Go-Time for SoCal Varsity Red
Go-Time for SoCal Varsity Red
The Southern California Varsity Red competition starts this coming weekend as SoCal Youth Rugby officially launches its effort to make rugby a varsity sport in California high schools.
This is the second season of the Varsity Red - all teams in the league are 100% single-school. They are all part of the San Diego CIF (California Interscholastic Federation), and seven are full varsity programs. SoCal Youth Rugby is trying to get the entire state to adopt the game as a varsity sport, and they’re starting in San Diego.
The season starts Friday. Cathedral Catholic ran the table last year, and only St. Augustine pushed them. Cathedral opens their season against a solid Fallbrook team looking to improve on last year’s 3-3 league record. Fallbrook, led by HS All American hooker Steven Branham, surprised St. Augustine in the first week last year, and could well look at that result as a indication they can compete near the top.
St. Augustine takes on Torrey Pines, who were tops in the Varsity White division last year, beating Wilson in the final. Torrey Pines is expected to be a top contender in the league, and so this game against St. Augustine is a big one for both teams.
Also new to the division is La Costa Canyon. They were the chief rivals to Torrey Pines in last year’s Varsity White league and were 5-1 in the regular season last year. LCC takes on Poway, which started off strong last year and faded late.
Staying power will be important in this division, but a quick start in more important, still.
