Penn HS v St Edward Highlights Penn Invite
The Penn Invite, in its 14th year, saw 21 HS teams from Indiana and nearby states in a preseason effort at the Moose Rugby Grounds in Elkhart, IN.
Every team played two short games to see different opponents, with Boys and Girls teams both seeing action.
The now long-standing highlight of the event is the Penn vs St. Edward boys match, a full contest that again featured two of the national top 10 teams. Many of the Penn Invite teams try to take the game in between their contests, as this was an excellent example of a higher-level of play in high school rugby.
Georgetown Prep Wins Two Before Spring Break
Georgetown Prep opened MAVRC league play with convincing wins over St Benedictine (VA) and DeMatha 79-0 and 45-0 respectively. Injuries, illness and scheduling also meant 9 new starters rotated into the line ups giving Prep's bench the opportunity for minutes and development.
Scoring has come from several sources but senior prop Jack Ondeck and juniors Christian David and David Koffi have led the way with a total of 11 tries between them after 4 games. Historically Prep has played a forwards first style, but this year they have spread the ball around through sophomore scrum half Tommy McHale and senior flyhalf Matthew Zaudtke leading to scores from 14 different players.
HS Games March 20-24
The rankings have been shifting all over, with Gonzaga and Xavier trading the #1 spot in Single-School and Danville, Lamorinda, and now Granite Bay at #1 in the club rankings.
That Northern California Premier league is insane, because Danville entered this weekend winless (and about to face #3 single-school Jesuit), and Danville is a truly excellent team. Crazy.
Word is that Notre Dame de la Salette is strong this year, as evidenced bby a 19-10 loss to well-regarded Penn.
This week, Jesuit v Danville is a big one. Katy v Woodlands in Texas also carries weight. Word is Play Rugby is solid this year. Let's see how they do against Xavier.
Check back for scores
Brother Martin Holds Off Bayou Hurricanes
Brother Martin won a close one over the Bayou Hurricanes Saturday in Rugby Louisiana action, taking home a 31-26 decision in a thriller.
Brother Martin controlled the tempo of the game early and scored two tries to lead 127. But Bayou replied to make it 12-7. After that, Brother Martin had the run of play in the first half, spinning the ball wide and breaking the line repeatedly. Two more tries, both converted, and Brother Martin led 26-7 at the break.
But with some adjustments, the Hurricanes stormed back. After the two teams traded tries, Bayou scored two late ones to make it 31-26. But that lone second-half try for Brother Martin was the difference, as they held on by five.
East Defeats Monarch In Colorado
Colorado's East High School defeated Monarch HS 28-15 in the Infinity Park Stadium this past weekend in Rugby Colorado action.
The match was part of a doubleheader with the Glendale Raptors and San Diego Legion MLR match. It was also a rematch of Monarch's victory in the 2017 State Championship.
The first minutes of the match saw strong defense from Monarch forcing mistakes and penalties from East. However, Monarch struggled at the lineout and were unable to maintain possession. Ten minutes in Monarch began a sustained period of attack. After East missed touch on a penalty, then gave up a penalty on the 5-meter line, Monarch's scrum half Landon Coleman scored under the posts. The conversion kick was charged down—quite the rarity—and Monarch led 5-0 with 18 minutes played.
Gonzaga Edges Xavier In Battle Of Top HS Teams
In a battle of the #1 single-school team versus the #3 team, Gonzaga, recently ousted from #1 status, defeated Xavier 21-20 over the weekend.
It was, as usual, a tight and contentious clash between the two squads and it went down to the final whistle.
Both coaching staffs left the game a little frustrated.
"That's the second time in three years that we allowed Gonzaga to come back and beat us on the last play of the match," said Xavier coach Joe Sweeney. "We need to improve our ability to close out games. Too many mental and physical mistakes at set piece gave away good possession."
Royal Irish, Fishers Rule At UK Kickoff
The University of Kentucky hosted several boys high school rugby teams over the weekend as a precursor to the regular season.
Highlighting the weekend were ranked teams Royal Irish (FloRugby #2 among HS Clubs), Fishers (FloRugby single-school #10), and St. Edward (FloRugby single-school #9).
Royal Irish beat St. Edward 12-7 on Saturday and shut out Charlotte Catholic on Sunday. Meanwhile, Fishers shut out Charlotte Catholic 45-0 on Saturday and beat St. Edward 45-15 on Sunday.
Jack Phillips was the top player for Fishers, making every kick he attempted, while Eric Thomas, Nick Coheen, Seth Dunnuck, Billy Reiter, Michael Longon, and Matt Holht all got on the scoresheet. It was a very solid opening for Fishers.
Granite Bay Knocks Off Lamorinda
Granite Bay knocked off #1-ranked Lamorinda 22-5 Saturday in Rugby NorCal action.
