The Berks Athletic Club won the Berks Rugby intra-squad 7s series Sunday, taking the final game 29-19 to win the deciding tournament.

Over a series of weeks four teams consisting of players in the Berks Rugby club played each other, in modified 7s rugby. No scrums (three players from each side kneeled on the ground and the ball was passed by the scrumhalf to restart play), no lineouts (restart similar to the non-scrums), and no kicks for posts. Instead of conversions, players scored five-ooint tries, but if they were able to touch down in front of the soccer goals at the ends of the field, the try was seven points. Further, only players registered with the club participating.

Those players were drafted into four different teams, and over the first three tournaments, three different teams won. That meant that the fourth tournament was for all the marbles. 

Berks Athletic Club started 2-0, using their power and hard running to thump the opposition.

The Pagoda Warriors (so named because of the pagoda that sits atop a prominent hill in nearby Reading, Pa.) were 1-1. In their meeting, if BAC won, they would take the tournament at 3-0.

But the Pagoda Warriors stretched the BAC defense and frustrated them with some brave tackling. Steph Peval was especially dangerous out on the wing, and Chris Cleland was a nifty playmaker inside.

All of that resulted in a win for the Pagoda Warriors, leaving both them and BAC at 2-1. So … take a rest and play again for all the marbles.

In the final game, BAC made some adjustments, using their width a bit more, kicking a bit more smartly, and playing more of a team game. Flyhalf Zach Elgogari made several, brilliant cover tackles and was also strong on attack, while Jake Humphrey thundered through tackles. The result was a win for BAC.

But the big victory was the way Berks put the event on. They followed the rules, checked temperatures, worse masks on the sidelines, and disinfected the balls whenever possible. 

Fans came to watch but stayed distanced in their own family groups, and many parents told Goff Rugby Report how happy they were to see their kids back on the field.

There were colleges scouting there—Jay Myles from Mount St. Mary’s was one—and some recent or current college players such as DaQuan Perry and Pete Reyes from Kutztown were helping to coach. 

“We had about 45 kids registered,” said Berks Head Coach Greg Stelluti. “We did a draft, we had it live on social media. Kids were watching to see who drafted them. We had all Berks coaches coaching them and as practiced once a week and every Sunday we had a series of tournaments.

“We wanted to make sure we were as safe as possible,” Stelluti added. “We have a lot of good players. We probably have nine or ten Atlantis kids out there. And we have a lot of kids who were, you know, athletes. It’s really been great for the kids.”