Arizona, Colorado, and Northern California all won their pools Saturday in the Boys U16 division of the Great Northwest Challenge.
Colorado was very polished and smart in their two convincing wins over Eastern Washington and Montana. They followed their game plan well and were methodical in their dismantling of defenses. Scrumhalf Brave Dolan ran the show nicely, was quick to the breakdown, and scored their first try of the day.
And they had finishers—Parker Sacnhez, Landon Jones, and Dominick Gillin all scored multiple tries.
Northern California brought two teams to this division (as they did the Girls U19s and Boys U19s), and their Development team lost a close one 21-20 to Arizona and won a close one over TOA. However, the other side ("NorCal Elite") went 2-0. They were stacked with talent and pace and torched Utah 60-10 behind two tries from flanker Parker Van Doren and two also by lock Nathan Hoge.
Utah had trouble managing their power up front.
Their second game, against Western Washington Selects, was somewhat epic with both teams wanting to win that physical battle. Flanker Leo Heisler scored two tries for the Washingtonians, but NorCal captain Jack Younger matched that, and his second sealed a 17-12 win. It all still came down to power in the pack and then exploiting that.
