Championships, Cross-Border Games, and the Lindenwood Tournament

03.06.2026HS Boys

PJ Faul takes the ball up for Bixby.

Author: Alex Goff

As a weekend preview this isn't much of one as one of the games was already played.

Torrey Pines won the Southern California School League with a midweek victory over Orange Lutheran 43-13.

This sets up an All-California final for the Falcons. On March 14 they will face the winner of this weekend's St. Francis vs Rio Americano Northern California final.

Torrey Pines did what they do; they took control of several aspects of the game and tightened their grip on it.

"We’re very much a system team," said Head Coach Matty Sandoval. "We have these fantastic technical coaches, some of the best in the country in my opinion. Their game-planning is just all-World."

Yes they have game-changers. Loose forward Shay Farkash has been immense for them, and set a team record with 22 tries in just nine games. Duck Choi is massive at second row, as well. But for the most part, this is a team that plays a systematic team game.

Torrey Pines vs Orange Lutheran in the 2026 SoCal School Final. Adam Taich photo.

"We have incredibly coachable players who train really hard," said Sandoval. "We had mauls that were just perfect. Our defense I think is the best in the country. When we get a penalty we don't get too fancy. We kick to the corner and maul. It's simple, but it's effective. People know what we're going to do; I don't know how we sneak up on people but we do!"

Interestingly, when he was asked how many tries he had scored, Farkash asked: "do I count mauls?" He recognized that those were team tries. Yes Farkash is the one who touches it down, but it takes everyone.

Flyhalf Reece Curtis reads the game very well and makes smart decision. His kicking to space is exceptional. Flanker Ewen Hope Bell is the lineout captain and a smart rugby player. He shook off illness to put in a massive shift against Orange Lutheran.

Last year Torrey Pines lost 33-24 to St. Francis in the All-California final. We'll see how it matches up this week.

St. Francis and Rio American league results this season:

Jan 24: Rio Americano 31 St. Francis 21
Jan 31: Rio Americano 14 De La Salle 21
Feb 7: Rio Americano 21 Jesuit 15
Feb 7: St. Francis 43 De La Salle 31
Feb 14: St. Ignatius SF 12 St. Francis 67
Feb 21: St. Francis 26 Jesuit 8
Feb 28: St. Ignatius SF 7 Rio Americano 46

In the D1 final, Bishop O'Dowd and Serra face off. Serra beat O'Dowd last week 47-19 ... could it be different this week?

Track High School games here>>

Lindenwood Tournament

This weekend will see plenty of action. The Lindenwood tournament brings teams from all over the middle of the country to kick off their season (or continue their kicking off).

Here are the varsity games on the slate:

St. Thomas Aquinas vs Monarch
St. Louis University High vs Western Force
Monarch vs Bixby
Christian Brothers vs St. Thomas Aquinas
Bixby vs St. Louis University High
Christian Brothers vs Western Force
Monarch vs St. Louis University High
St. Thomas Aquinas vs Eureka
Bixby vs St. Louis Jets
St. Louis Jets vs Christian Brothers

So Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma are represented here.

Bixby is coming off two close wins over the KC Jr. Blues and St. Thomas Aquinas. DOR Chris Smith was happy with those results but added that all of these teams involved are waiting for players coming from wrestling season, and that can change the equations.

Bixby is an athletic team, with a few seniors that have some substantial experience.

SLUH played in a tournament at Strake Jesuit and came away with wins over Jesuit New Orleans, Jesuit Dallas, and Strake Jesuit. These are all shortened tournament games and had some mixed teams involved, but it was still a good showing.

It was a good start for them, and this will be a key next step.

Cross-Border

As we mentioned in the video above. St. Ignatius plays Notre Dame de la Salette on Ohio State University's campus in a clash of the 2025 #1 and the 2025 #3.

Both teams are early into their season but this game will have a fairly long-term rankings effect. It could also have a short-term rankings effect.

Pendleton hosts two teams in Indianapolis with Naperville and Moeller. Fort Hunt plays Gonzaga.

But the big club game has to be Charlotte Cardinals vs Doylestown. Certainly this will be a clash of styles, but having said that, yes Doylestown knows how to play field position and can pass. And yes Charlotte can work hard in the trenches. So it might be about which team matches the strengths of the other.