Texas Sweep Boys Brackets At RMC
Rugby Texas logged an excellent weekend at the Rocky Mountain Challenge, taking both the Boys Tier 1 and Boys Tier 2 titles.
The HS all-star event is split into two tiers for boys and for girls, with Tier 1 being for U18s, and Tier 2 for U16s. Sophomores and Juniors can play up or down depending on age, but Seniors and Freshmen cannot.
Texas Tier 1 Boys defeated 5785 out of Colorado 20-12 in the final.
Texas Tier 2 Boys defeated Wisconsin 44-6 in the final.
The Girls Tiers were much smaller, but Rugby Colorado won the round-robin in Tier 1 with OKNTX coming in a close second. And in Tier 2 5785 won.
In the Boys Middle School bracket, the Salt Lake City Rhinos came away with the championship.
Texas Tier 1 team:
Bo Byrd, Allen
Evan Conlon, Woodlands
Carson Cross, Lake Travis
Cal Camp Set The Bar, And Is Back For 2018
BERKELEY – Limited space remains available for boys age 15-18 to enroll at this summer's Cal Varsity Rugby Camp, the premier on-campus student-athlete experience for aspiring collegiate rugby players, held July 24-27 at the University of California.
St. Augustine Takes NJ SS Crown
St. Augustine won the New Jersey single-school boys title for the second time in a row, holding off a determined Delbarton.
St. Augustine handled the first half well leading 27-7 at half. Delbarton did show a surg in the second half, but it was not enough to catch St. Augustine who were crowned the 2018 Rugby NJ Gold Division Champions. Final Score St. Augustine 34 Delbarton 17.
Jimmy Oliva of St. Augustine was awarded the Golden Boot and Sean Lenzsch was the top scorer.
Tries: Sean Lenzsch 3, Connor Hohman 1, Matt Compton 1
Penalty Kicks: Jimmy Oliva 1
Conversions: Jimmy Oliva 3
HS Games This Weekend - Playoffs and Champions
We've got a long list of Boys HS state champions below, along with some other major tournament winners.
But there are more to decide, with Minnesota, Ohio, and Massachusetts, especially, still to decide.
So below are some championship schedules, and then a list of who has won at the state level so far.
Congrats to all.
Xavier Stalwart John Kelly Dies
This from Xavier HS: Xavier has lost one of its best. Coach John Kelly, loving husband of Janine, devoted father of Seamus '09 and Sean '10, and a true Man for Others, passed away early today after a long and fierce battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Here are the details on Coach Kelly's final arrangements:
VISITATION
Rugby Maryland Selected To Face Beyond Rugby Bermuda
Rugby Maryland will field a U17 and U19 Boys all-star team to face Beyond Rugby Bermuda Friday.
Beyond Rugby is a youth outreach program in Bermuda started by John Layfield, and has helped at-risk youth throughout the island.
This team is touring the USA.
The Rugby Maryland teams are:
Rugby Maryland U17s
Noah Astrup -- Sophomore, Wing -- 6'1" 160 lbs -- Maryland Exiles
Blas Capellutto -- Freshman, Scrumhalf -- 5'4" 115 lbs -- Maryland Exiles
James Carroll -- Freshman, Flanker -- 5'9" 165 lbs -- DeMatha Catholic HS
Thomas Gao -- Freshman, Flyhalf -- 5'9" 160 lbs -- Landon
James Liggens -- Freshman, Eight -- 5'10" 210 lbs -- Maryland Exiles
Pierre Liggens -- Sophomore, Prop -- 5'10" 270 lbs -- Maryland Exiles
Belmont Stays Top in Massachusetts
Belmont HS leads the MIAA table as the league moves into June after beating defending D2 state champion, Hanover HS, 46-12.
In a competitive game, Belmont led only 21-12 at halftime after Hanover rebounded from an early deficit. But the second half was all Belmont as center Nathanael Taylor showed off some smart kicking skills and tries from scrumhalf Joe Viale (his third of the day) and flanker Will Lozano made it 39-12.
A box kick from Viale set up center George Fitzgerald for a try to finish off the scoring at 46-12. Viale, Will Lozano, Mark Morash, Fitzgerald, and Maxwell Baskerville all played well for a Belmont team that has alreayd logged wins over BC High and Lincoln-Sudbury.
The playoffs are around the corner and Belmont should have the #1 seed.
Current MIAA Standings:
Neuqua Wins Boys D1 In Illinois
Neuqua defeated Morton HS 48-12 this past weekend to take the Rugby Illinois Boys HS D1 Championship.
