St. Thomas Aquinas is hosting the 2016 Heart of America Classic this weekend, with 12 well-regarded HS teams from around the country.

Aquinas is on a role, having shown well at tournaments in Oklahoma and Lindenwood University, and having beaten their arch rivals, KC Jr. Blues, in a recent game.

Aquinas, along with the Blues, will field two teams in the HOA. 

In Pool A, the Jr. Blues lead the group with local teams Winnetonka and South Central also competing.

The Blues are coming off a St. Louis Ruggefest performance where they sent a mixed group of A-siders and B-siders. It was a late decision to attend the tournament for the Blues, after two local teams had canceled on them. They opened with a 5-5 tie with Bixby, with the Oklahoma team getting the tiebreaker and moving on to the semis.

So the Blues had to play the consolation round, where they beat Eureka, the Chiefs out of Illinois, and, to win 3rd, Bixby.

Flanker Mason Tasset, hooker Roman Fisch, and senior flyhalf Jake Bergner all showed well for the Blues. Bergner is back from a long-term injury and scored four tries at Ruggerfest.

Pool B has the KC Cougars, Jr. Blues Bs, and Blue Valley in a group where the Cougars might well be favored.

In Pool C, the hosts St. Thomas Aquinas should be favored, with Park Hill and Liberty both solid teams.

In Pool D, The Grizzlies out of Colorado Springs join STA B and St. James. Colorado Springs is still in the early stages of the team’s season, but are building and could well win this tournament.

The winners of each pool go into a semifinal-final bracket on Sunday. The 2nd-place teams play for the Plate, and the 3rd-place teams for the Bowl.