Big Weekend in Boys HS Rugby
Big Weekend in Boys HS Rugby
A few notes from the last couple of weeks and looking ahead.
There was a big result in Northern California that we didn't go over in detail, but it showed the San Mateo Wolverines defeating a very good Elsie Allen side by a fairly emphatic score of 35-12.
The Wolverines wanted to be in NorCal's Premier Division but last year was a tough year for them with every game (!) an away game. That's tough to ask a team to do. They are in the Gold Division instead and playing well. They ran out to a 21-0 lead over Elsoe Allen and played very strong defense, led by lock Lyndon Bailey. Solomone Pifeleti is a big, powerful No. 8 who runs imposingly and defends well also. The backline is led by Filisione Vakalahi and Mateni Puamau who attack well and set up their speedsters.
Remember that Northern California has a single-school championship and a club championship following. Some single-school teams (De La Salle, Jesuit) remains intact throughout the spring. Others (St. Francis, St. Ignatius SF) play the single-school thing and then players splinter off to clubs or, potentially, other sports.
Coach Leka Nemani's team draws from the St. Francis program, so really they are waiting for their club season to start once St. Francis finishes off their season. Interestingly, the Wolverines had so many players that they worked with Silicon Valley to have a bunch of players play with that club—smart move to get more players more 1st-side minutes. Next up for the Wolverines is Gridley.
Brother Martin got a good win over St. Paul in Louisiana and we're coming into a crossover Texas-Louisiana playoff soon (although that's more relevant for NOLA Jesuit). Anyway, it's an excuse to give a nod to Brother Martin and their 41-5 win over St. Paul. Brandson Perez did well to drive the pace of the attack, set up scorers (such as Jonathan Lewis, who scored three, and Maverick Trimble). Perez also converted all five Brother Martin tries (Cameron Coughlin getting the other) and added two penalty goals for 16 points.
Looking Ahead
Back from tour are Gonzaga (Argentina), St. Ignatius (Argentina), SFGG (37-24 over Bective Rangers in Dublin, and 21-19 over Cork Constitution), Xavier (British Columbia), and Danville (17-5 over Elgin and 26-10 over Shawnigan Lake in BC). These tours all seem to have been successful with close, competitive games (wins or losses in some sense aren't as important as getting the right level of competitive).
Danville plays Jesuit this weekend. Gonzaga plays local rivals Georgetown Prep. Ignatius plays in-state rivals Moeller and also sends a side to McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester, NY. Gonzaga sends their Gonzaga Black team to face St. John's.
Other games is special note:
Bixby vs F5 in Oklahoma
Charlotte Cardinals vs Raleigh Redhawks
East HS at East HS (Colorado at Utah)
Greenwich at BC High
St. Thomas Aquinas vs KC Jr. Blues
Penn at Pendleton is a really important game for Penn.
