HS Boys

Clash of Champions

It’s not often you get two major champions playing each other in a weekend. This weekend, we actually have that happening twice, as the men’s DIA and Varsity Cup defending champs are playing each other, and in Boys HS rugby, the HS Club and Single-School NIT winners face off.

The college game preview can be seen here. In this article, we’re talking about the high-schoolers. The Royal Irish (also known as Cathedral but that’s a confusing name so Royal Irish it is) out of Indianapolis start their season against Gonzaga HS Saturday at the home field of Wheeling Jesuit University. It’s a good mid-point for the two teams and a smart recruiting move by WJU. 

For the Royal Irish, this will be their first run-out after snow forced the cancelation of the annual Indiana-Ohio cross-border preseason event. Instead, the Irish played an intra-squad scrimmage.

Westlake to 5-0

Westlake continues to be the team to beat in the Texas single-school league, as they defeated HEB last week and Rock Rugby this week to now sit at 5-0.

“Those boys were huge,” said Westlake Head Coach Jason Spodick of HEB. “It’s looked like we were playing against a men’s team. Regardless, the match was a great reminder to our boys that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

Junior scrumhalf Ryan Rees continues to develop and has improved his box kick, giving Westlake an extra dimension to their attack. 

“We have really developed a great attack using his foot from behind the scrums and rucks,” said Spodick. “He has scored or set up a score in every match he's played in.”

HS Boys Nationwide Roundup

Here's a look at what's going on in Boys HS Rugby around the country.

Southern California

The Fullerton International Tournament highlights the weekend, with Santa Monica, Fallbrook, and teams from further afield, including Canada, marking the long-standing event.

See more here.

But there are eight other games going on, six of them league games. San Luis Obispo is looking to extend its four-game league winning streak in Tri-Counties as they face Central Coast, and LA, fresh off beating Santa Monica, look to take down Belmont Shore.

Jesuit Showdown in Dallas

Jesuit HS of Dallas hosts the Jesuit Dallas Showdown this weekend with eight teams from three states and one Canadian territory.

The tournament will cover two days and three matches in a bracket format, with every opening game featuring a Jesuit school against a non-Jesuit team or a Canadian .

Hosts Jesuit Dallas will face St. Maximillian Kolbe out of Aurora, Ont. Colorado’s Regis Jesuit will take on local power Katy Barbarians. St. Therese of Lisieux out of Richmond Hill, Ont. will face New Orleans Jesuit in the opening round, and Strake Jesuit out of Houston will face the Colorado Springs Grizzlies, one of the top teams in Colorado and defending state champs.

It’s an impressive gathering of teams, and includes several programs that are at the top or close to the top of their leagues.

2015 Boys HS Club Rankings Week 6

(Updated) Danville retains their #1 status in part because the Royal Irish got snowed out and couldn't produce a result to move themselves back up. KC Jr. Blues move to #3 in our Goff Rugby Report Boys HS Club rankings, and so go the Colorado Springs Grizzlies, and Liberty, because they produced impressive results, and the San Diego Mustangs aren't playing yet.

We expand the rankings to 35 and that allowed Chuckanut, Los Angeles, and Woodlands, all winners over ranked teams, to move in. Also moving in is Bixby from Oklahoma and the Trojans from Georgia in anticipation of games coming up that will prove the rankings are deserved ... or not. (Note we had mistakenly listed Lamorinda as having defeated Peninsula Green, when we were wrong. We have adjusted the rankings accordingly.)

Aircraft Charter Solutions PoW - Lorenzo Richardson

Danville HS    is looking ahead to a big game in Northern California as the 4-0 Oaks take on North Bay.

It seems every game is a big one for Danville this season as they look at trying to overhaul Jesuit in the NorCal club Varsity Gold Division. If they are going to make it happen, it’s going to be thanks to a deep and talented squad, but one that’s led by some players with real potential. Matt Snyder is the team’s captain and will be lost to rugby during college as he has accepted a scholarship to play football at Nebraska.

2015 Boys Single-School Rankings Week 6

There's more movement this week as more leagues play. We applaud Thomas Aquinas of Overland Park, Kan. visiting Colorado - that's the kind of cross-border competition we like to see. The fact they lost those games to Regis Jesuit and East HS helps us rank those teams, as well.

It may be that such a long trip by the Saints put them in an unfair competitive situation ... maybe, but we still go by the results until we see different.

Also moving up, South Doyle and Olympus after good results. St. Joseph's Prep also moves up after playing out of state. If only the Indiana-Ohio tuneup tournament hadn't been snowed out ...

Florida Update - Top Teams Holding Strong

The Florida Youth Rugby North pool got even more embroiled in complications this past weekend with the Cape Pirates' 19-10 defeat of previously unbeaten Daytona.

The Pirates were aided somewhat by Daytona's choice to bench two key players for disciplinary reasons. With those two players on the sidelines, the Pirates scored two first-half tries t lead 14-0. Daytona scored twice to make it 14-10 before a late Cape try finished them off.  

"We benefited from two of their players not starting but we also had a really good game plan for them," said Cape Pirates Head Coach Steve Roper, whose two sons, Blaine (scrumhalf), and Brock (over 75% accuracy in goalkicking this season) have been instrumental to the team's success. 

Olympus Starting Strong in Utah

It was an open subs pre-season game, but still one worth noting, as Olympus HS defeated TC Fusion 66-33 in Utah.

For many, Olympus, just in their second year of rugby, is at the very least a dark horse in the Beehive State, and could well be one of the main contenders.

“We’re getting there,” said Head Coach Blake Burdette, who was captain of the Olympus High School football team when he was a student before going on to play football and rugby at Utah. Those football contacts remain and it means the Olympus football team has provided many athletes to the rugby program - 14 of this past weekend’s 15 starters played varsity football for Olympus. 

Aquinas Learns Much in Colorado Trip

It was a long weekend for St. Thomas Aquinas, but perhaps a valuable one, as the Kansas City-area school lost both games on their short trip to Colorado.
On Saturday, Regis Jesuit defeated the Saints 32-14, and on Sunday East HS did the same, 32-14.

“East and Regis were both very good hosts and I think it was a positive experience,” said STA Head Coach Tim Kluempers. “We had a nine-hour bus ride back home, got in at 2am Monday morning, the guys went to school, and we had practice after school and everyone showed up, so we must be doing something right.”

Of course, there’s a game to be played Tuesday, also.

Carolina Ruggerfest Results, Winners

The Carolina Ruggerfest concluded this weekend with six boys HS divisions as well as competitions at the U14, U12, and U10 level.

Phoenix Alpharetta out of Georgia won the multi-school Piedmont division, beating Union County 22-0, the Raleigh Rattlesnakes 19-17, and Neuqua HS out of Naperville, Ill. 20-5. Phoenix's centers Chris Bagby and Jesus Faz kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely, while scrumhalf Austin Willis had a strong weekend.

In the Coastal single-school division, Unionville HS out of Pennsylvania went 3-0, beating North Meck 17-10, Myers Park 15-7, and Mill Creek 19-10. 

Herriman Out of the Blocks

Herriman HS opened their Utah HS league season with an emphatic 51-10 defeat of Highland Saturday, putting the rest of the state on notice.

Liberty Impressive in RugbyWa

The Liberty Patriots produced something of a statement game Saturday as they defeated 1-0 Kent 50-12 in Rugby Washington league play.

Liberty seemed to be on top of their game plan for most of the game, putting pressure on the Crusaders and hardly letting them out of their half for the first 20 minutes.

During that time Liberty scored three tries, working their way into the Kent 22 and patiently finding the gaps - or forcing a clearance kick that was summarily punished. Dylan Anderson went over in a pile for the first one. Flyhalf Austun Scipper, a converted center, was the main beneficiary of the Liberty pressure, as he repeatedly sidestepped, dummied, and fended his way through, scoring four tries on the day, including the second.