Boys School Top 50 2024: Week 13 We waited a week thanks to a slow Easter Weekend, but there aren't a lot of shifts anyway. The big changes in the School Top 50 include Georgetown Prep up five spots after a win over Fairfield Prep, and Wichita and Weymouth joining the Top 50 after a tie and a win vs ranked teams, respectively. Now, this is still relatively early for some leagues, so we might see big shifts in, say Massachusetts. St. Augustine of New Jersey comes back after a good win, while Monarch and Bishop Dwenger drop out mostly because we haven't seen them play a lot. Both have games coming up, and that can easily bring them back. Also, with Weymouth, we're not completely on the bandwagon. Strength of schedule matters so this MIAA D2 team (in 2023 at least) will have to back up their early result. Several teams were on tour, and usually tour games don't really hurt you in the rankings.
Big Weekend for Charlotte Tigers Despite it being Spring Break, the Charlotte Tigers had some important games to play over the weekend, taking on two ranked opponents, including one that was a key one for getting into the Boys HS Rugby National Championships. On Saturday, the Tigers were on the road at the Clayton Copperheads. This was a close game throughout the first half, with the teams trading tries. Clayton leveraged their speed and converted both of their tries to lead 14-12. The second half started to go the Tigers' way. Their power at the breakdown and scrumhalf Alan Gray's ability to move the ball quickly tested Clayton. The result was six tries in the second half for the Tigers and a 46-19 victory. Wing Zach Cullen scored four tries on the day, while Jack Williams, captain Jameson Beatty, Joe Martin, and John Teli all touched down once. Flyhalf Vincent Keller added three conversions.
Tempe Downs Tucson Tempe improved to 6-2 after a 37-12 victory over Tucson in Arizona. This was Tempe's first game since mid-March, when they beat Brophy Prep 57-12. Working methodically through the phases Tempe was able to build a nice three-try lead. But penalties and mistakes started to creep into their game and Tucson was able to punish those to score trice to get back into the game.
Layton Christian Impressive in Shutout Win Layton Christian put down a market over the weekend as they beat Herriman 28-0 in Utah. This is most definitely a message result, because while Herriman rarely loses, they most definitely rarely get shut out. With the win LCA is now 3-0 in Utah league play. And, they have not played an easy schedule. They beat Highland 50-5 (and Highland put a big scare into Herriman), beat East 45-17 (East is now 3-1), and Herriman 28-0 (Herriman is also 3-1). After losing three games at the Boys HS National Championships by a total of five points (25-24 to Granite Bay, 14-12 to Charlotte Cardinals, and 28-26 to Pendleton), LCA is poised to take a massive step forward.
Eastside Wins MLR Curtain-Raiser in PNW In the picturesque setting of Starfire Stadium, amidst conditions perfectly tailored for the rugged elegance of rugby, the Eastside Lions Varsity and Liberty Rugby Club clashed in a spectacle that had the honor of setting the stage for the Seattle Seawolves vs the Dallas Jackals match. This April 5th encounter promised intensity and delivered in full, as both teams, well-acquainted through years of competition and camaraderie, vied to outdo each other on this prestigious platform. From the outset, the match was charged with a palpable intensity, as old rivalries were rekindled on the field. The Eastside Lions, determined to extend their unbeaten streak, faced a well-drilled Liberty side, setting the scene for an epic showdown.
Into April for HS Games With the break around Easter last week it was sort of a slow weekend aside from some tours and the Tropical 7s, but this week we're seeing the games come back with more ... well, just more. First off we take a look at some of the games that went on later this week. Greenwich beat Ridgefield 64-10 with a strong defensive effort. Greenwich's counter-attack ability is always a feature of their game and they did well there. Lock Brian Duffy scored three tries while captain and flyhalf Ignacio Piccione led the attack plan nicely. Across the continent in Washington state, the Eastside Lions continued their strong form, beating Liberty 47-12. This was a curtain-raiser for Friday night's Seattle Seawolves MLR game and was played at Starfire Stadium, where the Seawolves play.
St. Ignatius Wraps Argentina Tour with Three Close Games The Saint Ignatius High School Wildcats rugby team finished up their tour of Argentina with three games against Mar del Plata Rugby Club on April 4. All three games were very competitive, with the C side team losing 36-25 in a thriller, the B side being edged 22-15, and the A side losing 22-17. The entire program went 3-7 on the tour against three of the very strongest age-grade clubs in rugby-mad Argentina. But those games, with one or two exceptions, were all extremely close, as illustrated by the April 4 matchups. The Mar del Plata-based event proved to be an intense yet educational rugby fixture, with the hosts claiming a narrow 22-17 win over the Wildcats at their impressive home grounds under sunny skies and with a stiff breeze. At halftime, the Wildcats were just trailing with the scoreboard standing at 12-10.
Pelham Wins Close Spring Break Game Over Fairfield Pelham HS defeated Fairfield Rugby Club on Thursday, edging there Connecticut team 22-19. This was a Spring Break game for both and a good challenge. Fairfield brought a strong defense and while Pelham rested some players, they expected perhaps for their play to produce more tries than it did. With the Pelham coaching staff shuffling players around to different positions, it was a good challenge all around. While the Pelham set piece was very strong and their phase play consistent, they made poor decisions in passing, with mistakes aided by pressure defense from Fairfield.
