Around the Nation in Boys HS Rugby Action

03.27.2023HS Boys

Much, much happened in boys HS rugby and we covered a bunch of it, only to see even more went down.

We have some links on more detailed articles sprinkled through.

Mid-Atlantic and South

Hitting their stride, Fort Hunt defeated Richmond 59-5 over the weekend. Jude Beatty’s kicking from the hand and the tee was outstanding. At scrumhalf he ran the attack nicely, scored a try, logged 19 points, and set up his teammates well.

The Charlotte Cardinals won convincingly over Raptor Rugby of Tennessee. Charlotte Tigers defeated Wando 40-7 paced by three tries from Pete Hayes.

AYR War Eagle defeated Phoenix Alpharetta 48-12, led by a strong defensive effort from their back row. Scrumhalf Evan Cram was very effective, and prop Will Ashby produced a highlight with a thundering run for a try.

Vienna Slogs Out Win Over Aspetuck

Gonzaga Impresses in Victory over St. Ignatius

Jacksonville's workmanlike 21-7 victory over Tampa put the Wolverines at 3-3 and in the conversion to be among the top four teams in Florida. Okapi remains undefeated and really hasn't been tested much. Boca is hanging in there at 4-3 and Gibbons plays Jax and then Key Biscayne (who have a good record but strangely don't have as many games schedule as everyone else). The seeding 2nd through 5th comes down to the wire.

In Maryland, North Bay defeated Frederick 62-0. Led by four tries from Donnie Mullins and 12 points from the boot of flyhalf Kaden Jackson North Bay opened their season nicely. Frederick had their moments, played hard, and had a good game from flyhalf Paul Ireland.

The Raleigh Redhawks defeated Clayton 38-17 in North Carolina and finally are close to getting their most experienced starting 15 on the field since their competitive loss to Vienna. They have battled well though and continue to post victories

Pacific Northwest

The Rainier Highlanders defeated Chuckanut in Washington, handling some lineup changes with aplomb. Liberty beat Budd Bay 60-10.

Camas is emerging already as the top team in Oregon after they beat Beaverton. Ten tires from Camada saw them through with outside center Alex Holley scoring two and logging tackle after tackle.

West Coast Reports

NorCal Latest: GB, Marin, Danville

SoCal Clubs Start Competing

Midwest (ish)

Moeller beat St. Xavier in emphatic fashion, which was perhaps a bit of a shocker, 43-7. Center Aidan Sargent scored two tries for Moeller and wing Ethan Watkins also scored two. Robert Speigle, Ryan Mechley, and Addison Wendt also touched down.

Oklahoma kicked off and Bixby won comfortably, as did F5, Tulsa, and Wichita. That’s just a start of who might be the strongest in the Sooner State.

Colorado

In a very evenly-contested match it was Regis Jesuit's forwards against Valor's speedy backs. Valor flanker Nico Zaharas sniped over after a long period of pressure with flyhalf Zach Maughn converting.

Regis came back with lock Alex Plank busting through and shrugging off tacklers.

But Valor struck back with a chip by Maughn and a chase and scoop from center Matt Hunter. He had to work hard to score but score he did. Maughn added a penalty to ice it.

That Play-In

Xavier of New York was slated to play Rye in a play-in for HS Nationals, and that happened. Rye started well and led 14-5 at halftime. Xavier controlled possession in the second half and pulled out a 25-17 victory. It was 20-17 until very late. Rye was right there and competed very well.

“We were down 14-5 because of our own mistakes,” said Xavier captain Christopher O’Halloran-Gannon. “But in the second half, we found our game and it was the best half of rugby we have played as a team.”

“It was an excellent win,” added assistant coach Ski Bailey, “Rye is a very good team. They are well coached and it was a fight, so hats off to their players and coaches; they had us under pressure for the entire match.” Bailey

Flyhalf Charles Kinzie and wing Padraig Long scored for Xavier before the forards took over with Anthony Dabao, O’Halloran-Gannon, and flanker Matthew Scarano going over.

Scrum-half Sean Donohue was instrumental in keeping the Knights focused.

“I think we were excellent in the forwards,” Donohue said “but our backs struggled due to Rye’s excellent line speed. We made mistakes on defense, on attacks, and we had too many penalties in the first half, but I think the emotion of the game drove us to win.”

Fairfield Prep Wins NE Jesuit Tournament

Travels

St. Thomas of Houston traveled to Michigan to play Detroit Central Catholic. DCC won 21-17 with prop Rob Wierzbicki, hooker Owen Wright, and scrumhalf Ryan Schrameck scoring tries. For St. Thomas, Thomas Erb, Sam Cornell, and Jacob Michael scored. The difference was Detroit fullback Peter Saval’s goalkicking as he was a perfect 3-for-3 on conversions.

Strake Jesuit Shuts Out Dallas Jesuit

Woodlands and 901 showed up in Louisiana to play Jesuit New Orleans, Brother Martin, and each other. Jesuit New Orleans battled well but were undone by 901 26-24 and Woodlands 42-16. Jesuit NOLA were missing a couple of key players against 901 and that hurt them. They were there for Woodlands and the side played some smart rugby in tough conditions. Woodlands defense and aggression saw them through. Wing Nick Beagle and scrumhalf Neel Menon made some keep players and Menon ended the day with 17 points. Tommy Kratt once again was was good at center.

And then, Woodlands played 901 on Sunday. The depth of The Woodlands was on display and 901 ran into a bit of a wall. Woodlands won 65-5. That’s a signal that the Texas team might be a formidable opponent come national championship time.