It's been a competitive day at the American HS Sevens Championships at the Surfside 7s in Stone harbor, NJ.
In the Boys Elite, the Maryland Exiles Black, Atlantis, and the New Jersey Blaze all went 3-0, but it wasn't easy.
"We had very tough games, especially against Maryland's 2nd side and Carolina," said Atlantis Coach Jack Foley. "In some of the pool games you can get by with athleticism, but against these tougher teams you're going to have to be athletic, execute, and play as a team."
The Exiles Black team ended the day seeded #1 with three wins, and a points difference of +100. Their toughest game was the final game of the day, where they took on 2-0 Greenwich, and gave up their first points of the day in a 31-14 victory.
"Greenwich was a tough team, but this is a group of players who are playing in their third tournament, and are playing well together," said Exiles Coach Paul Sheehy. "We got some good work from the Gonzaga forwards and we know we have some tough games tomorrow. That's a happy by-product of an excellently-run tournament."
The Exiles is made up of players who all played in the Maryland youth programs, but now play for Maryland, Gonzaga, Warrenton, Perry Street, and other good school teams. Joey Freeman helped lead the Maryland Exiles effort up front. Out wide Aaron Gray and Dmontae Noble were brilliant.
Atlantis, 3-0 with a +81 and only one try scored against them, finished seeded #2. Brandon Boone out of Unionville, Pa. was a terror on offense and showcased his pace to lead the Atlantis team in tries. Cale Williams out of New York created all sorts of space with his powerful running up the middle.
"The biggest thing for us was that we have a lot of fit, smart rugby players, and we sometimes tried to do too much," said Foley. "We just needed to do the simple things right. tomorrow I want to see us play with more depth."
The Blaze defeated Central Penn, Doylestown, and then Bula Boys, who were edged by Greenwich for the top four.
So in the semis it appears that Maryland Black will play Greenwich and Atlantis will play the Blaze.
Here are the standings and the expected Sunday matchups:
| AHS 7s Surfside | |||||||
| Pool A | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Atlantis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 5 | 81 | 9 |
| Maryland Exiles Gold | 2 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 29 | 23 | 7 |
| Carolina United | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 5 |
| Malvern Prep | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 96 | -91 | 3 |
| Pool B | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| NJ Blaze White | 3 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 22 | 59 | 9 |
| Bula Boys | 2 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 41 | 20 | 7 |
| Doylestown | 1 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 49 | -6 | 5 |
| Central Penn | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 90 | -73 | 3 |
| Pool C | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Maryland Exiles Black | 3 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 14 | 100 | 9 |
| Greenwich | 2 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 36 | 47 | 7 |
| Wilmington Colts | 1 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 65 | -39 | 5 |
| Shanahan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 113 | -108 | 3 |
Cup Semis
Atlantis v NJ Blaze
Maryland Exiles Black v Greenwich
5th-8th Semis
Maryland Exiles v Carolina United
Bula Boys v Doylestown
9th-12th Semis
Wilmington v Shanahan
Central Penn v Malvern Prep
In the Girls bracket, the NJ Blaze went 3-0 and Doylestown went 2-1 in pool play, and it looks as though those two teams will meet in the final.
In the Boys Open bracket, Staten Island and Conestoga both went 3-0, with St. Joe's Prep going 2-0-1. And it looks like West Chester will round out the top 4.
In the U15 bracket. both Maryland Exiles teams were undefeated.
