kent 40-19.
It's been a wild early ride for the Puyallup-area team located near the base of the mountain that shares the club's name. The Highlanders' coach, Jeff Sprouse said he wasn't sure what to expect in the opening weeks, but things have gone well.
Sprouse said his team may have been D2 last year, but they are more experienced this year than a graduation-rattled Kent team. Even so, after a torrid first half that Rainier won 35-0, Kent rebounded with tenacity to win the second half 19-5.
Peninsula Green Wins Again
Peninsula Green continues to play some impressive rugby in Northern California's DI league, defeating Los Gatos 39-17 over the weekend.
The result puts Peninsula Green at 4-0 in league play, and 7-0 overall. Sierra Foothills also won this weekend, beating the Sacramento Eagles 37-19, while CK McClatchy remains unbeaten - they played in the Fullerton tournament this weekend in Southern California and will face Sierra this coming weekend.
For Pen Green, the Beavers set the tenor of the game with very physical defensive and offensive play. The PG defense kept LG's talented athletes from crossing the gainline, and on offense the Beaver forwards continually pushed back the LG defense by running straight, and setting up the backs to exploit gaps.
Greenwich Wins Two Tournaments in One Weekend
Greenwich High School won the Ariel Re Bermuda 7s boys HS bracket this weekend, defeating West Chester in overtime in the final.
Greenwich battled out a tough first game against West Chester Wolf Pack, winning 15-14. That was a a good, challenging opener, and after that Greenwich started to click,beating the Bermuda All-Stars Red and Silver teams, and Stanstead College from Canada, to win the pool.
Greenwich brought with them Fairfield Prep player Connor Bercik, and he combined nicely with Soh Nakayama to set up HS All American Luke Bienstock and the always dangerous Bryce Stanback for tries. Walker Manning, Parker Kelly, and Kevin Kumar played strong defense during the tournament.
On Day Two of the tournament, Greenwich faced Bermuda Red once again and won again to move on to the final against West Chester.
West Point Camp to Teach Rugby, Leadership
West Point will be hosting a rugby camp in July, led by Army Head Coach and former USA World Cup veteran as a flyhalf and as a coach, Matt Sherman, and providing a unique rugby and leadership experience for boys who want to develop their skills.
"We believe if done right we can offer both a fun and enjoyable camp, but one that also challenges our players and is a rewarding experience where they improve and grow," said Sherman. "They are going to be coaches by current and former USA Eagles and USA Eagle coaches, such as current Eagle forwards coach Marty Veale and others, and as such be exposed to the most up to date best practice high performance approaches.
Jesuit New Orleans Wins Big One
Jesuit of New Orleans made a move in the Deep South, defeating St. Paul’s 19-12 and putting themselves at 4-1 and pushing for 2nd place in the conference.
While the Bayou Hurricanes lead the Deep South and have beaten both St. Paul’s and Jesuit of New Orleans, the top three are very close.
Jesuit Coach Adam Massey said his team is clicking now.
“We’re playing some really high-quality rugby right now,” Massey told Goff Rugby Report. “We try to play a 70-meter game. They’re doing an excellent job of spreading the field. We have a core of backs that have been playing together for a few years, and some other players who have emerged.”
Pelham Notches Win on Spring Break Trip
Pelham HS out of New York traveled to Florida and faced the Academy of Rugby Excellence (ARE).
ARE is a select-side made up of players from the Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, and Cape Pirates. As a select-side, ARE had its pick of talent in the area, but at the same time, Pelham was coming in as a relatively settled side.
Georgetown Prep Impresses in Win Over RBMA
Georgetown Prep (ranked #16 among single-school teams by Goff Rugby Report) started their spring break tour of Florida with a strong showing against #15 Riviera Beach Maritime Academy winning 73-12.
RBMA was headed into their spring break as well, and as a result were slightly undermanned. Prep started fast and never really slowed down in the first 35 minutes. No. 8 Thomas Gates punched in two tries as did outside center Austin Muss. Prep spread the scoring around, while Garrett Lyons had another good day with the boot, successful all eight conversion attempts.
