The Carolina Ruggerfest concluded this weekend with six boys HS divisions as well as competitions at the U14, U12, and U10 level.
Phoenix Alpharetta out of Georgia won the multi-school Piedmont division, beating Union County 22-0, the Raleigh Rattlesnakes 19-17, and Neuqua HS out of Naperville, Ill. 20-5. Phoenix's centers Chris Bagby and Jesus Faz kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely, while scrumhalf Austin Willis had a strong weekend.
In the Coastal single-school division, Unionville HS out of Pennsylvania went 3-0, beating North Meck 17-10, Myers Park 15-7, and Mill Creek 19-10.
There wasn’t a clear winner in the Mountain Division, with both the Highlanders and Charlotte Tigers ending the weekend unbeaten with two wins and a tie. Charlotte beat West Meck 15-0, while Highlanders beat the same team 35-5. The Tigers beak the Aiken Lions 38-5, a team the Highlanders just edged 10-5. Charlotte and the Highlanders tied their final game 17-17. The Tigers had a slightly better points difference.
In the lower divisions, the Moon Area Tigers comfortable handled the Sandhills division, while Morris Lions and Hough both finished 2-0-1 in the Foothills. Neuqua’s JV team went 3-0 in the Currituk Division.
The U14 bracket was hotly contested, involving teams from Unionville, Pa., Alpharetta, Ga., Atlanta, Ga., and three North Carolina teams: North Raleigh, Clayton and Matthews. In the final, the Matthews Mustangs downed Clayton 43-0.
In the U12 final (Outer Banks Division) the teams from Atlanta and Clayton were defeated early, leaving a final between crosstown rivals, South Charlotte Irish and the Ballantyne Pumas. The Irish prevailed 20-0.
In the U10 final (Blue Ridge Division), the Clayton Copperheads faced Cornelius Cobras in a battle of snake teams, and it was the Cobras who struck more often, winning 25-10 and garnering revenge for last year’s loss in the state final.
