Fallbrook clinched the South Gold conference in Southern California with a 43-20 defeat of the San Diego Young Aztecs Saturday.

Fallbrook was just coming off an instructive loss of 71-7 to Westlake HS of New Zealand, a game that had its positive moments but was a humbling experience to the Southern California team. 

“We challenged them in short spurts, but we could not keep up with the pace of the way they play for 70 minutes,” said Head Coach Mike Majewski. “But we fought through the whole match and still played rugby. Today we had them show up 90 minutes before the game to stretch out and get read, and every player was on time.”

That commitment has been a big part of Fallbrook’s success this year. And they needed that commitment.

“It was hot, and we had to dig deep. The Young Aztecs are a good team,” said Majewski.

Flanker Austen Williams Parona was outstanding as a back rower, and kept it up when he moved to center. It didn’t really matter where he played, as Fallbrook has an all-skills all-players approach to the game. Their quick ball movement and quick rucking style also had preserved bodies this season as they have been able to minimize contact. With Steven Branham leading the way and HS All American U17 player Ian Crilley back from the HSAA European tour, Fallbrook was firing.

“The forwards got us going and the backs played really well,” added Majewski.

So now it’s on to another set of playoffs (Fallbrook won the single-school part of the season already, and now is trying for the school-club double). They will join Los Angeles, Empire, Dragons, and San Luis Obispo as undefeated teams in Southern California.