Dominant Showing from Charlotte Cardinals in Gonzaga Classic
Dominant Showing from Charlotte Cardinals in Gonzaga Classic
The Charlotte Cardinals won the Gonzaga Classic in dominant fashion.
After losing the final of this tournament by a slim margin a year ago, the Cardinals rolled in showing good form and showcasing a very quick and smart game plan.
They showed that early, shutting out Aspetuck and beating a pretty effective Fort Hunt sides 52-7.
On Sunday, the Cardinals completed pool play with a 45-13 win over War Eagle out of Georgia (the state, not the country) and that set up the final.
Gonzaga is almost always the winner of this tournament and they won their pool this time, thanks in large part to close wins over BC High and Father Dueñas, a school team out of Guam. This was an important match for Gonzaga and their Head Coach, Peter Baggetta. A graduate of Guam's JFK HS and also the University of Guam, Baggetta has deep ties to the island and returns to Guam regularly in part to share his coaching knowledge. He has coached everyone on the Father Dueñas staff, including his nephew. Coming to this tournament was a chance for Father Dueñas to play strong opposition, and they did superbly well. The Guamanian team lost to BC High 19-17, and Gonzaga 10-5, while beating Clayton.
Gonzaga, for their part, beat Clayton with a shutout, and along with that close win over Father Dueñas, also edged BC High 17-10.
That set up the final, a rematch of the last two finals. Gonzaga won comfortably in 2023, but in 2024 won by the slimmest of margins. This year ... the Cardinals controlled the narrative from the beginning.
Playing quick and with scrumhalf Porter Kuebler working the attack with intensity, the Cardinals took and early lead and kept it going.
The Charlotte team led 35-0 at halftime and cruised to a 50-5 win.
"We worked hard after [last week's] Charlotte Tigers game on a few structural things and were able to execute throughout the weekend," said Cardinals Head Coach Jason Zehmke. "Port Kuebler was simply outstanding. He led the boys well and kept them focussed."
Kuebler also scored eight tries on the weekend.
Fullback Vince Keller was hugely important as a communicator, but Zehmke said the MVP of the weekend was the forward pack.
It was all, said Zehmke, about "speed and accuracy." But the bench was hugely important, too.
BC High, Father Dueñas, and Golden Eagles all can look back on impressive showings at the tournament. Raptors rugby from Tennessee won the Varsity bracket, beating LaSalle College HS in the final.
