How Top-Ranked HS Teams Fared This Week

03.08.2026HS Boys

St. Francis wins Northern California.

Author: Alex Goff

It was a fairly busy week for top-of-the-rankings teams. Here's how several of the higher-ranked teams did.

Big Games for #1s

Current #1-ranked school team is Torrey Pines, and they played and won the Southern California school final on Wednesday over Orange Lutheran.

Weekend preview and a Look at Torrey Pines

Cavemen is currently the #1 HS Club, and they are explosive. The Utah side played upstarts SacAir from Northern California, working their way to a 26-7 halftime lead and then exploding to a 56-21 victory.

Storm Brewing in the Midwest

St. Ignatius, the defending national school champion, faced off with Notre Dame de la Salette, the 2025 3rd-place team.

La Salette is a brave team even if they give up size to their opponents. They punish turnovers, and pass with confidence even on a wet day. Ignatius came out somewhat overconfident and found themselves down 17-10 when rain and lightning halted the game for a while. The Ignatius players resettled, scored soon after play resumed.

That tied it 17-17, and two second-half tries made it 29-17, which is how the game ended.

Ignatius Head Coach Dan Arbeznik said his team has struggled with ball retention in their opening matches and they needed to button that up. His Wildcats, he added, were trying to run before they could walk, pushing the plays and fancy moves before they got the basics right.

It was a windy day on an unfamiliar pitch (hosted by The Ohio State University), and as a result both teams made some key kicking mistakes, such as kicking the ball out on the full.

It's worth noting that Ohio State's hosting of the teams was set up so two pitches were in use. As a result, four games (freshmen, sophomores, Bs, and As) could play in a much shorter time. It's also worth noting that La Salette's 2nd side beat that of Ignatius 50-38.

NorCal Title Game

In a well-played and dramatic match, St. Francis defeated Rio Americano 27-24 to win the Rugby NorCal school championship. With three minutes to go, Rio Americano scored a try and converted to tie the game 24-24.

As time ticked away, Rio gave up a scrum. The Lancers attacked from there with their pacey backline. St. Francis then consolidated their movement, kept the pressure on, and then earned a penalty. The kick from Uate Pifeleti was good and St. Francis had their title.

That sets up a March 14 All-California final between St. Francis and Torrey Pines.

Utah Opener

The #2-ranked school team Herriman took on longtime Utah rivals East High School. These are little drama in this one, as Herriman launched into a 74-5 victory. Herriman looked very polished as a team, and they should be, considering the experience of the players in their lineup.

Mote Kinikini, Kemper Castro, Cannon Brinton, and Max Wilson all scored two tries in the victory, which put teams in Utah on notice.

St. Ignatius vs Herriman in the 2025 Boys Single-School final. Photo Griff Hastings.

East-Coast Showing

Still early in their 2026 iteration, the Charlotte Cardinals had an intriguing showdown with an up-and-coming Doylestown. While Doylestown had started strong, they ran into a seasoned Cardinals group. Charlotte's ability to bottle up attackers, and their commitment to the tackle forced Doylestown to adjust their approach.

Charlotte Cardinals vs Doylestown. Photo Dan Caple.

But their approach has been working well, so changing things on the fly wasn't easy. Using multiple options, dummy runners, and smart field position play, the #3-ranked Cardinals sliced up Doylestown 68-22. The Pennsylvania side was missing a couple of players due to injury, but the Cardinals controlled the day.