Neuqua finished the 2018 Varsity Season 16-0, including four wins over ranked teams. Defensively, the team gave up no more than two tries in any match during Rugby Illinois regular season and playoffs, and capped playoffs with 177 points for and only 19 points against.
Morton came in on a high after defeating LaSalette in the semi-final on their side of the bracket and didn't disappoint the big home crowd by taking an early 7-0 lead after some grinding forwards pick and go rugby to punch in. Neuqua responded immediately, securing their own kickoff and marching down into Morton territory.
State Championship Updates: NY, NJ, CT
Here's a look at HS championships from the Tri-State Area:
Connecticut
Greenwich took the Rugby Connecticut title this past weekend, defeating Staples 33-27 in the state final.
This was a solid showing by Staples, which defeated ranked Aspetuck Valley to make the final. Unlike Greenwich and Aspetuck, Staples did not play at the Boys HS National Championships, and it showed as the two nationals teams limped into the playoffs.
Sebastiano Villani and DJ Brown led the way for Greenwich, while Andrew Nanai was a force on defense and Emilio Camou was excellent getting go-forward.
New Jersey
The Union Mudturtles and the Jersey Shore Sharks set the stage for a very exciting club championship game.
Upsets Marking State HS Championships
Here are some updates on HS Boys rugby around the nation.
Massachusetts
The MIAA keeps on rolling and Belmont High is still on top. Belmont beat Lincoln-Sudbury and Xaverian Brothers to remain undefeated in the Massachusetts varsity league.
Nebraska
Glenwood took the state title, defeating Gretna 51-19 in the semis and Millard 44-19 in the final.
Cup Semis:
Glenwood 51 - Gretna 19
Millard 26 - Westside 24
5th-Place Semis:
Northwest 69 - Siouxfalls 0
Siouxland 28 - Papio/Council Bluffs 0
7th place: Papio/Council Bluffs 28 - Sioux Falls 0
5th place: Siouxland 35 - Northwest 10
3rd place: Westside 27 - Gretna 17
1st place: Glenwood 44 - Millard 19
Tacoma Pulls Off Double-Shock In Washington
Going into this past weekend's Rugby Washington state finals, you'd be hard-pressed to pick the winner.
With Eastside passing up the boys playoffs to play at nationals, most would have picked Liberty to take the final. But that didn't happen.
On the girls side, Kent has long been the queen bee - sometimes pushed but never really surpassed. But Kent didn't win, either.
In both cases, Tacoma took the title.
"It was a pretty amazing weekend," said Tacoma Head Coach Marc Sullivan. "With the girls, they've only been on the trophy for the last several years. It was two different approaches to the game. They play more of a speed game and try to get on the outside, and we have more of a power game and try to go through the middle of them."
Glenwood Wins Nebraska
Glenwood took the Rugby Nebraska title, defeating Gretna and Millard over the past weekend to get there.
May 19th
Rugby NY Playoffs This Weekend
The Rugby NY state championships are set for May 27-28, with national #4 Xavier headlining a competitive field.
Xavier, Canisius, Fordham Prep, and Kenmore will be in the Boys D1 bracket competing for the Mike Tolkin Cup.
Orchard Park, which finished 4th in the Girls Single-School national tournament, headlines the girls semis.
Mudturtles Win in NJ - 4 Games In 4 Days
The Union County Mudturtles (7-0 league play, 11 - 4 overall) returned home late Saturday night from the 2018 Boys High School Rugby National Championship to face off with Bergen RFC in the New Jersey Club semi-finals. The Union team finished 1-2 at the Nationals with a win over Phoenix Alpharetta (GA) and a close loss to St. Thomas Aquinas after facing off and loosing against eventual Tier II winner San Diego Mustangs.
The tired Mudturtles rebounded on Sunday to kit up for their playoff game against a big and bruising Bergen side. The Union team got off to a slow start, allowing Bergen to go up 5-0. After some strong attacks by both sides were thwarted by stonewall defenses, it seemed as if this was going to be a low scoring defensive contest.
Germantown Shocks Harpeth To Win Tennessee
The 2018 Tennessee Boys Cup final at the campus of MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN saw the top two teams from the playoff stages square up against each other; Germantown Mustangs from the West and Harpeth Harlequins from Middle Tennessee. This being their first showdown of the season set the stage for two physical and technically talented teams to compete for the spoils and victors bragging rights.
