DIAA Games This Weekend: Showdowns and More

The Lonestar Conference selects a champion this weekend, and while Texas State appears to be chugging along just fine, in a two-game weekend playoff scenario you never know.

Texas State is the #1 seed and is 5-0, while UT San Antonio is #2 (5-1), and Dallas and Rice are the top two teams from Tier 2. One to watch might be Sam Houston State, which lost a couple of early games but has picked things up since then.

"We have a bunch of new players who have good rugby experience," said SHSU Head Coach Ramon Serrano. "We have a good shot, but Texas State is very good."

Saturday has teams playing shortened, 50-minute games for the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Then on Sunday it's the final placement games for the top six.

NCRC comes back for action after a long layoff. How that leagues moves on afterward remains to be seen.

Florida vs North Florida now becomes a big deal with UNF sitting at 2-1 and the Gators at 1-2. Central Florida battled back to beat FIU last week thanks in part to the try-scoring of No. 8 Michael MacNeil and the defense of center (who used to be a flanker) Anthony Drabek, who basically picked everyone up defensively when there was a breakdown. 

It was an exciting back and forth match, and while Central Florida one, FIU almost scored on the final play but a forward pass scuttled that change.

"We got lucky in the end to take the win," said UCF Head Coach Evan Haigh. "For us, this game was all about grit and survival. Like a lot of the clubs coming back from COVID this year we have had a ton of injuries we are currently missing 10+ players through injury. [Against FIU] we started nine players who are in their first year of ever playing rugby. I was extremely proud the effort and this amount of game time for our developing players really will set us up for the future this season and seasons to come. 

"Our senior players really stepped up and controlled the game when it mattered most."

 The Pac West is heating up and the two strongest teams in the conference are facing off this week as Fresno State visits UC Santa Cruz. Fresno State has looked dominant so far. 

With speed and athleticism, the big thing for Fresno State was to be able to get the ball to those fast and athletic attackers.

"The players have been working very hard on their fitness and skills," said Head Coach Patrick Quan. "We have an experienced backline that has had the good fortune of some new athletes that add a touch of much needed depth and some significant athleticism. I think our big surprise this season is the evolution of our pack. Going into the season we knew we had a limited number of experienced forwards. The new forwards who have joined the team this season have provided a wonderful platform in set pieces and open play. As a team we are very proud of the pressure the boys apply while defending and we believe that is a major determining factor to our current success."

Loosehead prop C.J. Banuelos is key in the set pieces and is an effective inside runner with good hands, while Joe Kryger, normally the hooker, can play anywhere on the field and has an impressive work rate.  

And it doesn't hurt to have someone in the middle of it all who is in very good form. 

"There is no question that Isaia Kruse is the linchpin of our program," said Quan. "He is skilled, athletic, knowledgeable, and is the undisputed leader and captain of the team."

Add to that two local high school teammates from Bullard, Seth Olvera and Isaiah Hunter, who are both gifted and experienced players, and you've got the makings of something special. 

"We have been leaning pretty hard on our outside center Ray Aguirre who started playing rugby a few years back at Fresno State and he has responded beautifully," said Quan. And all of that leads to wing Joshua Jacobson leading the conference in tries.

Facing 3-0 Fresno State is a 3-0 UC Santa Cruz team that has almost the same points for and against numbers, although arguably against slightly less-strong opposition. Tiego Logan's goalkicking and the try-scoring acumen of No. 8 Jackson Zabierek make the Banana Slugs formidable opponents. This might be a conference championship preview. Right now GRR has Fresno State ranked #10 among DIAA teams, and UCSC at #24 despite their similar records, simply because Fresno State beat Chico State, a team that performs well on a consistent basis.

Check back for scores: