the snow and cold is leaving Texas and high school rugby is coming back, and this weekend Dallas Jesuit and Allen opened up their seasons with a spirited clash in Big D.

Dallas Jesuit won the game 31-14, but the run of play was much closer than that. Allen controlled large swaths of the game and put Jesuit under plenty of pressure. But they made critical errors that led to Jesuit tries. The first was a 50-50 pass that was nabbed by flyhalf Sy Mendenhall, who showed some pace in taking the ball in from about 30 meters.  

Jesuit led 7-0, and while Allen held the ball for long periods, the Rangers defense held nicely. And it was defense that created the second try, with center Jack Judson laying out an Allen ballcarrier with a thundering hit. The ball was jarred loose and center Kyle Nolan dove on it and squirmed over for try number two and a 12-0 Dallas Jesuit lead.

Allen came back, and worked their way down to the Jesuit tryline before a penalty led to a quick-tap and a try under the posts. 12-7. That score held until halftime, but barely, as Jesuit looked to have scored a third try only to have it called back for a forward pass. A few minutes into the second half, Jesuit scored that third try, working the ball from a scrum five meters out to put fullback Brennan Graham in at the corner to make it 17-7.

Once again Allen put the Jesuit defense under pressure, but they didn't seem to have the ability to break one open. Finally a turnover in a ruck allowed Mendenhall to sell a dummy and go in from long range. After that, more Dallas pressure led to their fifth try. This time, though, they got a little luck. A big Allen hit sent the ball loose, but it landed into the hands of No. 8 Charlie Freeman, and he had only a few meters to go, which he did, what with the help of some of his teammates, to crash over.

Allen scored late to make it 31-14, and will be wondering how they can get more points from all that possession. Certainly they will be ruing their turnovers which led directly to three Dallas Jesuit points.

Meanwhile, around Texas, teams are warming up. Lake Travis is due to make a trip out to Louisiana soon, and the league schedule will kick off soon thereafter. The Texas league will be more regionalized to guard against travel restrictions and COVID problems. But there will be a league schedule.

 Louisiana teams have started playing, with Brother Martin landing a win over the Bayous Hurricanes, and the 'Canes and NOLA Jesuit tying this past weekend.