St. Joe's vs Malvern (St. Joe's is on a roll)
Xavier at Pelham
Check back for scores:
| 4/10 | Detroit Central Cath. | 57-7 | Howell | Michigan |
| 4/10 | Ridgefield | 10-43 | Fairfield | Connecticut |
| 4/10 | Carmel | 0-76 | Westfield | Indiana |
| 4/10 | Chargers | 10-17 | Homestead | Indiana |
| 4/10 | Zionsville | 31-12 | Brownsburg | Indiana |
| 4/10 | Plano | 21-17 | Celina | Texas |
| 4/10 | Medina | 32-0 | Avon Lake | Ohio |
| 4/10 | Toledo/Woodard | 28-33 | Perrysburg | Ohio |
| 4/10 | Play Rugby | 7-33 | Xavier | New York |
| 4/10 | St. Anthony's | 47-42 | Fordham Prep | New York |
| 4/11 | Loyola Blakefield | 10-19 | Archbishop Spalding | Md. IAA |
| 4/11 | Naperville | 19-31 | Neuqua | Illinois |
| 4/11 | Dublin | at | Hillard | Ohio |
| 4/12 | Glen Ellyn | 8-7 | Marist HS | Illinois |
| 4/12 | Warren Easton | 7-34 | East Jefferson | Louisiana |
| 4/12 | Georgetown Prep | 14-48 | Gonzaga | MAVRC |
| 4/12 | HCYA | vs | Strake Jesuit | Texas |
| 4/12 | St. Charles | 10-10 | Perry | Ohio |
| 4/12 | Eagle | 40-24 | Rocky Mountain | Idaho |
| 4/12 | East (CO) | 10-36 | East (UT) | Non-Conf. |
| 4/13 | St. Edward | 24-15 | Detroit Central Cath. | Non-Conf. |
| 4/13 | White Station | 15-50 | Brother Martin | Tenn/La. |
| 4/13 | KC Jr. Blues | 24-27 | St. Thomas Aquinas | Mo./Kans. |
| 4/13 | Granite Bay | 0-22 | SFGG | NorCal Premier |
| 4/13 | Pendleton | 34-32 | Yakima | Cascade |
| 4/13 | Regis Jesuit | 12-42 | Monarch | Colorado |
| 4/13 | Valor | 33-17 | Falcons | Colorado |
| 4/13 | Titans | at | Palmer | Colorado |
| 4/13 | Brother Rice | 19-19 | Chicago Lions | Illinois |
| 4/13 | NOLA Jesuit | 17-31 | St. Paul | Louisiana |
| 4/13 | St. John's College | at | Gonzaga Black | MAVRC |
| 4/13 | Eureka | 22-34 | SLUH | Missouri |
| 4/13 | Force | 0-82 | St. Louis Jets | Missouri |
| 4/13 | Clayton | 34-32 | Raleigh Rattlesnakes | NC Tier 1 |
| 4/13 | Cardinals Red | 68-0 | Redhawks | NC Tier 1 |
| 4/13 | Lake Norman | 20-52 | Greensboro | NC Tier 2/3 |
| 4/13 | Cardinals U16 | 26-29 | Southern Pines | NC Tier 2/3 |
| 4/13 | Sandhill Sharks | vs | Cardinals Blue | NC Tier 2/3 |
| 4/13 | St. Ignatius Cle. | 26-18 | McQuaid Jesuit | Non-Conf. |
| 4/13 | Greenwich | 24-40 | BC High | Non-Conf. |
| 4/13 | Gridley | 14-53 | Wolverines | NorCal Gold |
| 4/13 | EPA | 14-19 | Lamorinda | NorCal Gold |
| 4/13 | De La Salle | 12-3 | Mother Lode | NorCal Premier |
| 4/13 | Danville | 19-5 | Jesuit Sac. | NorCal Premier |
| 4/13 | Moeller | 10-42 | St. Ignatius Cle. | Ohio |
| 4/13 | Little Rock | 0-28 | Plano | Oklahoma |
| 4/13 | Wichita | 28-0 | Tulsa | Oklahoma |
| 4/13 | Bixby | 39-38 | F5 | Oklahoma |
| 4/13 | Canby Boys | 0-35 | Bend Blues | Oregon |
| 4/13 | Chinook Wolf Pack | 10-41 | Summit | Oregon |
| 4/13 | Linn Benton Lions | 5-35 | Eastside Tsunami | Oregon |
| 4/13 | Newberg | at | West Valley Rams Varsity | Oregon |
| 4/13 | Thunder | 38-5 | Try Time | SoCal |
| 4/13 | SOC Raptors | 48-21 | OMBAC | SoCal |
| 4/13 | Back Bay | 24-31 | Rancho Cucamonga | SoCal |
| 4/13 | Belmont Shore | 14-29 | San Diego Mustangs | SoCal |