Ranked #3 among HS Clubs by FloRugby, Granite Bay won a hard-hitting battle thanks to a solid defensive effort.
Lamorinda, in fact, scored first, working a nice kick-and-chase move to take a 5-0 lead.
(David Barpal photos)
But after that, Granite Bay did well to shut Lamo down. It wasn't, however, until the 27th minute that the Grizzlies were able to reply. After prolonged pressure, Granite Bay prop Bryce Van Order picked up and powered over the line, and we were tied 5-5.
Boys HS Games March 13-17
It's a much bigger slate of games across HS Rugby.
Here is the list so far. Did we miss your game? Let us know.
Why are we missing your games? Check your league or SBO website ... is the schedule up to date? Are scores recorded? Let us know!
(Congrats to Rugby Michigan for updating their score reporting system!)
Check back for scores
Redhawks Rebound With League Win In NC
On Tuesday night, the Raleigh Redhawks traveled 25 miles to Chapel Hill to take on the Highlanders in the Redhawks' first league match of the season, and the 39 – 5 win helped ease the pain of their loss to Gonzaga over the weekend.
After a slow and sloppy start over the first 15 minutes, the tries started to come in quick succession with a hat-trick from junior fullback Sincere LeCraft in the first half. LeCraft is back in the Redhawks’ lineup after a four-year absence during which he focused on football. Also scoring for the Redhawks were junior lock Vince Meymandi, junior wing Anthony Quiovers (two tries), and junior lock Sam Sorice.
Xavier Opens It Up Against Tough Fort Hunt
Xavier HS laid down a very impressive performance over the weekend with a 59-7 defeat of Fort Hunt.
A hugely physical game, Xavier brought some of the size and power they have in other years lacked. With some monstrous hits in the opening minutes the tone for the game was set early on and the game looked to be a grind-it-out affair.
(Photos, Adam Smith above, and bottom two at left. David Hughes photos top three at left)
But despite the size of the forward packs and the wet conditions, the backs opened it up. The backlines showed some good ballhandling and played good defense, as well, and made sure they wouldn't left out.
the hard hits took their toll and Fort Hunt saw one player taken off early for a suspected concussion. That didn't help the Warriors any.
De La Salle Takes 3rd In California
Paced by some strong work from lock Cole Taft, hooker Jon Puckett, and center Erich Storti, De La Salle edged St. Augustine in the All-California Single-School 3rd/4th match Saturday.
This was played as part of the two-game curtain-raiser series before the Cal-UCLA game. Jesuit won the state title with a win over St. John Bosco. De La Salle ran out to a three-try lead at halftime, but Austine roared back to make a game of it. The teams traded the lead, but De La Salle held on at the end, 43-40.
NorCal Latest: Granite Bay Win Tight One
It's all heating up in the Northern California Boys HS Premier leagues.
While Jesuit was off winning the All-California single-school title over St. John Bosco, the rest of the top teams were in action. Lamorinda built on their wins over Danville and SFGG with a 74-29 defeat of CK McClatchy.
Tour to Ireland Helped Make Lamorinda #1
Meanwhile, Danville, the defending national HS Club champion, has lost twice after being beaten 34-31 by Granite Bay. This was quite the clash. Prop Cameron Nelson thundered through some arm tackles to score four minutes it, and while Danville replied, Nelson's second regained the lead for the Grizzlies.
Photos by Dan Bandoni
Jesuit Changes Tactics To Win California Single-School Final
Jesuit of Sacramento defeated St. John Bosco 32-24 to win the All-California Single-School title Saturday.
This championship is a revitalization of a fixure that was held for some years, but abandoned. Rugby NorCal and the Southern California Interscholastic Rugby Federation brought it back this year. De La Salle defeated St. Augustine to take 3rd.
Bosco, which won the SCIRF on the backs of a powerful, athletic forward pack, crunched ahead to a 17-15 halftime lead. But Jesuit responded well, using the boot to force Bosco to run more and backpedal more than that, and it worked.
"They were very big and physical, and caused problems for us," said Jesuit Director of Rugby John Shorey. "Bosco is a very good team, and very athletic."
Charlotte Tigers Impressive, Shut Out Catholic
Charlotte Tigers made a bit of a statement in MSIRL and North Carolina HS Club action, with a 47-0 defeat of Charlotte Catholic.
This was a game that counts on both competitions—North Carolina's single-school season is over (Not Broughton won), and this is the second half, the Open, or HS Club, season. Both teams are also in the Mid-South Independent Rugby League which includes teams from a variety of states.
Scrumhalf Alex Paquette led a huge defensive effort that continually pushed Catholic back. Inside center Ethyn Baker led the attack and was often creating pace and then offloading to his teammates to exploit that space. Flanker William Smith was a bit of both, bruising on defense and powerful in attack. In the 2nd-grade game, the Tigers beat Catholic 42-7.
