A quick rundown of some of the action in HS boys rugby this weekend.
Top-Ranked Sides
The #1 HS Club, Granite Bay, won its playoff game in NorCal. Likewise the #2 School team, De La Salle. Top-ranked School team St. Ignatius won comfortably against a very tough Aspetuck (details). This helps Ignatius solidify their spot (although DLS is still chasing). Gonzaga (#4) rolled over Xavier (#14) 67-5.
"Our counterattack was lethal today," said Gonzaga Head Coach Peter Baggetta. "That made it hard for them to play out of their end."
Almost all of the highly-ranked teams have good depth, but it's interesting to see Ignatius garner results from younger players against highly-rated sides.
Belmont Shore (Club #5) continued their impressive run, beating defending HS club national champs Thunder Rugby (Club #9) 33-28. Belmont Shore got a massive game from tighthead prop Max Amasio, who capped it all off with a pick-and-go that morphed into a 15-meter charge for the line to win the game with less than a minute to go. That drive was all set up by flanker Jagger Tavai who broke through several tackles to get it all started.
"Thunder showed us why they are National Champs, being down in the first half and coming back strong in the second half and taking over the lead," said Belmont Shore Head Coach Johnny Pua. "But Belmont showed Heart and dug down deep, we fought back with the help of our strong bench. Much respect to Head Coach Josh Williams and his coaching staff."
Belmont Shore has now beaten all three SoCal teams that attended nationals last year.
In Florida, the #8 school team Cardinal Gibbons met the #13 club team in Boca for the Florida championship. Boca had a close win over Cardinal Gibbons in the regular season and repeated that, taking the game 18-10 in a tough, hard-hitting contest.
United, the #2-ranked HS club, was tested by #25 Genesis 33-25 in Utah, and the same goes for #12 Vienna against #27 and rising Richmond. Vienna took a lead, saw Richmond claw back, and then with the Strikers on the charge an interception sealed it for Vienna. The Vienna squad has been slammed with injuries but they hung on for this one.
Royal Irish (Club #14) edged #18 School team Bishop Dwenger. This game was back and forth and the lead changed hands several times. Flyhalf Tommy Hannon's second-half penalty was crucial in that it put Royal Irish ahead two scores at the tim. Injuries still hit Royal Irish but "we are learning that there is real depth in the roster this season," said Head Coach Dave Snyder. The coach added that when they just do the basics, Royal Irish finds success, but they deviated from that somewhat.
Herriman (School #3) won 59-23 over Olympus with four tries from Sake Tukuafu and three from Cam Connors in less than a half.
