Repeating in any age grade tournament is never easy and this year's National Youth 7s Championship was no exception.
Panther Rugby returned to National Youth 7s Rugby Championships with their winning coaching combination of Gary Anderson and David Katz and were also fortunate enough to have three players from their 2023 Championship side return—Jake Orefice, Elijah Pimental, and Andrew Ryan. But that wasn't a guarantee of much.
Having only three returning players combined with other potential returners sidelined due to injury or prior commitments, this was going to be a new team. This situation required some last-minute recruiting, an effort spearheaded by Anderson, who scouted the recent USA HS Nationals in Elkhart, Ind. looking for talent to complement the returning players and fill up the depleted side.
He secured the final two roster spots with Wolverines Rugby talent Sosia Hokafanu and Andrew Taich from Mustang Rugby. With these two additions, Panther Rugby Academy took a talented group of 13 athletes to North Canton, Ohio. On paper, this was a solid team, with players representing six states and multiple clubs from California to Florida, however, the team needed buy-in to the coaching and the system in short order.
With the tournament shortened from three days to two, sessions were limited and building team chemistry more difficult. Anderson and Katz got straight down to business with a team session on Wednesday evening and three training sessions on Thursday. Flight delays and longer drive times due to adverse weather around the country affected the initial planning, with several of the boys working on very little sleep. Nonetheless, all the players bought straight into what the coaching staff was trying to do.
Day One
The tournament started with a solid win over Badger Rugby, allowing the boys to build chemistry and find their footing. The match started slowly for both teams. Flyhalf Jake Orefice scored the first try of the match at the two minute mark, which seemed to settle the team before Elijah Pimental added a second try on an interception, making the score 14-0.
PRA kept the momentum in the second half with tries in quick succession from Bryson Cook and Andrew Ryan. Captain Trace Snellman was 3-for-4 on conversions making the final 26-0.
Although PRA pitched a shutout, Anderson fine-tuned the defense ahead of what would be a tough second match versus a strong LA Tribe side. The match did not disappoint with both sides showing strong team speed and tackling. PRA defense was led by Drew Taich and Hoakfanu, who both seemed to be everywhere, making big tackles on the edges. They held the potent Tribe offense scoreless in the first half and PRA took a 5-0 lead into halftime thanks to a strong Andrew Ryan run. The second half proved more of the same with a strong defense before an intercept try by Hokafanu seemed to take the wind out of the Tribe. Wyatt Appleton iced the game, scoring on a superb individual effort. Snellman was 2-for-3 on conversions finished it off at 19-0.
Having already secured the top spot in the pool, PRA used the final match versus Pasefika to rest some starters and find impact players for the knockout round. The match started slowly before Woodlands speedster Magnus Herndon took the ball in from 50 meters at the two-minute mark in the first half. Pasefika struck right back to end the half to make the score 7-5 Panthers.
Elijah Pimental opened the second half with a strong run right up the gut to make it a 14-5 Panther lead. But Pasefika would not go away and scored on a long run to come within two points again at 14-12. Then with an impressive individual effort Hokafanu took the ball from one end of the pitch to the other making the score 21-12. Pasefika socred late but thanks to Snellman being perforect on conversions, PRA held on 21-19.
