We're getting close to 100 games this weekend with playoffs and tournaments and much more going on.
The Midwest Championships
This is a well-run tournament with a championship tier plus an Open/JV division and a development division too. We aren't listing the development games but the other two are in there. Interestingly, we weren't expecting to see #2-ranked St. Ignatius in the championship bracket but there was a late pullout. It's St. Ignatius prom weekend (or something, we're actually not sure) that keeps the seniors away, so this will be a full-underclassmen team. So in a way it's a preview of what this team might look like next year.
The team we're watching here is St. Edward, which gets their biggest and most varied challenge yet, and could well be the favorite.
Playoffs
Northern California's final is Granite Bay vs Danville—these two tied earlier in the season and are ranked #1 and #3. Both are going to HS Nationals, which is fun. Southern California has its semifinals with #1-seed and #2-ranked Belmont Shore in there. The Utah semifinals are here, too, and this is the beginning of a big run for Herriman, which has a habit of slipping up in a game or two during the season. They did that vs East HS, so we'll see if that holds.
Speaking of East HS, there's another East in another playoff as Colorado gets its semis going. All of these teams have been very close, but East seems to be the strongest so far, led by hooker Tyler Boehm and captain and flyhalf Quentin Patnoe.
North Carolina also has its semifinals, as does Washington. Texas has its HS club final with Woodlands against West Houston. Boca takes on Okapi in the Florida final. Both of these matchups have happened already this year. West Houston lost to Woodlands 33-21 on February 18. Okapi and Boca played in the opening weekend of the Florida season on January 21, with Okapi winning 18-3. That was by far the closest game Okapi played in-state all spring.
Rankings Games
Well sure they're all rankings games, but games we're keeping a close eye on include BC High's several matches over the next few days, the Rugby PA quarterfinals, Staples vs Fairfield Prep,
