HS 7s Around the Nation
HS 7s Around the Nation
Here's a look at HS 7s around the nation.
Pennsylvania
GRR was at the latest tournament in RugbyPA and there is some serious skill on display there. In the boys bracket Berks County went 4-0 on the day, showcasing a smart defensive front and turning defensive pressure into scoring chances. And with some speed out wide and some hard running in the middle, Berks impressed.
La Salle HS moved the ball quite well and when they play their best they are in support and moving the ball. When they play poorly, they play too individually. Knightmare is much the same, with snappy ball movement driving the bus for them.
Bishop Shanahan's teamwork was impressive and they overcame being smaller than some other teams by working enormously hard. Conestoga has some power and they are able to break tackles.
Conestoga struggled a little bit on the day but being a very good team that played in all of the tournament, they lead the standings with 14 wins. Berks' 4-0 day vaulted them to 2nd in the standings, while Shanahan's strong outing moved them to 3rd.
Among the girls teams, Knightmare was very, very good. Led by Kiernan Myles and Bella Vogel, but with a supporting cast of players who understand space and defend very well, they are 16-1 on the season. Doylestown is at 10-2.
Several other teams are battling through. White Horse has combined with players from Malvern Prep who wanted to paly some 7s this week. It works nicely for White Horse as they build their program. Hosts Cumberland Valley showed well for both girls and boys.
New Jersey
Rain and flooding kiboshed this week's tournament. Last week, St. Augustine boys took 1st place and looked very, very good in doing so. Third-party observers who talked to GRR said the Hermits are playing some solid rugby 7s and they did well to win their games 19-5, 31-5, 21-7, and 26-10. The only team to score twice against them was Christian Brothers Academy, which won their other games 33-12, 19-12, and 19-12 again. Those close games were to Greenwich and St. Joe's.
CBA's U16s were top dog, beating Morris 12-7, Greenwich 26-0, and CBA 3 36-0.That's right, overall CBA entered five teams.
New York
In Boys Varsity action, Pelham once again finished 1st and now leads the standings with nine standings points. PlayRugby once again entered two teams, and their 1st team took 2nd. Pelham 2 took third.
In the JV bracket, New Rochelle won their tournament and put themselves in a tie with Pelham for 1st in the JV competition.
Ohio
Ohio is split into North and South because of the densities of the state—Cleveland in the North and Columbus/Cincinnati in the South.
In the South St. Xavier is now 12-1 (actually they are 13-0 - one game was mis-reported as a loss-ED) allowing about a try per game and scoring 36 points per game. Weirdly they lost their first game of the season this past weekend. The Dayton Northern Force is still quite forceful and 2nd in the South, with St. X II in 3rd.
Up north St. Ignatius is in almost the same position, allowing less than a try per a game and allowing 37 points per game. The only time they were held to less than four tries was against rivals St. Edward. Looking quite impressive in 2nd is Medina, which is 10-2, as is St. Edward, while Highland HS is 9-2.
Among JV teams Moeller leads the South Standings but it's pretty close with Olentangy, St. Xavier C and St. Xavier D all right there. Ignatius, like St. Xavier, or CBA in New Jersey, fields a lot of teams nd their D team leads the standings at 12-0-1similar position, with the E team 11-0-1 and the F team 9-1-1.
The big games on Sunday included Medina over Highland 24-12. Moeller beat St. Xavier for the first time in this season, taking the game 29-5. Ignatius played Medina and beat them 34-5.
(Note: West Pitt of Pennsylvania is actually playing in Ohio because the tournaments in Cleveland are closer. They will be playing in Rugby PA's finals weekend, but in Ohio North they are 0-5-1. While they are winless they have been competitive and hang tough against some very strong opposition.)
Medina leads the girls with Brunswick and St. Joe's right begind. Those three are essentially equal. In JV St. Joe's and Highland lead everyone else. Highland won the Rookie Rugby Cleveland title a couple of years ago andif those players are now in HS rugby, everyone else is in trouble.
