South Doyle Meets Lassiter
In the middle of a series of preseason games, defending Tennessee champs South Doyle met up with top Georgia team Lassiter Trojans.
After losing to Georgia's Phoenix club, South Doyle was looking for some measure of revenge after a little more time on the training field.
Saturday South Doyle beat Lassiter 32-3, and now look on to play Oakland HS out of Murfreesboro.
"They always give us a physical match and help us get ready for the upcoming season," said South Doyle Coach Matthew Lance.
these preseason games have more of a scrimmage feel to them. South Doyle officially begins their season in the Charlotte Ruggerfest.
NorCal Premier Latest
Jesuit, Solo, and Danville all won in Northern California Varsity Premier action Saturday.
Jesuit edged Granite Bay in a tight one 19-17 (details here). Meanwhile, Danville throttled Lamorinda 99-7. Danville had superior fitness and their they played a hard, physical, cohesive game. Justin Lego was good on 13 out of 14 conversion kicks, and was named player of the game.
Meanwhile, the Solo Falcons handed Mother Lode a 34-11 defeat that was closer than the score makes it appear. The teams were deadlocked 8-8 at halftime, and Mother Lode were difficult to handle at all aspects of play, especially at the breakdown. They were quick to rucks and caused Danville problems, and ran well.
Jesuit Holds Off Granite Bay
In a very tense clash in Northern California’s Boys Varsity Premier, Jesuit of Sacramento held off Granite Bay 19-17.
Jesuit never trailed in the match, but it was a nailbiter just the same. The Marauders took a 7-0 lead ten minutes into the game when wing Jayme Thomas went over, with Luke Thayer converting. But within five minutes it was all tied up again, as flyhalf Desi Streater zipped in for a try which Jon Rogers converted.
Bayou Wins Key Clash in Deep South
The Bayous Hurricanes swept aside an imposing opponent in the Deep South Boys HS league with a 17-5 defeat of defending regional champions St. Paul’s.
This was a game that had all sorts of bad blood in 2015, but was played in a fine spirit Saturday and a good level of skill.
St. Paul’s scored early to take a 5-0 lead, but that was it for the defending champions, as the Hurricanes scored three tries to win it.
“They came out really fired up,” said Hurricanes Coach Conrad Breit. “We just managed to settle down and run out forwards off both sides of the rucks, and when we had space, we went wide. For us, the tough part was that we weren’t used to having so much trouble scoring. But St. Paul’s defended really well.”
Scrumhalf Hunter Breit zipped over for the first try for Bayou, and converted to nudge his side into the lead.
Mira Costa SoCal Varsity White Champs
The Mira Costa Mustangs capped off a perfect season, winning the Southern California Boys Varsity White Division with a 46-29 decision over St. John Bosco.
The Mustangs had run roughshod through the league and playoffs, but came into the final a little worried, as they were without their normal starting midfield.
“Looking at St. John Bosco on film I was very worried,” said Mira Costa Coach Duke Dulgarian. “They were very big in the backs and had athletic forwards. I saw what they did to University City. So we were worried.”
La Costa Canyon Wins SoCal Varsity Red
With a powerful scrum and snappy backline performance, La Costa Canyon defeated Torrey Pines 28-19 Friday night to win the Southern California Boys Varsity Red championship.
LCC scored two early tries to take a 14-0 lead, a lead the Mavericks would never relinquish. Torrey Pines scored at the end of the first half, and the two teams traded tries to make it 21-14, but then LCC scored one more to put the game away. Torrey Pines scored in the closing seconds to finish it 28-19. Both second-half tries from Torrey Pines were scored by HS All American Nick Zimmer.
Texas HS Heats Up
A week from now Westlake will face Lake Travis in a rematch of the 2015 Rugby Texas final, but before that happens they’ve got to get on their league competition horses.
Lake Travis will face Plano in their opener, while Westlake faces Jesuit-Dallas.
Westlake did get some game time in last week, beating Katy 32-0. Tighthead prop Michael Wiggin scored the opening try, and a nice, high-tempo attack and good ball control allowed Westlake to control things, even if the points didn’t come. They weren’t helped by the fact that starting scrumhalf Ryan Rees went off with an injury. Still they led 10-0 at halftime, and once Noah Shelton took over the scrumhalf position, things looked a little smoother.
Hurricanes v St. Paul's Highlights Deep South
The Bayou Hurricanes are 3-0 and St. Paul’s are 2-0 in Deep South High School conference play, and just to make things perfect, the two teams clash in Raceland, La. Saturday.
While it’s not a done deal that the winner is going to win the league, it would go a long way to confirming that fact. Shaw is yet to play (and their opener this weekend has been postponed), and Jesuit of New Orleans is only 1-0, and could certainly build on that.
