Some big, big games this weekend in Boys HS rugby. Here’s a look at some of the matchups and why they’re compelling.

 

Washington

Every game is important in this league where there’s little difference between first and last in the six-team DI league. But first remains Liberty (ranked #8 multi-school team by Goff Rugby Report), who beat Kent (MS#50) 40-25 earlier this week. Budd Bay (MS#48) is now in second place thanks to Kent’s loss, and has an excellent shot at solidifying that position with a home game against 2-4 Eastside. Seattle (tied with Kent at MS#50) can jump out of 6th with a win over Chuckanut.

 

Oregon

It’s a quiet weekend in the Varsity league with the only game between teams near the top being Reynolds (2-1) v Newburgh (2-0). In the club league, Eastside (MS#14) can make a move in their round-robin weekend with Valley and North Clackamas, while Beaverton (MS#33) plays 3-5 Clark County.

 

Idaho

As reported on Goff Rugby Report, Mountain View (Single-School #47) recorded a nice victory against a touring opponent. It’s a full slate this weekend, but we’re still waiting on MV v Capital (SS#45) coming later this season.

 

Northern California

All eyes are on the game between Jesuit (SS#2) v Granite Bay (MS#3) as they play for the Varsity Gold Sacramento Conference lead. This would be the game that sets up the winner to eventually face Danville in the Varsity Gold final April 25, but Jesuit won’t play in the multi-school playoffs because the semis will be held on a Sunday. So it’s for the conference, and then Granite Bay moves on as the Sacramento #1 seed.

Still, this is a hugely intriguing match as it’s two of the best teams in the country, with multiple HS All Americans on each side.

 

Southern California

Los Angeles (MS#22) faces Pasadena in LA’s run to an undefeated season - a win and it’s 5-0 and the playoffs beckoning. But perhaps the bigger game is Fallbrook (SS#5) against the San Diego Young Aztecs (MS#11). While most clubs in Southern California draw from several single-school teams (who have finished their season in February), Fallbrook runs the same group onto the field through the first season and the second. They lose some players to other sports (that’s happening quite a bit in this format), but they’ve hung on, and could record their second conference championship in a single season. If the Young Aztecs win with a bonus point, and deny Fallbrook a bonus point, then they win the South Gold. A bonus point in a loss, or a tie, or a win, gives the conference title to Fallrbook.

 

Arizona

It’s playoff time and the semis this week. Red Mountain (MS#4) has been untouchable and they take on El Mirage, while Desert Vista faces Scottsdale (MS#47).

 

Texas

As reported on Goff Rugby Report, St. Thomas (SS#43) did everything they could in recent weeks to put themselves in playoff position, beating Kingwood (MS#36) and, Thursday night, Cy-Fair (MS#44). That was kind of the game for Texas. Westlake (SS#8) plays Plano (the team perhaps most famous for being the HS club for Eagle Taku Ngwenya), but the Chaps basically have the North sewn up. Lake Travis (SS#21) plays Allen and basically has 2nd in the North sewn up. All the fun stuff in the South (i.e. Kingwood v Cy-Fair) comes next week. Woodlands (MS#12) should have no trouble claiming 1st, so it’s all a battle for 2nd.

 

Utah

A wild, wild weekend in Utah with embattled United (MS#10) against Olympus (SS#12) in a not-so-friendly. Herriman (SS#6) plays defending state club champs Kau Toa, who slipped to #49 among clubs after their humbling by new #9 West Valley. Snow Canyon (SS#10) plays at Las Vegas, while two teams unbeaten in their leagues, East (SS#40) faces Highland.

We will discuss this in greater detail in another article, but the splintering of the old Highland program, which (if you’re too young to remember and haven’t seen the movie) dominated HS rugby for the better part of two decades, has really benefited the game. Highland because single-school, and the kids who would have played for the Black Planet in a club scenario went back to their schools, and, coached by former Highland players, started programs that are now playing superbly. So this is a case of the number of players increasing due to splintering a big club, and the level of play still staying high.

 

Colorado

Twelve teams are in action but the only matchup of teams with solid records is a DII clash between Grand Junction and Monarch.

 

Minnesota

It all starts in Minnesota this week, with Edina once again held up as the favorite, and once against Edina’s coaches warning their players that the other teams (Hopkins?) are pretty good, too.

So everyone’s undefeated on opening day. Here is who plays this weekend:

Southside Boys	at	Minnetonka Boys
Eden Prairie Boys	at	St. Cloud Steelhead
Plymouth Boys	at	Robbinsdale/Brooklyn
North Suburban Boys	at	Eagan Boys
Edina Boys	at	STMA Rugby
South River Boys Sentinels	at	Faribault Boys
Hopkins	at	Duluth

 

Kansas/Missouri

St. Thomas Aquinas (SS#20) plays Park Hill South, and the KC Jr. Blues (MS#5) plays Blue Valley. The KC Cougars (SS#43) don't have a league game but they're still riding high after beating Aquinas. In Eastern Missouri, CBC is running through pretty much everyone.

 

Midwest

The weather is awful in the Midwest this weekend, with those horrible tornados not helping at all. Among the games of note:

Notre Dame De La Salette (SS#11) takes on Brother Rice of Chicago (SS#38) in a game that tells us quite a bit about the balance of power in that area. In Ohio, St. Edward (SS#24) plays Hudson and Pickerington plays Moeller in a game of two teams with 1-0 conference records. 

In Indiana, MS#2 Royal Irish take on SS#33 Brownsburg as the Indiana Super League finally gets going.

 

Iowa 

Iowa is playing 7s, which is compelling in itself. Here's more about their league.

 

New York/New Jersey

Things are starting slowly, but two of the top teams in New Jersey face off with Union (MS#32) playing Morris. We’re also really intrigued by the Pelham v Fordham prep game. Neither is ranked, but one of them might be after this game.

 

Maryland/Virginia/DC

The top two teams in Maryland play teams they are favored against. In Virginia, Fort Hunt (MS#40) faces NOVA. But, really, all eyes are on the Jesuit Classic, which features five ranked teams in a nine-team field (and really, it’s six, because Gonzaga (SS#1) has a second team that, if it played on its own, would probably be ranked). See our Jesuit Classic preview here.

 

Florida

It’s actually all about the playoffs in Florida, and it’s a crazy battle. There are four pools in the Florida Youth Rugby competition, and only the winner of the pool goes to the cup playoffs. The 2nd-place teams play for the Plate, and the 3rd-place for the Bowl … you get the idea. 

FYRA might want to re-think not counting inter-pool games in the standings, as it’s a good barometer of relative ability. But this year they didn’t do that so you play with the conditions you have.

In North Pool A, Dayton (MS#15) plays Tampa, winless but game nonetheless. Orlando (MS#16) plays the Cape Pirates (MS#19). As you can see from the rankings, these teams are regarded highly, and there’s not much between them. If Orlando wins or ties, Orlando wins the pool. But an Orlando loss could open the door for the Pirates (they’d have to win by a lot, though), and most likely will open the door for Daytona.

In South Pool 1, Key Biscayne plays Naples (MS#17), and by our reckoning, a 19-point Key Biscayne win puts the Rats on top of the Bears.

Riviera Beach (@@#17) plays Jupiter in the South 2, but Riviera Beach has this pool wrapped up. RBMA is an interesting school, a public charter school teaching maritime skills to kids who want to get into the Navy, Merchant Marine, or marine sciences. They can play some rugby, too.

Weston (MS#35) has already won South Pool 3 and has a bye anyway.

 

Deep South

The playoffs are coming.