As the Boys HS Rugby National Championships loom, and the much-anticipated seedings loom even closer (!), here's a look at what happened over the weekend.

Minnesota

The top two teams are Eagan and Albert Lea and they met on Friday, with Eagan emerging 34-21 winners. Albert Lea did well and led 14-12 at halftime. But Eagan scored first after the break and was in a solid position after that. This was a tough, physical game, and Eagan produced a good team performance. They will need it again as these two teams will play this coming weekend for the state championship.

Washington

Liberty remains the strongest of these teams and rolled 56-12 over Budd Bay, while Eastside defeated Rainier 20-5. Those are the top two teams in the state.

Colorado and CIRA

Regis Jesuit won via forfeit over Monarch, while Palmer held off a tough-minded Valor Christian 31-24. Palmer and Regis will face off for the CIRA championship.

East eked out a tie with the Falcons 24-24 while PAC beat Legend to remain atop the Rugby Colorado D1 standings. This sets up the semifinals this coming week with exactly the same matchups.

Ohio

Five state finals were decided in Ohio this weekend. In the Small Club and Small School finals, Avon Lake beat Hilliard and Warrior beat Brunswick. Olentangy defeated St. Charles in the Large Club final in a game that ended with a goalline stand - see more about this game here>>. Toledo (Woodward HS) edged Medina in the Large School final.

And in the Super Elite final St. Ignatius defeated a Moeller team that was very difficult to shake 22-8. Details here>>

Southern California

Thunder Rugby edged the SOC Raptors 14-12. Both teams are going to the National Championships, and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare. They have combined to form the SoCal Crusaders, a team that beat Woodlands and lost a close one to the Charlotte Tigers. Can they as separate clubs fair similarly?

Of the three games Thunder and SOC have played, Thunder is 2-1 and the points totals are 47 for Thunder and 43 for SOC. Details>>

New York

Pelham wrapped up the MetNY league last week and then played a combined New Rochelle /  Play Rugby 15, and won 84-5. 

Kansas/Missouri

St. Thomas Aquinas played a Missouri Selects team and won 58-5 led by Payton Ptasnik, Sa’o Savivi, and Aaron Goodwin.

Virginia 

The Rugby Virginia playoffs ended with the two expected teams, Fort Hunt and Vienna, meeting in the final. It was a very hot day and some of the players struggled with the conditions. Both teams were missing players due to it being a Sunday, and also due to injuries. Fort Hunt scored early and held onto that lead throughout. 

Connecticut /  NY 

In a bit of a surprise match, Staples and Greenwich faced off again. Both teams needed some pre-Nationals action and this was the easiest way to get it. Staples and Greenwich decided to extend the season and play another match today leading up to the Nationals. Staples opened with a penalty goal from Felix Pollmann. Greenwich then took the lead with a try, only to see Staples score to make it 10-5. Greenwich retook the lead at 12-10. It was that kind of game.

Staples pressured better in the second half and scored two tries, and saw two other forays over the line called back.

Meanwhile, Connecticut club Aspetuck won big over Xavier in a rematch of a game from April. Aspetuck worked their backline very well in this game and used the boot more too. Xavier still struggled to keep the ball and made too many mistakes.

New Jersey

Morris defeated Christian Brothers 39-12 led by center Nicolas Doumbe, who was player of the game.

And Some Crossovers

The Raleigh Redhawks put in a good result even though it was a loss. Royal Irish beat the Redhawks 24-19. Both teams will be going on to the National Championships. Woodlands hosted the Mexico City Aztecas and the Kansas City Junior Blues. Woodlands beat both, and the Blues beat the tourists. More here>>