Gamebreakers - HS Boys This Week
As the Boys HS season spreads out into more states, our Gamebreakers columns does, too.
Here are some players who enjoyed big games and big players around the USA:
Josh Herring
The flanker from the Tucson Blackbirds wasn’t sure about rugby the first time he tried it, but as a senior he is, as his coach described, “a lightning bolt.” He has helped the Blackbird to a 3-0 record.
Chris Bagby
The Phoenix center caused all sorts of issues for the rival Trojans in Georgia HS league play, setting up tries and keeping the Trojans on their heels in a 24-5 victory for Phoenix.
Riley Bishop
The shifty, skilled St. Thomas (Houston) flyhalf ran by tacklers, set up scorers, scored himself, and was a perfect 4-for-4 as a kicker in his team’s 28-3 defeat of St. Piux X.
Blackbirds Spread Wings in Arizona
Few are surprised that Red Mountain has started unbeaten in Rugby Arizona’s HS league, but the Tucson Blackbirds have certainly turned heads by going 3-0 out of the blocks.
For Head Coach Tim Pappas, the good start is not really a surprise.
“We have a good group of kids who have been with the team for a few years now,” Pappas told Goff Rugby Report. “I expected them to do well this year - I just wasn’t sure how well.”
The Blackbirds opened their season with a 45-7 dismissal of Desert Vista and followed that up with a 68-0 shutout of Chandler United, and, Saturday, 48-10 over North Valley.
“I don’t think the teams we have played are teams that are expected to be at the top of the league, so we know we’ve got some tougher games to play,” said Pappas. “Still, we expect to be competing for [a top-two sport].”
Last Call for Boys NIT Applications
The Boys High School Rugby National Championships -set for May 19-21, 2016 at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte, NC.
The Boys High School Rugby National Championship tournament will include separate competitions for boys’ single high school teams and multiple high school club teams. The competition will consist of three 60-minute matches over the course of three days – beginning on Thursday afternoon, May 19th and concluding on Saturday, May 21st.
Teams interested in competing in the tournament are invited to submit an application to the tournament committee. The application is available now and must be completed by clicking here.
Westlake Starts Season Winning
Defending Rugby Texas state champions Westlake Chaps won their league opener 30-5 over Allen this weekend.
It was a fairly typical early-season game, with less-than-crisp execution early on, but after a few missteps, the Chaps scored when Jay Reilly Kight raced in for the try. Ryan Rees hit the conversion for the 7-0 lead.
More Westlake pressure produced two kickable penalties, that Rees put over. And then Ryan Markus weaved his way around tacklers to touch down to make it 18-0.
Westlake got a second try from Kight and a try from Alex Comer.
But more important for Head Coach Jason Spodick will have been Westlake’s defense, which held Allen to just one try at the end of the game.
It’s early days yet in Texas, and in fact this was the first game in the North-Central Division of the entire season.
Playoff Question Answered with Coin Toss
The question as to which team moves on the Boys Southern California Varsity White division has been decided - by coin toss.
As outlined in Goff Rugby Report, View Park Prep and University City played a quarterfinal matchup on Feb 5. The game ended with View Park, University City, and referee Joshua Pendergrass all believing that View Park had won 36-34. However, that wasn't the case. Pendergrass had made a mistake in recording a conversion, and in fact the final score was 36-36. After assistant referees and a parent confirmed the score with the referee, players were already on their way home.
Phoenix over Trojans - Georgia HS Latest
The much anticipated league matchup of Phoenix and Trojans took place at a dry but cold North Park on Friday evening. This was a re-match of the 2015 state championship game won narrowly by Phoenix in a thriller.
Both sides had strengthened rosters, Phoenix with the absorption of the Roswell club and Trojans with the absorption of Norsemen so the large number of attending spectators was expecting a very high standard of high school rugby from two storied Georgia programs. They certainly got it.
St. Thomas Impresses in Win
St. Thomas of Houston opened up their Rugby Texas league season with a 28-3 defeat of St. Pius X Friday night.
St. Pius X us much improved and is fielding one of their strongest teams in some years. Big and physically imposing, they are led up front by junior captain and No. 8 Alec Kenda, and senior flanker Lechi Anumduyu.
But St. Thomas has a solid front eight, as well, and that made for a hard-hitting, physical contest.
St. Pius opened the scoring with a David John Selby penalty kick. But St. Thomas replied with a try by Josh Pane, and then junior tighthead prop Nate McKinney for a 14-3 lead at the break.
NorCal Premier Opens
The Danville Oaks kicked off their Northern California Varsity Premier season with a 60-12 defeat of Mother Lode.
Danville was led by scrumhalf Kevin Saunders, who had a very strong game and has raised his performances this year after moving from inside center. Outside center Carlos Gomez scored two tries and played superb defense, while wing Jonathan Son was electric on the outside, scoring two tries.
Danville flanker Damon Wiley, a football player who has switched to rugby in his senior year, was named player of the game by Mother Lode in Wiley’s first full game.
Danville won the Northern California HS Club division in 2015, and joined the new Varsity Premier Division this season. So, too, did 2015 HS Club runner-up Granite Bay. GB also won in this opening weekend, beating Archbishop Riordan 42-21.
Wild Weekend in SoCal Quarterfinals
It’s been an intriguing and slightly wild weekend in the Southern California Boys Varsity White quarterfinals.
Torrey Pines Gets Crucial Win Over Cathedral
Torrey Pines defeated Cathedral Catholic 25-21 Friday night to move into 2nd place in Southern California’s Varsity Red.
In a thrilling game, lock Blake Richards-Smith scored a try with eight minutes to go to put Torrey Pines ahead, a lead they would not relinquish.
“It was an unbelievable battle,” said Torrey Pines Head Coach Matty Sandoval. “We were very fortunate to win that game. Cathedral brings a lot of size and athleticism and we handled it with grit and heart.”
Northern California Gets Serious
This week Northern California gets the games going in earnest, with the DI, DII, and Premier leagues all in full flight.
The Premier Division is a group of programs that a) are very good, and b) can field three squads on any given day. The division was formed this year to make it easier for large squads to travel and play the same opposition, and also to combine some of the top single-school and multi-school clubs.
North Carolina Opens
North Carolina's Boys single-school season kicks off this weekend, and the story is who can chase down Charlotte Catholic.
CC has had their game called off this weekend due to opponent numbers, but there are plenty of other teams ready to play:
Eagles at Panthers
Sabres at Hawks
Huskies at Ravens
Knights at Nighthawks
Vikings at Whirlies
Mustangs at Catholic (Forfeit win to Charlotte Catholic)
SoCal Playoffs!
It’s playoff time in most of Southern California, while the chase for a spot in the Varsity Red final continues.
Here’s a rundown of what’s been going on, and what to expect:
Big Early Weekend in Texas South
The Texas HS league really gets going this weekend with three league games and three non-conference matchups.
Of the league games there are a couple of intriguing clashes.
Cy-Fair takes on Lamar HS. Lamar lost last week to St. Pius, but actually played quite well and dominated large portions of the game in terms of territory and possession. They just couldn’t get any points. The team was created out of a middle school program, and they are growing. They just need to avoid the penalties.
Cy-Fair, meanwhile, slammed Memorial and are looking to challenge the top teams in the region. Coach Kenneth Hepburn said his squad is pretty strong, and very motivated.
