It is late and we are back at GRR World Headquarters.
We will have more on the finals Day of the Boys HS Rugby National Championships on Sunday.
Tier II
Vienna unleashed their best quick-strike offense to beat SOC Raptors 41-34. With Drew Evan playing a huge game at center, scrumhalf Diego Gonzalez playing precisely, and with hooker David Kendig another stalwart, Vienna matched SOC try for try, with interest.
Aspetuck beat KC Jr. Blues for 3rd, Penn took 5th over Berks, and Raleigh beat St. Thomas Aquinas for 7th.
HS Club
In another dramatic final, Belmont Shore played superb defense and with big prop Max Amasio making massive runs, they challenged their rivals the San Diego Mustangs. Led by Amasio's power and the leadership of Nathan Vargas at hooker and a strong showing from flyhalf Lenny Ibarra, Belmont won 19-12 to take the national championship (and also the SoCal club title).
Pendleton put on their best performance in the first half to lead 21-0 and held on 28-26 against a dynamic but somewhat unlucky Layton Christian Academy to take 7th. LCA lost all three games ... by total of five points.
Granite Bay defeated Woodlands to take 3rd, and Danville came back to beat Charlotte for 3rd.
Single-School
A dominant display by Gonzaga capped off a dominant season for the Eagles. They beat a very good Jesuit tem 38-18 behind two thrilling tries from Brody Johnson and a captain's game by Burke Carroll.
Xavier beat St. Ignatius for 3rd, while Greenwich produced their best performance of the weekend in a 32-24 defeat of Herriman for 5th. Regis Jesuit took 7th over Rye.
Overall, 11 of the 36 games were decided by a try or less, including two of the three finals. Another 10 were decided by between one and two tries.
It was a hugely successful tournament in part because of the its competitive balance.
More to come.
