Big Guys Rule in Pacific Cup Day 1
There were four winners in the first day of the Pacific Cup, but really, observers are most impressed with two of them.
Danville emerged victorious against a strong Fallbrook team 41-7, while Kahuku just dominated Back Bay 53-0. The San Diego Mustangs somehow pulled it out over the Bay Barbarians, a team of mostly Peninsula Green players plus a few extra, and Santa Monica did well to pull away from Red Mountain 34-19. But the buzz seemed to be about the big, physical Danville and Kahuku teams.
Tight Contest for Utah Single-School Title
It’s a tight four-team race in the Utah Youth Rugby single-school playoffs this weekend as the semis kick off on Friday and the final is played at the University of Utah soccer stadium on Saturday.
Snow Canyon, which includes a 13-10 defeat of United in its 2015 resume, will take on East, which defeated Highland last week in the quarters.
Paced by two tries from Kimo Mahina and with a good performance from Inoke Makoni, East has rebounded from a number of difficult losses, including one to Highland, to get to the top four.
On the other side of the bracket, Olympus has been very good, beating East, and Highland, but faltering against United earlier in April.
Surprised by Brownsburg? They're Happy to Accommodate
The Penn v Brownsburg game in Rugby Indiana this weekend has been called off as the two teams agreed to let their 3rd/4th match from the Midwest Championships stand in as the league game.
Tat means that Brownsburg ends their Indiana Super League season at 2-1, putting them, should Royal Irish beat La Salette as expected, in 2nd place.
It’s a worthy spot for Brownsburg, which finished 3rd in the Midwest and also earned a 7th seed going into the Boys HS National Championship invitational.
“We are heavy on seniors and they’ve been developing well,” said Brownsburg Head Coach PJ Goduto. “But we’ve also seen bunch of freshmen come through and they’ve been playing really well. We knew when we played Royal irish and lost 31-21 that we had a solid team. That was a hugely physical game, and we held up in there.”
Utah Multi-School Semis Friday
Utah’s HS club season is down to one more weekend, as four teams play in the semis in Friday evening, and the final on Saturday.
The West Valley Warriors clash with Orem in a game that appears to be ready to confirm what the Warriors have been saying all along - that they’re good. Orem has produced some impressive results this season, but they lost to West Valley 31-5 in March. They might point to a close 31-25 loss to United three weeks ago as an indication that they’re improving.
United, meanwhile, has a date with Wasatch. While Wasatch has done 5-0 in Uinta conference play, they have lost a game - 36-14 in a non-league matchup with Orem in March. United has lost to Herriman, West Valley, and Snow Canyon, but Head Coach Colin Puriri isn’t too worried about those results.
St. Edward Wins Big One
St Edward followed up their Midwest single-school championship with a 31-17 defeat of St. Ignatius in a key Rugby Ohio league game.
MAVRC Final Set
Georgetown Prep is set to tie on Gonzaga in the MAVRC conference championship this coming weekend, after both teams won semifinals this week.
Georgetown defeated Salesianum 53-14 on Saturday, scoring two tries in the opening ten minutes, and, with James Lyons operating nicely at flyhalf, pulling away after that.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga rested some of their starters, who had swept two games against top Ontario competition the week before. In Wednesday’s semi, they handed Our Lady of Good Counsel a 33-14 defeat to make the final.
Aircraft Charter Solutions PoW - Aaron Matthews
There was a moment during the Southern California HS club final when Aaron Matthews just took control.
With his Back Bay team trying to come back from a halftime deficit, and every decision, every point seemingly more and more crucial, Matthews scored a key try on a quick tap when he saw not enough LA players were paying attention, and kept everyone on an even keel as Back Bay came back to win.
“We are just blessed to have him as a leader and a player,” said Back Bay Coach Jeff Bonnett.
Red Mountain On to Pacific Cup Challenge
After winning the Arizona state title and then a long rest, Red Mountain is ready to measure themselves against some of the top teams in the county in the Pacific Cup.
Head Coach OJ Hawea is used to his team winning state, but knows they all want to see how they do outside of Arizona. That’s why they went to Utah for an early-season tournament, and that’s why they hosted Snow Canyon.
“We got a lot of new kids in this year, and as time went on we got better with our flow,” said Hawea. “They started to get a better rugby IQ - stuff like knowing when to pass the ball, all the little small stuff that makes a difference in a big game. We’ve had a good season, but we want to test ourselves more.”
Newberg at Top in Oregon Varsity League
Newberg HS is at the top of the Rugby Oregon Varsity league after sweeping their round-robin games this against Canby and Lincoln past weekend.
Rugby Oregon has 11 teams in their varsity league, and so every week, to avoid a team being idle, three teams play i a round robin of shortened games. Those games count for half points in the standings. That’s how Newberg, at 7-0, is tied in points with Union, who is 10-1. Union has played more round-robin games than Newberg.
“The round robins are good for the kids but it is a little strange,” said Coach Rick Rogers. “We’ve been able to keep our momentum going this year because the kids play as a team. We have a good mix of athletes - kids who play cover and some play football, and some are in drama and never played much sports before.”
Gamebreakers - HS Boys This Week
Here are some players who made an impact for their teams this week.
Corey Patton, North Meck, NC
A fast and agile center, Patton can turn a game on its head, and he helped North Meck win their final league game of the season to secure top seed in their division going into the state playoffs.
Parker Lang, Brownsburg, Ind.
The tenacious Brownsburg scrumhalf was a non-stop defender, aggressive runner, and vocal leader in marshaling the forwards as Brownsburg upset Penn and finished 3rd in the Midwest Championship.
Avery Nielsen, Newberg, Ore.
One of the defensive leaders on the Newberg team, Nielsen helped lead Newberg to two comfortable wins in shortened games over the weekend to keep his side undefeated in league play.
Pacific Cup Kicks Off Thursday
The Pacific Cup invitational is set to kick off on Thursday, with eight HS teams from the western part of the United States.
Of the eight teams in the tournament, six are ranked by Goff Rugby Report, all highly. The Pacific Cup was devised for teams in the West who couldn't afford the time or expense to get to the HS NIT. Organizer Matty Sandoval, who coaches the San Diego Mustangs, said the tournament does not wish to compete with the NIT, which is a key reason why it was held on a different weekend from the NIT.
"We wanted teams to be able to play in both if they wanted," said Sandoval. No one opted for that ... this time.
Seeds Set for Boys NIT
A panel that included Goff Rugby Report editor Alex Goff has confirmed the seeds for the Boys HS NIT to be held at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte, NC May 14-16.
Defending single-school champion Gonzaga is the #1 single-school team, while defending champion Royal Irish takes the #1 seed in multi-school.
The seeds 9-12 in each list will play in the Combined Cup, a third bracket. All three brackets are quatrerfinal-semifinal-final, played over three days, with consolation games.
Boys NIT Single-School Seeds
1 Gonzaga
2 Jesuit
3 Xavier
4 Herriman
5 Greenwich
6 Penn
7 Brownsburg
8 St Thomas Aquinas
9 Notre Dame de La Salette
10 Charlotte Catholic
11 Fishers
12 Brother Rice
North Meck Rolls in NC
With a 39-10 victory over Phillip O. Berry Academy Monday night, North Mecklenburg secured the #2 seed in the North Carolina single-school playoffs, behind Charlotte Catholic.
“We focused on disciplined attack and defense during recent practice sessions and it paid off,” said Head Coach Brent Pasko, who is also a teacher at the school.
North Meck is led by a solid inside back combination, with flyhalf Brandon Aruta relatively new to the game but learning quickly and showing terrific athleticism. Meanwhile, inside center Corey Patton “has been a game-changer,” said Pasko, noting his speed and agility.
Flanker Marcos Hernandez is a force in tackles and rucks and shows excellent rugby instincts.
Exiles Win Maryland
IN a clash between two teams that had tied earlier in the season, the Maryland Exiles HS team defeated North Bay 57-10 to win the Maryland HS club title Saturday at Warner’s Rugby Farm, the home of the Wild Geese Old Boys Rugby Club.
Four-time defending state champs Maryland were up against the upstarts North Bay, and they seemed essentially equal - not only did they tie, but the league tiebreaker came down to points allowed, and the Exiles took 1st by a single point.
2015 Boys HS Club Rankings Week 14
The movement in the Boys HS Club rankings isn't as drastic as it is in the single-school rankings this week, but there are some changes of note. The KC Jr. Blues lost to St. Thomas Aquinas, and slip as a result. Back Bay deserves to move up, anyway.
Beaverton beat Eastside in Oregon, so they get a bump. The big changes are actually the addition of three teams - Duluth out of Minnesota (solid results, only one loss, to a ranked team), Wasatch (won a playoff game after a strong season in Utah), and Denbigh (beat ranked Hampton in Virginia).
