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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 Liberty 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 56-7 Rocky Mountain Idaho
4/4 Timberline 19-87 Middleton Idaho
4/4 Owyhee at Meridian Idaho
4/4 Fordham Prep 36-26 Pelham HS Rugby NY
4/4 Orchard Park 21-38 McQuaid Jesuit Rugby NY
4/4 Warrior at Dublin Ohio
4/5 Brophy Prep 20-10 Tempe Arizona
4/5 Eclipse 24-45 Phoenix Arizona
4/5 Red Mountain 31-35 Scottsdale Arizona
4/5 Titans at Monarch Colorado
4/5 Fairfield Pregasi 7-62 Trumbull Connecticut
4/5 Yakima at Pendleton OR E. Wash.
4/5 Okapi White 38-0 Tampa Florida
4/5 Okapi Pink 20-17 Fort Lauderdale Florida
4/5 Key Biscayne 20-0 Boca Jrs Florida
4/5 Wellington 26-42 Jacksonville Florida
4/5 United 5-89 KC Jr. Blues Kansas
4/5 St. Thomas Aquinas 12-10 St. Martin's Kansas
4/5 Hammond HS 0-81 Brother Martin Louisiana
4/5 Jesuit New Orleans 55-7 St. Paul Louisiana
4/5 STL Jets at SLUH Missouri
4/5 Yellowstone 14-90 Helena Montana
4/5 Gallatin 73-12 Cascade Montana
4/5 Spartans 0-57 Woodlands Texas
4/5 Redhawks T1 7-40 Wando N. Carolina T1
4/5 Cardinals Blue 17-13 Clayton N. Carolina T1
4/5 Tigers T2 at Clayton T2 N. Carolina T2
4/5 SoPi Sandhills 27-22 Cardinals Gold N. Carolina T2
4/5 St. Ignatius Blue 7-57 Detroit Central Catholic Non-Conf.
4/5 Georgetown Prep 19-28 Fort Hunt Non-Conf.
4/5 St. Edward 14-50 Gonzaga Non-Conf.
4/5 Charlotte Tigers 25-37 Charlotte Cardinals Non-Conference
4/5 Carmichael 40-7 Elsie Allen NorCal Gold
4/5 Lamorinda 48-31 SacAir NorCal Gold
4/5 Gridley at EPA NorCal Gold
4/5 St. Xavier 14-64 St. Ignatius Cle. Ohio
4/5 Chesterton Academy 0-90 ND de la Salette Illinois
4/5 St. Joseph's BTS 17-41 Xavier Rugby NY
4/5 Gorilla 12-24 Wichita Kansas
4/5 F5 19-12 Bixby Oklahoma
4/5 Norman at Plano Oklahoma
4/5 Linn Benton Lions 36-41 Chinook Wolf Pack Oregon
4/5 West Valley Rams 0-87 Bend Blues Oregon
4/5 Canby 12-47 Eastside Tsunami Oregon
4/5 Beaverton Barbarians 14-20 Summit Oregon
4/5 Chaminade 0-41 Xavier Rugby NY
4/5 Raptors 1 13-48 Mustangs 1 SoCal D1
4/5 OMBAC 10-48 Thunder SoCal D1
4/5 Raptors 2 12-26 Mustangs 2 SoCal D2
4/5 Pasadena 10-29 Santa Monica SoCal D2
4/5 Tribe 17-19 Empire SoCal D2
4/5 Seattle Panthers 0-73 Eastside Lions Washington
4/5 Rainier Highlanders 31-31 Liberty Patriots Washington
4/5 Corning 12-62 Grand Island Rugby NY
4/5 Fairport 27-33 Canisius Rugby NY
4/5 Stallions 22-34 CRC Berserkers Illinois
4/5 South Suburban 12-22 Chicago Lions Illinois
4/5 Riverton 25-21 Tribal Utah
4/5 West Valley Warriors 12-14 Brighton Utah
4/5 Highland 34-29 Kearns Utah
4/5 De la Salle 26-7 Marin NorCal Premier
4/5 Granite Bay 29-26 SFGG NorCal Premier
4/5 Motherlode 17-29 Jesuit Sac NorCal Premier
4/6 Union Gold 12-32 Christian Bros. Acad. New Jersey
4/6 Valor 12-20 New Trier Non-Conf.
4/6 Play Rugby USA rsch Rye HS Rugby NY
4/6 Conestoga 0-35 Gregory the Great RugbyPA D1
4/6 Cumberland Valley 5-28 Malvern Prep RugbyPA D1
4/6 Doylestown 35-0 Berks RugbyPA D1
4/6 St. Joseph's 17-17 LaSalle RugbyPA D1
4/6 Blackthorn 5-25 Mont. Co. RugbyPA D2
4/6 Roman Catholic 42-5 Malvern Prep RugbyPA D2
4/6 St. Joe's D2 28-5 LaSalle D2 RugbyPA D2
4/6 West Chester 0-25 Lehigh Valley RugbyPA D2
4/6 Elizabethtown 8-19 Downingtown RugbyPA D2
4/6 Knightmare 42-7 Bishop Shanahan RugbyPA D2
4/6 Central Catholic 0-35 Indiana RugbyPA D2
4/6 West Allegheny 14-38 Moon Area RugbyPA D2
4/6 Wash Township 40-5 Delaware County RugbyPA D2
4/6 Kenmore at CNY Rugby NY
4/6 Medina 78-0 Mentor Ohio
4/6 Perry 0-47 Westshore Ohio
4/6 Hudson at Shaker Ohio
4/6 Brother Rice 0-47 Fenwick Illinois
4/7 Northern Force at Withrow Ohio
4/7 Marquette 95-3 Eastside Exiles Wisconsin