The top Boys HS teams in Oklahoma both logged good weekend in advance of Friday’s clash.

Bixby won the St. Louis Ruggerfest, beating St. Louis University High in the final.

Meanwhile, Union hosts East HS out of Colorado, and won 22-17 in a wild game.

Both teams played tough defense, and East scored on a bizarre play when a Union player misread the lines on the field and touched down for what he thought was a 22 dropout, only to see that he’d touched down in front of the tryline, and East raced in to pick up and score.

Seth Mischler, Lorenzo Thomas, Malon Al Jiboori, and Juvon Elliot all scored for Union and players of the game were Al Jiboori for Union and CJ Cade for East.

Bixby, meanwhile, went 4-0 at Ruggerfest, while their JV team finished 3-1. Bixby ran out to a 12-0 lead against SLUH in the final and then held on 12-10. 

“We got a good group of underclassmen last year who are seniors now,” said Bixby Coach Charles Smith. “And with that we have an influx of players from the football program and other sports. We took about 37 players to St. Louis.”

Nick O’Brien led a superb back row effort for Bixby, continually turning go-backward ball into go-forward possession. Center and captain Levi Grogan partnered well with either the big, powerful Nic Roller - running back for the Bixby HS football team - or the smaller, speedier Braden Scott in the midfield. Scrumhalf Donavan Richardson also played well, while the tight five continues to improve.

“We’ll be facing a really tough Union team on Friday,” said Smith. “They’ve usually been the top team in the state in recent years, but we’ve got a shot. We match up well with them in terms of size, speed, and athleticism, and both teams have a really strong back row. We just have to see who makes the most mistakes.”