Charlotte Cardinals Impressive in Win over Gonzaga
Charlotte Cardinals Impressive in Win over Gonzaga
The two defending champions from Boys HS National Championships met Saturday with the 2024 HS Club top dogs, the Charlotte Cardinals, defeating Gonzaga 45-10.
Gonzaga came into the game working on some combinations and perhaps in something of a reloading phase after their impressive championship repeat last year. The Eagles came into the game 3-1, having lost to Gregory the Great but having beaten three other ranked teams, St. Joseph's Prep, Vienna, and Fort Hunt.
The Cardinals came into the game 3-0 in three shortened games at the Carolina Ruggerfest, but it's worth remembering that their players had been plying a full single-school slate before moving to North Carolina's club season. So as a group of players, they had enjoyed more training time and game time, and that manifested itself into a solid win.
"A fantastic result against a very well-coached, structured team," said Charotte Head Coach Jason Zehmke. "Wins against Gonzaga are hard to come by and Peter and his boys never stopped fighting."
The Cardinals tight five was outstanding with prop Alex Martines and locks Quinn Miller and Brennan Meccarielli bringing power and leadership, and some size, too.
The halfback combination of Porter Kuebler and Max Colson controlled the tempo of the game nicely, while Luke Zehmke was an attacking force at center while also making some punishing tackles. All of this produced space out wide and the Cardinals wings scored four tries on the day—Bodhi Davis, Nowlan Winslow, and Adre Brown all getting over the line.
It was a fairly comprehensive victory for the Cardinals.
"Overall we are very happy with our performance but we know we have areas we need to work on this week as we get ready to host a confident Richmond team on Saturday," said Zehmke.
Gonzaga, meanwhile, now goes on tour to Italy where they will play Rugby Verona and Rugby Colorno in two challenging matches next week.
