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April Brings More into HS Rugby Action

irish rugby tours

April Brings More into HS Rugby Action

Aaron Kimball on the run for Wichita.

We're seeing a few leagues wake from their hibernation now that April is upon us, and that's great news.

A few top teams are back from touring and others are on a trip. 

We want to focus on a couple of teams in the middle of the country. 

The first is Wichita. The Kansas team was playing in Oklahoma but has switched to Kansas (the travel times for both states are similar) looking for more consistent competition. It has already worked out. Their A-side beat the Kansas City Jr. Blues 15-14 last week, with their JVs winning the same fixture also by a point, 22-21.

Does this mean Wichita has arrived? Not quite, said Head Coach Paul Enegren.

"We got started early," Enegren said. "What that means was we got a few late arrivals from wrestling and other sports. But that also allowed some other players to get time."

They logged good early results against United and Oklahoma teams Norman and F5 before tying the Blues in preseason.

They lost to St. Martin's Kingfishers but then added wins over St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James before last week's win over the Junior Blues.

All of this is a result of Wichita chasing competition. Rather than resting on their laurels, the Barbarians decided to put themselves in a position to play more tough games. Clearly the players have responded.

The second is Bixby. Tragically at the beginning of the season Bixby saw one of their top players passed away. Bixby returns to league play this week after a bye week. They are into the meat of their season now, but a season that requires a lot of travel and commitment. they looked very good at the Lindenwood tournament and new Head Coach Simon Hernandez said every player elevated after Jackson Neerman, last year's JV player of the year, passed.

"We have really gone back to basics and worked on mastering our craft," Hernandez said. "Our motto for this year is "control chaos.' Once we control that, every minute will be a step to victory. However, our celebration is also bittersweet. We're still grieving the loss of ur teammate. Jack was a funny, outgoing, crazy kid. Not only did we lose a mate, but a captain at that."

This season Bixby starts every game with 14 players on the field until the first stoppage No one wears #15, Jack Neerman's number, and instead after the first stoppage, the player wearing #16 runs on. It's a massive tribute to the young man, but the leading players, Bryson Davis among themand Sam DeWoody, along with Rhys Novosad and Hector Garcia, have helped channel that grief into a team.

Bixby hosts F5.


Other Notes: St. Thomas Aquinas vs Kingfishers and Georgetown Prep vs Fort Hunt may well be the biggest games of the week, although we're got an eye on Strake Jesuit vs Lake Travis in Texas and Rainier at Libertu in Washington. The Principia Tournament has been rained out, which is a shame. 

Check back for scores:

