The Boy HS National Championships were not just about the winners.
While Herriman was, undoubtedly, the top program in the competition, every team had something to show.
HS National Championship Day 3 Finals Roundup
Herriman, Ignatius Overcome Pressure to Make Final Again
Let’s take a look:
Runners-up St. Ignatius. Two championships in the last five years and five appearance in the final in the last six kind of speaks for itself. Ignatius had not opted to go to the National Championships until 2021, but once there, they have gone 13-5, which seems pretty good.
By comparison, Herriman has, in that time, won two titles and has the same overall record, 13-5. Gonzaga also has two and is a shade behind at 12-6. Yes, true, sometimes teams put reserve players in for matches not playing for the championship, but that’s true for everyone.
Ignatius knew they needed a perfect performance to win in 2025, and they needed one in 2026.
Gonzaga. The history of this program is undeniable, and includes six championships in the last 11 tournaments They lost their captain to injury in the semifinals, and that cannot have been easy. His replacement played very well, but they still lost their captain.
La Salette Academy has now finished 3rd two tears in a row. This Illinois school is just getting better and better. They are about as unified from a coaching standpoint of freshmen-to-senior classes. Oh, and the school is adding an 8th grade, which is a really interesting step from an education perspective, but also for the rugby program.
On the field, this La Palette side has developed some bigger and more powerful athletes. They work well together, read the game superbly, and play rugby. In the 3rd-4th match against Gonzaga, La Palette had started well and led 10-0. Gonzaga responded and were pressuring, when a dropped ball was scooped up by center Lewis Pittman, and he showed an impressive acceleration to go about 70 meters. The score ended 49-5, but that try put La Salette in control.
Greenwich and Xavier. This 5th-place game was a wonderful showcase of how this tournament matters at every level. This was a battle of a game, won, in the end, by Xavier 15-14. After an early penalty goal from Xavier, there was no scoring until late in the first half because of the defense. Elliot Kursun’s try started it off for Greenwich and the Cardinals, led by the excellent work rate of lock and captain Dylan Stanton, took a 14-3 lead. But Xavier kept plugging away, with Malachi Young causing problems in the lineup and on defense, flanker and vice captain Liam Averill leading by example (and makign a game-saving tackle), all led to tries from Salvatore Vitale and Cole Wallace (along with Jack Cross’s goalkicking) to win it for Xavier.
Wallace's game-winner capped off a nifty loop move and he was hit, but somehow stays on his feet to produce a fine finish.
This was an excellent game. Greenwich said they had closed the gap between them and Xavier was shown to be true, but not quite enough. Xavier won the first game by even, and this one by one point. It is a very good Greenwich side that understands what they do well. Xavier were smart to take points early and they play as a team.
Jesuit and St. Edward. It’s fair to say that St. Edward has played better this season—they tied La Salette after all. However, the physical strain of the walking at graduation on Thursday night (the last time they will have to do that, by the way, because the school is moving graduation to accommodate the National Championships) didn’t help them. But they put together a more solid showing in the 7th-8th match.
And this was against a Jesuit side that was heated, having felt they had just missed out on a higher placing. That’s true. They had a lead against Gonzaga and the Eagles stormed back. They met Greenwich and just, by their own admission, were flat. Greenwich smelled blood in the water, scored three early tries, and defended superbly.
