Questions remains regarding the high school schedule for this coming weekend.

As we discussed, the Omicron variant of COVID is moving very quickly through the country, and as a result what games will actually go on is a bit of a guess. So we're putting it all together and telling you what's up in Boys High School Rugby this weekend.

Don't forget that in May there are two huge rugby tournaments to be aware of. They are on the same weekend, but are geared toward somewhat different types of teams.

The Boys HS National Championships is just that, a national championship-level tournament. If your team is really, really good then it's a good idea to apply for the HS Nationals, which will be held May 19-21. Details here>>

Meanwhile, everyone should have a major 15s tournament to end the season, and the Florida International Rugby Showcase is exactly that, a multi-level, multi-bracket tournament in the Jacksonville, Fla. area. Held May 20-22. Details here>>

Carolinas

Myers Park finally gets to play this year after seeing last week's game postponed. Their opponents, Ardrey Kell, saw their opponents forfeit last week. So this is the real kickoff for 2022 for both. However, they did play a common opponent in December, with both losing to Charlotte Catholic, albeit Ardrey Kelly by more. 

Charlotte Catholic, which lost by a point last week, plays a Providence HS team that hasn't really got moving. Wando takes on unbeaten Hough, while Greer and plays Clayton. Hough is a pretty young team but they have been playing well regardless. Unfortunately, their wins include forfeits so we really won't know until this week.

Southern California

San Clemente takes on Long Beach Poly, Cen10 faces San Marcos,

Carlsbad vs Crean and La Jolla plays St. Anthony have been canceled. Same with Long Beach Poly vsn San Clemente. 

That leaves us with Westview vs RC Bears, andCen10 facing San Marcos.

San Marcos is coming off a 24-0 loss to Long Beach Poly, but new Head Coach and former USA Men's 15s captain Nate Augspurger said he liked a lot of what he saw.Prop and captain Caleb Toatafa and his front row made Aiden Stewart helped turn the lineout from a weakness into a strength during that game. Flanker Brian Marson is a handful and the interior backs of scrumhalf Lex Selvaggio, flyhalf Keegan Callahan, and center Dreyton Price all have talent.

Long Beach's size and depth hurt San Marcos and they finished stronger after a close first half.

"They started beating us in the breakdown, especially on defense, which led to more turnovers," said Augspurger. "Long Beach was exceptional at offloading and keeping the ball alive when on attack. I thought credit is due to San Marcos for sticking to a game plan. Defensively we showed a lot of grit ... we have a great group of players."

Southern California CIF

There are no Varsity league games this weekend because Jesuit of Sacramento is set to come down south to face Mira Costa on Friday, and St. Augustine and Cathedral Catholic on Saturday. That is, of course, if COVID doesn't strike down the trip. Jesuit head Coach Andrew Acosta says numbers are up after a very rough spring of 2021. For the first time ever at Jesuit, the rugby team held a fall rugby series, with anyone not playing a fall sport in the weight room and on the practice field just to get tuned up. They had up to 30 players at these sessions which, Acosta said, were very useful.

"It kept everyone together, and we've had a lot of support from the school administration, but it is tough for school teams here," said Acosta. The trip south, however, if it goes off, will be huge.

"Yes it's a very quick trip but it will be good for team bonding," he said. "It's very early days but we have guys who have never played rugby before, so we're hopeful."

Florida

The league starts in a week, and it's a big one with nine teams playing playing over ten weeks. It will be interesting to see if the Okapi Wanderers, whose U16 team has been so strong for the last few years, can build on that success and win in a very competitive high school level.

The Dennis Storer Classic

A college team with a high school side, the Dennis Storer Classic is named after the longtime UCLA Head Coach and the first USA Men's National Team Head Coach of the modern era. 

Teams from all over were expected but COVID has meant that a couple will stay home. As of this writing, SoCal teams Belmont Shore, Carlsbad, Falcons, and OC Saints are slated to play, while Snow Canyon from Utah and Marin, Lamorinda, East Palo Alto, and Motherlode from Northern California are also expected to show. But late positive COVID tests could scuttle some of this.

Teams will play two or three shortened games on Saturday, with Lamorinda and OC (at least) slated for Sunday.

Possible Schedule (based on the schedule we had and taking out late cancelations):

9:00 Marin Highlanders v Snow Canyon
9:50 East Palo Alto v Belmont Shore
11:30 Marin Highlanders v Belmont Shore
13:10 Motherlode v Carlsbad
14:00 Snow Canyon v Falcons
14:50 Lamorinda v Carlsbad
16:30 Lamorinda v Falcons

Snow Canyon, Motherlode, and East Palo Alto will all likely have another game

Sunday:
Lamorinda v OC Saints
Motherlode v OC Saints
East Palo Alto vs Carlsbad
And probably one more game (Marin v Belmont Shore again?)