Penn State and Cal weren’t the only teams to repeat championships in Chester, Pa., today, as the New Jersey Blaze outlasted Doylestown 14-7 in the Girls High School Rugby Challenge (HSRC) for its second consecutive championship.

The two finalists are familiar with each other, having faced off in last year’s HSRC. The Blaze returned five Morris players who competed in the 2014 PPL Park showdown, while Doylestown strengthened its roster with Atlantis U16 stars Emily Henrich (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Alex DiMarco (Keystone, Pa.). The pair went through pool play relatively unchallenged.

“The competition was similar to last year, maybe a step up, but there was still a big discrepancy between teams,” said New Jersey Blaze coach Tom Feury, whose team outscored Pool B 123-0. “In the semifinals, North Texas was good, but we heard one of their better players [Atlantis alum and Lindenwood commit Neariah Persinger] was injured, and that made a difference.”

The Blaze defeated North Texas – which was one of two Texas all-star teams in the competition – 19-0, while Doylestown exited pool play +85, and defeated former HSRC champ Divine Savior Holy Angles (a team composed of DSHA students only) 22-7 in the semifinals.

“I got to watch them play a few games, so I was ready for what they were going to throw at us,” Feury said of the reigning Pennsylvania state 7s champion. “For instance, Megan Lynott, a really experienced prop, was stealing hooks against all of the other teams, so I took note of that.”

The scouting necessitated some roster changes, and Feury turned to one of three Union players, Tori Breza, to fortify the team’s defense. Feury also coached Breza at the Regional All Star Championship last year.

“I’m a big fan of hers,” Feury said of the eventual MVP. “She didn’t start any of the other games, but she picked up a lot of confidence over the weekend, and so we bumped her up. She played sweeper and made at least two try-saving tackles – and that ended up being extremely important.”

Backed by the very dangerous Sophie Pyrz, Feury was concerned about the mismatch in speed and Doylestown's skill. But with Breza in the backfield, Blaze excelled on defense, and the team’s ability to link up helped produced a one-try win.

With half of the players coming from Morris, it was a nice way for those players to rebound after DI nationals two weekends ago. Morris finished seventh in Pittsburgh, dropping a big game to Danville (Calif.) and then St. Joseph’s, before ending with a three-point win over East Coast rival West End.

“Nationals was a positive experience,” Feury said. “Last year, they made a bigger splash – gave out goodie bags, had a Friday night reception that all the teams attended – but the competition was there, if not better. It was very obvious that the West Coast has the better teams – no doubt about it. They’re more experienced, play better competition, and that helps.

“We have some ideas how to be stronger,” Feury continued. “We want to have a couple of mini invitational tournaments to play teams like West End, North Bay, Downingtown, Valkyries. If you look at West End and Morris, we won our league games easily, but that doesn’t make a better team.”

The New Jersey Blaze is doing its part in developing talent, and a demonstration of such should play out this weekend at the New Jersey 15s State Championship. Morris and Union will be battling for that title, the RAST follows, and then Blaze kicks off its four-tournament summer 7s schedule. Feury's in the middle of it all and is currently en route to James Madison University - site of the National All Star Championship reboot - as part of the coaching development pathway. Full steam ahead!