And just like that we have over 30 boys HS rugby games on the slate for this weekend.

Arizona teams get in on the action with Brophy Prep at Salpointe on Friday. The game to watch here, probably, is Southern California team San Clemente HS at Tempe. The Tempe squad is looking ready to build on a strong 2021 in which they won the state and performed well at the HS National Championships. To that end Tempe has Mira Costa, Granite Bay, and South OC on their schedule as well as in-state rivals Red Mountain. 

SoCal

Carlsbad is pretty much the Thunder team that won the HS Club National Championship in 2021, and they have many of those players back for another go. This week Carlsbad's game is a non-league friendly against Torrey Pines HS. TP has a lot of players who would be expected to play for the San Diego Mustangs, who on Tier II at the National Championships. This is a big bragging rights game for both teams and the coaches both say the players are up for it. Carlsbad lost to San Marcos last week 29-28, but it was a non-league game in which Carlsbad ran its younger players out for the second half. With JV games hard to come by they have to find those playing opportunities somewhere. Head Coach Josh Williams wasn't blown away by his varsity 15, however.

"We need to do better off the ball and be more aggressive in defense while reducing penalties," said Williams, who added that while his younger players were outscored by San Marcos he was happier with their effort level. 

SCIRF

Cathedral will look to haul in a 2-0 St. Augustine this week, but the Saints have started very well and in fact haven't been scored upon yet, including their non-league game against Jesuit of Sacramento. Friday also sees Mission Bay, 2-0 in the Gold league, against 1-1 Coronado. Mission Bay can kind of take control of the standings with a win.

Carolinas

Games were postponed from last week due to weather,  (as was every other game in the region). South Meck is looking to keep pace with Charlotte Catholic (who gets a forfeit win this week). They started the season with a big win over Providence and then in early January eked out a 25-24 win over Charlotte Catholic. But the next week was a forfeit win, followed by the postponements, and there was another postponement earlier. So while they would have expected to have played five games by now, they've only actually played two.

Still, Head Coach Jason Zehmke is enthusiastic about what his side can do.

"We're very young but I believe in the players and it's been an incredible season so far," said Zehmke. 

With scrumhalf Tyler Palm getting everyone moving with speed and No. 8 Tye Mendenhal, who is also the captain, has led from the front. Myers Park, he added, will be a tough test in what is a natural rivalry game for both schools.

Texas

Several teams, including Woodlands, Strake Jesuit, Katy, St. Thomas, West Houston, and Cy Fair will converge on Strake Jesuit for a jamboree. Katy visits Westlake in a key early match.

Louisiana

After beating Dallas Jesuit last week New Orleans Jesuit sets its sites on defending state champs Brother Martin. How much improved is NOLA Jesuit? We find out this weekend.

Northern California

De La Salle kicks off their campaign against San Joaquin Memorial out of Fresno. The Fresno area high school scene is easy to overlook as they sit between those two powerful SoCal and NorCal regions. Here's a chance for the middle-of-the-state guys to show where they sit.

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Florida

It all started so close this past week, however two of the close games were listed as forfeits later on. Regardless, Florida is tight top to bottom. 

Boca tying Okapi 17-17 was a classic indication of that, and Boca now turns around to play a Key Biscayne team that beat Wellington but then ended up having to forfeit.

"Okapi has a super team of experienced, hard hitting and hard running players," said Boca Head Coach Garth Duff-Gray. "They know the game of rugby and are mature experienced players overall. Okapi had some pre-season scrimmages and it showed in this first league game."

Boca's scrummages were canceled due to COVID issues with the hosts. So their first league game was their first league.

"No prior events to knock the typical edges off and refine team execution," said Duff-Gray. "But we coped well and adapted quickly once in the fray."

Boca could have won that game—they got a penalty in the final moments, but couldn't execute.

Looking ahead to this weekend, Boca will hope for another big game from Logan Ballinger (who scored twice against Okapi). 

