New Jersey Blaze, Doylestown, and the Westend Ruckettes led the charge in Saturday's girls HSRC tournament in Philadelphia, Pa.
All three teams swept their pool games to take one of the top three seeds in the quarterfinals.
"It kind of went as expected," said Blaze Coach Tom Feury. "I think we played well, but there are some really good teams here."
The Blaze were led by Delie Hellander, who led the team in scoring, and Allie Mennella, who both play for the Morris U19 club. The New Jersey team beat Rocky Rugby, Fairfax, and West Shore, scoring 96 points and allowing just one try.
It was a similar story for Doylestown, which outscored Kingswood, Kiski, and Union City 119-17. The toughest pool was probably Pool C, with both Westend and DSHA expected to do well. Both entered the final game of the day 2-0, but Westend dominated against their Wisconsin opponents 36-5.
"Everyone played really, really well," said Westend Coach Matt Estes. "It was a tough first day, but we feel really good."
Westend was led by Elizabeth Wilson and Alex DeMarco, who set the example in playing "beautiful, patient rugby," said Estes.
Below are the pool standings and scores. We're missing one score, but we know the winner, so ...
Westend, Doylestown, and the Blaze are the top three teams. Kiski is the #4 seed, with DSHA #5 and Rock Rugby #6.
The best two 3rd-place teams are Kingswood and Downingtown.
The bottom four are West Shore, Union County, Unionville, and Fairfax.
| Girls HSRC Pool Games | ||||
| Match | Time | Pool | ||
| 1 | 10:00 | A | NJ Blaze v West Shore | 34-0 |
| 2 | 10:20 | A | Farifax v Rock Rugby | 0-20 |
| 3 | 10:40 | B | Doylestown v Kingswood | 22-5 |
| 4 | 11:00 | B | Kiski v Union County | 35-0 |
| 5 | 11:20 | C | DSHA v Downingtown | 20-10 |
| 6 | 11:40 | C | Unionville v Westend Ruckettes | 0-51 |
| 7 | 12:00 | A | NJ Blaze v Farifax | 31-5 |
| 8 | 12:20 | A | West Shore v Rock Rugby | 0-27 |
| 9 | 12:40 | B | Doylestown v Kiski | 22-12 |
| 10 | 1:00 | B | Kingswood v Union County | 38-7 |
| 11 | 1:20 | C | DSHA v Unionville | 34-0 |
| 12 | 1:40 | C | Downingtown v Westend Ruckettes | 0-36 |
| 13 | 2:00 | A | NJ Blaze v Rock Rugby | 31-0 |
| 14 | 2:20 | A | West Shore v Farifax | 10-27 |
| 15 | 2:40 | B | Doylestown v Union County | 65-0 |
| 16 | 3:00 | B | Kingswood v Kiski | L-W |
| 17 | 3:20 | C | DSHA v Westend Ruckettes | 5-36 |
| 18 | 3:40 | C | Downingtown v Unionville | 35-0 |
| Pool A | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pd | Pts |
| NJ Blaze | 3 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 5 | 91 | 9 |
| Rock Rugby | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 31 | 16 | 7 |
| Fairfax | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 61 | -29 | 5 |
| West Shore | 0 | 3 | 0 | 77 | 79 | -2 | 3 |
| Pool B | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pd | Pts |
| Doylestown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 17 | 102 | 9 |
| Kisk | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 22 | 25 | 7 |
| Kingwood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 29 | 14 | 5 |
| Union City | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 138 | -131 | 3 |
| Pool C | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pd | Pts |
| Westend | 3 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 5 | 118 | 9 |
| DSHA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 46 | 13 | 7 |
| Downingtown | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 56 | -11 | 5 |
| Unionville | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 120 | -120 | 3 |
Here is the Saturday Schedule:
3:00 | Girls HS Open Quarterfinal #1 v #8 - West End v Downingtown |
3:20 | Girls HS Open Quarterfinal #2 v #7 - NJ Blaze v Kingswood |
3:40 | Girls HS Open Quarterfinal #3 v #6 - Doylestown v Rock Rugby |
4:00 | Girls HS Open Quarterfinal #4 v #5 - Kiski v DSHA |
4:20 | Girls HS Open Consol. bracket Semi #9 v 12 - Farifax v Union County |
| 4:20 | Girls HS Open Consol. bracket Semi #10 v 11 - West Shore v Unionville |