But in the early weeks, it looks as though it’s Hurricanes or St. Paul’s. The Hurricanes are super, super fast. Demery Reener scored four tries in their last game, and Hunter Breit added two more. Coach Connor Breit has them playing together and the biggest benefit from that has been defense - in three league games they have given up 20 points.
Boys HS Games This Weekend
It's a busy and exciting weekend in Boys HS rugby, with some well-known teams getting active and more leagues boasting key games. Here's a look:
As always, check back for scores.
Highlights games include SS#1 Gonzaga opening their season against West End in a non-conference run-out.
In North Carolina, all eyes are on how South Greenville and Wando will keep up the momentum. Both have started strong, both boast outstanding defenses. Both are favored in games against Aiken and Irmo, respectively.
Gonzaga HS Opens Tough Season
Top-ranked single-school team Gonzaga opens up its season this weekend against well-regarded Virginia program West End.
This game will be a challenge for West End, but is also the beginning of a very challenging season for Gonzaga. The DC-area defending NIT champions will take on defending HS Club NIT champs Royal Irish a week later, and after that it’s a long road of mostly ranked teams. Gonzaga will host Pennsylvania contenders Cumberland Valley and Doylestown the weekend of March 5 and 6, before starting the league season against Good Counsel at March 10.
That game preceded an 11-day trip to Spain which will include three games. And then it’s back home for Georgia’s Phoenix club, St. John’s, and then, on April 10, longtime rival Xavier HS out of New York City.
2016 Boys HS Club Rankings #3
Unlike in the Single-School rankings, there have been massive changes in the HS Club rankings this week.
Solo beat Danville, and after being unranked, the Falcons jump to #3. Now, that's a big jump, but give us a little slack in this case. Solo is a new club, formed out of Dixon HS (mostly) and some other teams, and as such the Falcons were a new, unknown entity. Dixon was a ranked single-school program, but now we had to wait to see how they did as a club. First test, against Danville, went very well for them. Also shifting - Orlando lost to Jupiter, and so slips, but not too far as the Griffins rebounded with a nice win the next week.
We are still waiting for Tampa to play tougher competition (not their fault, it's just how the schedule has fallen). That will happen on Feb. 27 when the Krewe faces Orlando.
Festival Weekend in Florida
Florida Youth Rugby is hosting a festival weekend of games this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Neuqua Valley out of Naperville, Ill., LaSalle out of Philadelphia, and San Martin out of Argentina will be in town to play a series of games with host teams.
Cardinal Gibbons, St. Thomas Aquinas, Pompano, and Miami will all play shortened matches against Neuqua and LaSalle.
Meanwhile, the Florida Juice state select side will take on San Martin. Another South Florida team made up of players from Key Biscayne, Okapi, and West Pines will also play a San Martin XV. Finally, Florida International will also play San Martin.
For the Juice, this is an important, early-season hit-out for the select side.
While not all of the players are confirmed, the Juice should show well, despite missing flyhalf Matt Mairowitz and No. 8 Dakota Shelton to injury.
2016 Boys Single-School Rankings #3
It's still quiet times in most of the country, and for the most part the rankings held up the last two weeks.
Mira Costa has done very well and could well hold onto a high ranking throughout the season, just as Fallbrook did last year. Torrey Pines moved into the rankings and up with a strong finish. St. John Bosco moved up thanks to a strong finish, also, while it's a strong start in South Carolina that has Wando moving up.
EIRA Player of the Week - Justin Johnson
Mira Costa goes into the Southern California Varsity White final undefeated and, generally, unworried.
The Mustangs have won all of their games, most by wide margins, with a dynamic backline and a forward pack that does the job. Interestingly, with experience being so crucial in high school rugby, Costa has only one senior in their starting forward pack, and he is the subject of our piece today - Justin Johnson.
The Mira Costa lock forward does pretty much everything that is asked of him each week. He does the tough stuff, he wins ball, and above all, he leads. When Jonah Tavai had to vacate the No. 8 position, it was Johnson that Coach Duke Dulgarian looked to as the fill-in. A week later, when the team needed someone new at inside center, the lock forward was the guy there, too.
Jesuit Launches League Season - Aims Higher
Carmichael, Calif. – Jesuit High School of Sacramento kicked off the new Northern California Premier season with a win over a tough, hard-hitting Archbishop Riordan side this past weekend.
Led by captains Christian Dyer, a High School All-American who will be attending Cal next year, and Bailey Abercrombie, who will be attending West Point next year, the Jesuit Marauders crossed the tryline eight times with backs and forwards providing great support across the field. Riordan never quit and scored at the death to make the final score 56-5.