| 4/13 | Pasadena | 14-35 | Santa Monica | SoCal D2 |
| 4/13 | Empire | 17-27 | Belmont Shore | SoCal D2 |
| 4/13 | Hawaiian Gardens | 19-41 | Thunder | SoCal D2 |
| 4/13 | SOC Raptors | 19-12 | Santa Barbara | SoCal D2 |
| 4/13 | Celina | Fft L-W | Woodlands | Texas |
| 4/13 | Faith Family | 19-69 | Lake Travis | Texas |
| 4/13 | Boca | 0-71 | Okapi | Florida |
| 4/13 | Tampa | Fft W-L | Wellington | Florida |
| 4/13 | Blackbirds | at | Red Mountain | Arizona |
| 4/13 | Brophy Prep | at | Firebirds | Arizona |
| 4/13 | Scottsdale | 20-29 | Tempe | Arizona |
| 4/13 | Zionsville | 31-0 | North Central | Indiana |
| 4/13 | Penn | 5-50 | Pendleton | Indiana |
| 4/13 | Bishop Dwenger | 28-15 | Royal Irish | Indiana |
| 4/13 | Westfield | 29-17 | Louisville | Indiana |
| 4/13 | Mudsock | 36-17 | Westside | Indiana |
| 4/13 | Toledo/Woodard | 21-28 | Highland | Ohio |
| 4/13 | Hudson | 14-35 | Olentangy | Ohio |
| 4/13 | Chuckanut | 8-53 | Eastside | Washington |
| 4/13 | Richmond | 33-17 | Vienna | Virginia |
| 4/13 | Loudoun | 19-48 | Fort Hunt | Virginia |
| 4/13 | Owyhee | 92-0 | Rigby | Idaho |
| 4/13 | East (CO) | at | Brighton (UT) | Non-Conf. |
| 4/13 | Tribal | 12-61 | Cavemen | Utah |
| 4/13 | Olympus | at | Mountain Ridge | Utah |
| 4/13 | Provo | 31-26 | SLV Rhinos | Utah |
| 4/13 | West Valley | 19-14 | Highland | Utah |
| 4/13 | Herriman B | 5-26 | Bear River/Cache | Utah |
| 4/13 | LCA | 49-12 | Mountain View | Utah |
| 4/13 | WarFrogs | 14-55 | Cavemen B | Utah |
| 4/13 | South Davis | 38-41 | Kearns | Utah |
| 4/14 | Berks | 29-25 | Cumberland Valley | RugbyPA |
| 4/14 | Doylestown | 29-40 | Conestoga | RugbyPA |
| 4/14 | Gregory the Great | 28-17 | LaSalle | RugbyPA |
| 4/14 | St. Joe's Prep | 40-5 | Malvern Prep | RugbyPA |
| 4/14 | Montco.-Bucks | 65-0 | Lehigh Valley | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Roman Catholic | at | Archmere | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | St. Joe's Prep D2 | 18-12 | Blackthorn | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Delaware Co. | 41-36 | Bish. Shanahan | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Washington Township | 29-17 | West Chester | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | State College | 21-40 | Hollidaysburg | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Chambersburg | at | Cumberland Valley B | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Elizabethtown | 5-40 | Downingtown | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Moon Area | 12-36 | West Allegheny | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Indiana | 12-17 | Central Catholic | RugbyPA D2 |
| 4/14 | Mentor | at | Warrior | Ohio |
| 4/14 | Clayton | 31-3 | Raleigh Redhawks | NC Tier 1 |
| 4/14 | Delbarton | 14-43 | CBA | NJ |
| 4/14 | Xavier | 14-20 | Pelham | New York |
| 4/15 | Holy Family | at | Benedictine | Virginia |
| 4/16 | St. Martin's | 33-0 | Blue Valley | Kansas |
| 4/18 | Mt. St. Joseph | at | Archbishop Spalding | Md. IAA |
| 4/16 | Carmel | at | Brownsburg | Indiana |
| 4/16 | Notre Dame de la Salette | 7-22 | New Trier | Illinois |