Xavier, Penn, Ignatius Clash in Ohio
It was honors even as three top-ranked Boys HS teams convened on Cleveland play this weekend.
On Friday, Penn, defeated St. Ignatius 22-14 (see report).
On Saturday, Xavier took down Penn 24-14.
It was certainly a tough game for Penn to play 14 hours after a very physical game against St. Ignatius.
“Xavier was well-drilled, good defensive structure, and physical,” said Penn Head Coach Bart Bottorff. “They won the physical battle.
Xavier had the wind first half and after 30 minutes was up 24-0, and while Penn had the wind in the second half, they couldn’t make it work for them as successfully, scoring two tries.
Highlanders Still Winning in NC
The Chapel Hill Highlanders continued their winning ways in North Carolina with a 34-28 defeat of a tenacious Union County Lions Saturday.
The game was played for the Maxwell Trophy, named after Paul Maxwell, a pioneer of Carolina Youth Rugby and former Head Coach of Union County. It’s a challenge trophy between the two teams, and Union County has held it the last few years.
Big Wins for Granite Bay, Jesuit
Granite Bay shook up the Northern California Premier Varsity league yet again as the Grizzlies shocked the Solo Falcons 64-7 Saturday.
Solo had entered the game undefeated, having beaten, Danville, among others, to get to that points.
But in a much-anticipated clash at Bonney Field in Sacramento, Granite Bay slammed the Falcons 64-7.
“We came out ready to play, that's for sure,” said Granite Bay Coach Jason Divine, who said his team was full strength for the first time all year. “[We have] players returning from injuries. Also our new football players have learned quickly and are now a factor.”
Hurricanes Rain on Brother Martin Parade
The Bayou Hurricanes remained undefeated after an impressive 61-0 defeat of Brother Martin Saturday.
The Hurricanes have not played in a while and Coach greg Dinacola said it was just a relief to get on the field. Rain put the field mostly under water, but they played the game, and the Hurricanes seemed to control most of it.
Scrumhalf Alvin Delaune, prop Josh Boudreaux, No. 8 Andres Auraz, and center Sean Wright all scored tries in the first half, and fullback Brandon Sanders scored two. Wing Tyler Menefee successfully converted six of the seven to make it a 40-0 halftime lead.
Penn Just Gets By St. Ignatius
Penn HS defeated St. Ignatius in a close game between the two Midwestern powers Friday night.
St. Ignatius led much of the game and held a 14-5 lead into the midpoint of the second half. But then Dan Afa'ese scored a try for Penn, and then Sam Scholtes nudged Penn ahead 15-14 with a penalty goal with about four minutes to go.
With time winding down, Penn worked their way into Ignatius territory, and Afa'ese broke four tacklers to rumble 20 meters through traffic to score under the posts. Scholtes converted to finish the game 22-14.
"Another classic and very physical Indiana - Ohio battle," said Penn Head Coach Bart Bottorff. "Much respect by both teams."
St. Ignatius hosts Xavier on Sunday.
Boys HS Games This Weekend
Check back for scores.
Watch out for these games: South Carolina, Chapin v Wando. Chapin wants to be considered up among the echelon? Well now's the time. In Oregon, Union HS looks to defend their state single-school title. Outside center Chris Berry and sophomore scrumhalf Max Burchett lead Union, which, like Beaverton in the club side in Oregon, will field two teams in the league.
In Northern California, Solo v Granite Bay is a huge one. We talk about that here. We're also interested to see if CK McClatchy can keep the wins coming - they are in the Fullerton tournament with some top SoCal teams - see here for schedule.
EIRA Player of the Week - Kyle van Tonder
Rocky Mountain started off their Idaho league season with a nice victory over Mountain View, and while Kyle van Tonder was not the player of the game, maybe that’s because he’s a victim of being the player he is.
Van Tonder played with the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy team in Las Vegas, and is expected to continue to tour with that outfit, while also a crucial member of the Rocky Mountain team.
“Kyle has a really good rugby IQ,” said Eagle Impact Rugby Academy Director Salty Thompson. “He’s a talent. He has an eye for a gap and has really good overall skills.”