"Key Biscayne Rats are always a dangerous side, with their wide-open creative play and quick passing," said Duff-Gray. "They have taken down many giants in the past. They use the boot very well on the full run, and strategically well elsewhere. When confronted by a hard charging pack they tackle fearlessly and are really effective counter-ruckers."

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The Rats are coached by a group of dads from Argentina and their play reflected an Argentinean style. Duff-Gray remembers being upended by Key Biscayne early last season. 

"We take them very, very seriously—got badly burnt in the season opener last year when they simply outplayed us," he said.

Cardinal Gibbons gets their first run-out as they had a bye last week. That, thought, is what they want because, being a school team, Gibbons rugby is beholden to its school's sports schedule. They need the extra time. Returning most of last year's team Cardinal Gibbons did graduate some players at key positions—all are now starters at Florida State.

"It leaves us with some holes to fill, but we have had some younger guys waiting to make their mark and are ready to stand in and continue the legacy we are trying to build," said Head Coach Eric Aumann. "They all want to get a banner in the gym with their name so they can show their wife and kids. It’s what helps to drive them to work harder and be successful."

The veteran backline is full of players who have been starters for years, led by flyhalf Danny Feliciano and inside center Tray Brown. The forwards include No. 8 Brock Weaver and lock Jose Olivier. But fullback Andrew Paton, flanker Greg Otten, and prop Trey Dubuc all make big contributions. Last year Gibbons started 0-3-1, but kept improving and ended up winning the state playoffs. This year they likely expect to hit the ground running.

Check back for scores.

1/28	Brophy	at	Salpointe	Arizona
1/28	Greer 76ers	Fft L-W	Wando Warriors	NC HSC Tier 1
1/28	Corinth Holders Pirates	vs	Hough Huskies	NC HSC Tier 1
1/28	Oceanside Sharks	Fft W-L	Southern Pines Jokers	NC HSC Tier 2
1/28	Raleigh Capitols	Ppd	Eastern Motley	NC HSC Tier 2
1/28	North Meck HS	Fft L-W	Charlotte Catholic	NC SS
1/28	Myers Park HS	44-7	Providence HS	NC SS
1/28	Ardrey Kell HS	7-42	South Meck HS	NC SS
1/28	Coronado	at	Mission Bay	SCIRF Gold
1/29	East Palo Alto	17-40	Marin	NorCal
1/28	Westview	14-31	San Marcos	SoCal SS Crossover
1/28	RC Bears	12-63	Crean	SoCal SS Open
1/28	St Anthony	24-17	La Jolla	SoCal SS Open
1/28	Carlsbad	19-36	Torrey Pines D1	SoCal SS Open (NL)
1/28	West Houston	14-22	Brazoria	Texas
1/29	Phoenix/Tucson	vs	Red Mountain B	Arizona
1/29	San Clemente	5-73	Tempe	Crossover
1/29	Key Biscayne	10-45	Boca Raton	Florida HS Boys
1/29	Okapi	43-5	Cape	Florida HS Boys
1/29	Tampa	19-22	Wellington	Florida HS Boys
1/29	Gibbons	52-5	Hammerheads	Florida HS Boys
1/29	Brother Martin	14-53	New Orleans Jesuit	Louisiana
1/29	De La Salle	58-14	San Joaquin Memorial	NorCal
1/29	Steele Canyon	5-45	La Costa Canyon	SCIRF Gold
1/28	St Augustine	10-33	Cathedral Catholic	SCIRF Varsity
1/29	Mira Costa	15-17	Fallbrook	SCIRF Varsity
1/29	Long Beach Poly	64-5	Cen10	SoCal SS D1
1/29	Katy	19-30	Westlake	Texas
1/29	Allen	10-36	Strake Jesuit	Texas
1/30	Cy-Fair	Ppd	Four Points	Texas
1/30	Huns RFC HS	Ppd	Four Points JV	Texas