It was a weekend of surprises at the U19 bracket of the Surfside 7s in New Jersey.

DMV (formerly having competed as the Maryland Exiles) sent two teams to the event in Stone Harbor, NJ. There was an older team of experienced players, and a DMV 2 team, made up of younger players.

In the end, it was the younger kids who came out on top … of everyone. 

The DMV 1 squad consisted of recently graduated seniors and that group won last year’s Surfside 7s, although they were missing a couple of players from the outfit that made the semis of the Las Vegas Invitational.

DMV 2, meanwhile, was made up of rising sophomores, but many had helped the Exiles win the HSRC in Chester, Pa. in June. 

DMV 1 opened up against a very tough Archmere Academy team. Dan Bark with Archmere set the tone as he stiff-armed a DMV forward and went 50 meters to tie the game up at halftime. But in the second half, DMV scored three tries to pull away.

Meanwhile, DMV 2 took on Unionville and fell behind 10-7. But then DMV’s Owen Sheehy dummied and went under the posts to stake his team to a lead with only a few minutes left. Gannon Conrad took the corner with no time left and iced the game 19-10 for DMV 2. 

DMV 1 then faces West Chester in the semis. After taking a 12-0 lead, DMV saw Patrick Sheehy injured, and they kind of lost their way after that. West Chester dominated possession, scored three tries, and won 19-12.

At the same time, DMV 2 took on Archmere, which had won the open bracket at the HSRC. Some brilliant defense and multiple-phase movements gave DMV 2 a 12-0 lead at halftime. Archmere threatened with some bruising running, but DMV2 maintained their defensive structure and turned over the ball late in the game. Ian Kilcullen made a strong run then offloaded to Campbell Johnstone who streaked in for the game-sealing try and a 19-0 DMV 2 win.

So the final was set, Westchester v DMV 2. It was defensive battle with both teams swinging the ball and looking for opportunities. Johnstone made a long break up the right hand side, Will Lyke secured ball in the ruck and swung it wide to wing Ryan Ebel who scored in the corner. The second half was all defense as the game settled in between the 22s with neither team able to break through, the teams traded multiple set pieces. Late in the second half, West Chester worked the right touchline and looked to be away for the tying score. But Jack Mccrossin made a lunging tackle to save the try and DMV was able to clear the pressure to end the game. DMV 2 were Surfside 7s Champs.

DMV 1 defeated Archmere to finish 3rd.