Xavier HS Triumphs in Canadian Trip “In three years of playing varsity, I think that was the best Xavier Rugby has played,” said senior fullback Padraig Long and Man of the Match when describing the Knight’s win over Shawnigan Lake High School, a top tier rugby program in Canada. “The boys were on top of it from the beginning,” Long said. According to head coach Greg Norris, the Knights were determined to set the tone of the match from the first kickoff. Shawnigan ran through about eight phases and Xavier turned the ball over early, but Shawnigan was charged with a penalty a minute or so into the match. Xavier took the points vice captain and outside center Benedetto Loria put them up 3-0. “The game started off hot,” said captain and No. 8 Emir Yuksel.
St. Ignatius Tested In Many Ways on Argentina Tour St. Ignatius of Cleveland is on tour in Argentina and GRR is with them. Currently they have played seven matches at three different levels, going 3-4. Their Varsity side is 1-1. While the team and the massive parental support group have had a very enjoyable time, a gastrointestinal illness hit the older players through part of the tour and over a third of the players were not available for the second day of games, April 2 in Mar Del Plata, due to illness or injury. This forced some significant lineup shifts with players moving up to take key Varsity or JV minutes, and players playing out of position. On March 30 St. Ignatius expected to play three games at La Plata Rugby Club in Buenos Aires but ended up playing four because of a mixup by another touring side.
Massive Panther Academy Presence at Tropical 7s It was a massive weekend for the Panther Rugby Academy at Tropical 7s. PantherRugbyAcademy.com>> Panthers Girls Win Two Brackets The Lady Panthers continue their winning ways in Tampa. For the second year running the U14 Lady Panthers took the U14 Title and this year they were joined by their U16 counterparts who took the U16 Elite title. The U14s defeated a very strong Lady Hawkeye squad in the Semis and then won a revenge match vs. always tough Upright Rugby (Canada) in the Finals.
Asptuck Holds Off Fairfield Prep Comeback In a meeting of two top Connecticut sides, Aspetuck defeated Fairfield Prep 33-27 Monday evening. Aspetuck overcame plenty of penalties to win the game, getting two tries from Jaden Seabrook and two also from Keane Horne. Joel Garcia added a try, Jack Decker added a conversion, and Horne added three to make his personal haul 16. Aspetuck sped out to an early lead only to see Prep fight back to get within a score. Appropriately the game ended with the result in the balance. Fairfield Prep was threatening inside the Aspetuck 22. Prep, however, lost the ball forward, Aspetuck nabbed possession and kicked to touch to end the game.
Who Won What in Tropical 7s Boys Brackets Here's a quick roundup of what happened in the Boys and Men's U23 brackets at the Tropical 7s. Men U23 Wheeling University stormed through with a 6-0 record in pool play, beating Upright Rugby 28-5 in the process. That setup a final between Wheeling and Upright, which Wheeling took in emphatic fashion 43-5. It was a very tough tournament for everyone—six games over a weekend is a grind; seven is even tougher. Boys U18 The Oakville Crusaders of Ontario held off Jamaica, Next Phase Rugby, and, in the final Rebel Rugby Academy to take the win. This was a huge step up for Oakville, which had shown well in the U16 Elite in 2023, getting to the final. It was a massive showing for the Canadian club team, which beat select sides from all over to win.
Tropical 7s: Boys U18 Elite Day One Some statements were made at the Tropical 7s Boys U18 Elite bracket today. The Jamaica Junior Crocs showed how far their program has come with two impressive victories over Rugby Quebec and Hawkeyes, and their loss to Eagle Impact Rugby Academy (which cost them #1 in their pool) was just 24-19. EIRA, like the Crocs, went 2-1, losing a shaky opener 12-7 to Hawkeyes. That put them under pressure to win out, which they did. Hawkeyes took last in the pool with two losses, each by less than a try. Oakville out of Ontario was outstanding and won well over Future Elite and Atlantis Teal. They had a bit more trouble with Rebel Rugby Black, but edged that side 19-17 to win their pool. Rebel Rugby Academy White went 3-0 as well, and to go one better allowed exactly zero points.
BC High Defeats SImsbury BC High defeated Simsbury 40-5 in a Massachusetts-Connecticut cross-border meeting. It remains a wet spring for the Northeast and Thursday night was no exception. Playing on a quick turnaround from the Northeast Jesuit Cup, BC High traveled down to Simsbury and notched a win despite playing without senior Flyhalf Gavin McNicholl. Prop Mikey Smith opened up the scoring after a turnover deep in the Simbury half, converting a short yardage opportunity. A few moments later, scrumhalf Braxton Blind found space on the blind side of a maul and scampered down the sideline from the 22 to score in the corner. BC High did well to clear it’s lines, but Simsbury would respond by playing possession through physical carries off scrumhalf and off the base of the ruck. Simsbury made hard yards in the wet weather but struggled to break anything long.
