Eastside Surges on to Win Rugby Washington
Eastside Surges on to Win Rugby Washington
The Eastside Lions defeated Camas 43-15 Saturday to win the Rugby Washington Boys HS championship.
The Lions came into this match hoping to finish the state season on a positive note as they also look ahead to competing at the Boys HS National Championships next week. Unbeaten going into this final, the Lions expected a stern test from Camas, a Washington-based program that had until this year been playing in (for them) nearby Oregon. They were 2023 Oregon state champions.
Eastside started strong, quickly establishing themselves in the Camas half. Just five minutes in fullback Parker Jackson swept past defenders to score under the posts. The conversion by flyhalf Kellen Eskridge made it 7-0. Ten minutes later, a Camas knock-on close to their line set up an Eastside scrum. A quick 8-9 move from Lewis Chambers to scrumhalf Noah Clarke saw him dart in for another five points, extending the lead to 12-0.
Clarke struck again 10 minutes later. A turnover at a ruck by captain Etu Lolohea and a hard carry up the middle by Chambers at No.8 was followed by a pass in contact to Clarke. The Lions halfback went in under the posts. Another conversion by Eskridge made it 19-0 to Eastside at the close of the first half.
The second half began with rain, making ball handling difficult for both sides. Captain Etu Lolohea led the way when several fumbles by Camas allowed him to pick up the ball and rumble over the line for a try, extending the lead to 24-0.
Camas, showing plenty of resilience, pushed into Eastside territory. Back-rower Rylan Reineback picked the ball from a rolling maul and scored his team's opening try.
Eastside's Tristan Esterhuizen then capitalized on a handling mistake at the restart, gathering the ball on the 22 and sprinting in for a try.
Camas responded five minutes later with another try from Reineback, this time nabbing the ball at the lineout. Eastside quickly answered when great attacking play led to a four-on-two on the wing, and center Julius Leapai sprinted in.
Camas's jinking scrumhalf, Vance Gooch, scored under the posts from the back of a breakdown.
Eastside scored once more before the close, with replacement winger Jerry Fleming kicking off a nice period of defensive pressure. He regathered a loose ball to score in the corner. Fleming converted his own try, making the final score 43-15 to Eastside.
“Super happy to have Camas join us in Rugby Washington this season," Eastside Head Coach Chris Stone. "They presented a great challenge today. Now we're looking forward to the Nationals in Indiana. There are a lot of people to thank —we'll be taking all of them in spirit or in person with us as we represent Pacific Northwest Rugby.”