Date Away at Home Comp.
4/3 St. Rita 53-10 Mt. Carmel Illinois
4/3 Jesuit New Orleans at Shaw Louisiana
4/3 Calvert Hall 14-12 Mount St. Joseph Md. IAA
4/3 Archbishop Spalding 35-13 Loyola Blakefield Md. IAA
4/3 Streetsville (ON) 24-34 Vienna Non-Conf.
4/4 Belmont HS 17-17 Xaverian Bros. Mass IAA
4/4 Greenwich 74-19 Ridgefield Connecticut
4/4 BC High 57-14 Weymouth Mass IAA
4/4 Strake Jesuit 26-24 Lake Travis TX/LA VC
4/4 Staples HS 29-30 Fairfield Prep Connecticut
4/4 Eagle at Rocky Mountain Idaho
4/4 Timberline at Middleton Idaho
4/4 Owyhee at Meridian Idaho
4/4 Fordham Prep at Pelham HS Rugby NY
4/4 Orchard Park at McQuaid Jesuit Rugby NY
4/4 Warrior at Dublin Ohio
4/5 Brophy Prep vs Tempe Arizona
4/5 Eclipse vs Phoenix Arizona
4/5 Red Mountain vs Scottsdale Arizona
4/5 Titans at Monarch Colorado
4/5 St. Ignatius Var. Blue at Detroit Cent. Cath. Cross Border
4/5 Yakima at Pendleton OR E. Wash.
4/5 Okapi White at Tampa Florida
4/5 Okapi Pink at Fort Lauderdale Florida
4/5 Key Biscayne at Boca Jrs Florida
4/5 Wellington at Jacksonville Florida
4/5 United at KC Jr. Blues Kansas
4/5 St. Thomas Aquinas at St. Martin's Kansas
4/5 Hammond HS vs Brother Martin Louisiana
4/5 Jesuit New Orleans vs St. Paul Louisiana
4/5 STL Jets at SLUH Missouri
4/5 Yellowstone at Helena Montana
4/5 Gallatin at Cascade Montana
4/5 Tigers at Cardinals Red N. Carolina T1
4/5 Redhawks T1 at Wando N. Carolina T1
4/5 Cardinals Blue at Clayton N. Carolina T1
4/5 Tigers T2 at Clayton T2 N. Carolina T2
4/5 SoPi Sandhills at Cardinals Gold N. Carolina T2
4/5 St. Ignatius Blue at Detroit Central Catholic Non-Conf.
4/5 Georgetown Prep at Fort Hunt Non-Conf.
4/5 St. Edward at Gonzaga Non-Conf.
4/5 Charlotte Tigers at Charlotte Cardinals Non-Conference
4/5 Gridley at EPA NorCal Gold
4/5 Carmichael at Elsie Allen NorCal Gold
4/5 Lamorinda at SacAir NorCal Gold
4/5 Gridley at EPA NorCal Gold
4/5 St. Xavier at St. Ignatius Cle. Ohio
4/5 Chesterton Academy at ND de la Salette Illinois
4/5 St. Joseph's BTS at Xavier Rugby NY
4/5 Gorilla at Wichita Kansas
4/5 F5 at Bixby Oklahoma
4/5 Norman at Plano Oklahoma
4/5 Linn Benton Lions at Chinook Wolf Pack Oregon
4/5 West Valley Rams at Bend Blues Oregon
4/5 Canby at Eastside Tsunami Oregon
4/5 Beaverton Barbarians at Summit Oregon
4/5 Chaminade at Xavier Rugby NY
4/5 Raptors 1 at Mustangs 1 SoCal D1
4/5 OMBAC at Thunder SoCal D1
4/5 Raptors 2 at Mustangs 2 SoCal D2
4/5 Pasadena at Santa Monica SoCal D2
4/5 Tribe at Empire SoCal D2
4/5 Seattle Panthers at Eastside Lions Washington
4/5 Rainier Highlanders at Liberty Patriots Washington
4/5 Corning at Grand Island Rugby NY
4/5 Fairport at Canisius Rugby NY
4/5 Stallions at CRC Berserkers Illinois
4/5 South Suburban at Chicago Lions Illinois
4/5 Riverton at Tribal Utah
4/5 West Valley Warriors at Brighton Utah
4/5 Highland at Kearns Utah
4/5 De la Salle at Marin NorCal Premier
4/5 Granite Bay at SFGG NorCal Premier
4/5 Motherlode at Jesuit Sac NorCal Premier
4/6 Union Gold at Christian Bros. Acad. New Jersey
4/6 St. Joseph BTS at Xavier Rugby NY
4/6 Play Rugby USA at Rye HS Rugby NY
4/6 Conestoga at Gregory the Great RugbyPA D1
4/6 Cumberland Valley at Malvern Prep RugbyPA D1
4/6 Doylestown at Berks RugbyPA D1
4/6 St. Joseph's at LaSalle RugbyPA D1
4/6 Blackthorn at Mont. Co. RugbyPA D2
4/6 Roman Catholic at Malvern Prep RugbyPA D2
4/6 St. Joe's D2 at LaSalle D2 RugbyPA D2
4/6 West Chester at Lehigh Valley RugbyPA D2
4/6 Elizabethtown at Downingtown RugbyPA D2
4/6 Knightmare at Bishop Shanahan RugbyPA D2
4/6 Central Catholic at Indiana RugbyPA D2
4/6 West Allegheny at Moon Area RugbyPA D2
4/6 Wash Township at Delaware County RugbyPA D2
4/6 Kenmore at CNY Rugby NY
4/6 Medina at Mentor Ohio
4/6 Perry at Westshore Ohio
4/6 Hudson at Shaker Ohio
4/7 Northern Force at Withrow Ohio