The Boys HS league in Massachusetts is running now, despite rough weather, and in driving wind and rain Thursday night BC Hightook on St. John’s Prep.

Tough conditions to start the MYRO season meant a lot of scrums, the early of which found SJP pressuring BC High. BCH spent much of the first half defending into the wind in their half of the field, making multiple defensive stands within their 22.  SJP flyhalf ran very well, hitting gaps with speed and slipperiness that made him tough to defend.  

Defensive pressure from lock Chris Troiano, No. 8 Griffin Gildea, and center Lucien Haikal kept the SJP attack moving in the wrong direction in loose play and provided a boost to BCH.  Still, with nine minutes to go in the first half, SJP charged down a kick from BC High’s 5-meter line and dotted down the first points of the match. The half would end with St. John's Prep up 5-0.  

BC High Coach Paul Carty said his team basically weathered the storm in the first half, relying on our defensive shape to keep them in the game.

"Given the pressure SJP applied, we were very happy to escape down one try," said Carty.  

Adjustments were made to the set piece at halftime and BC High used the wind well to play the ball deep into SJP territory.  After a few minutes of pressure, Gildea punched through from the base of a ruck to put BCH on the board. Nick Sommer converted the try, giving the Eagles a 7-5 lead.  

BCH used kicks to keep St John’s under pressure, and won a series of penalties to keep possession in attacking territory.  A red card to the SJP scrumhalf gave BC High an opportunity, and hooker and Captain Noah Peterson connected with scrumhalf Alex Richards and rumbled in for a try from 15 meters out, giving BC High a 12-5 lead. The momentum of the try propelled BCH for the last 20 minutes, as the midfield did well in attacking gaps when they appeared, and creating space out wide when the SJP defense was bunched.  Center Patrick McDonough linked with fullback Henry McBride and wing Ryan Connolly to score on a beautiful counter attack.  Sommer converted to make it 19-5.

With a few minutes to play, Connolly made the play of the match, fielding a high kick into the wind and carving up some defenders to score the final try of the match, making the final score 24-5.  

"Our foundation of defense held tough when it needed to, and our boys gained confidence both in our pattern and our ability to create space in attack as the match went on," said Carty. "Credit to St John’s for playing a tough, physical match. We need to address some issues at the set piece, but our core principles are there."