We're in the middle of HS select-side season and this weekend is relatively busy.
But before we get to that, let's take a look at the past couple of week.
The Buckeye Classic last week welcomes teams from North Carolina (North Carolina All-Stars), Ohio (Aviators), Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Harlequins), and the Atlantis 15s.
Atlantis did very well, with their girls team winning the girls bracket fairly convincingly, led by an MVP performance from team captain Allie Beckenhauer. The Atlantis Boys U16s went 4-0. Chasing them, the Aviators and NC actually tied each other 24-24 on the Saturday.
This was a relatively young Atlantis U16 team, and close to half the squad will return for next year.
Atlantis U16 went 4-0, outscoring their opponents 105-38 over the four shortened games.
Inside center Bennett Glock out of Union Rugby in New Jersey led the team with seven tries, earning MVP honors. Scrumhalf James Burke (Elizabethtown, Pa.) was the team captain.
Also active on the scoresheet were prop Matt Lis (Berks County, Pa.) and Doylestown (pa.) No. 8 Chris Imperato, who each scored three.
"Generally speaking, the forward pack was a huge part of our success with their physicality and dominant set pieces," said Head Coach Jessica Nedzwecky. Lock Sean Lynch (La Salle College HS) stole several lineouts and was especially difficult to deal with on Day Two.
In the backs, flyhalf Jacob Beckenhauer out of Doylestown made smart calls throughout the weekend.
"The entire team played solid defense," added Nedzwecky. "A main focal point of our two practices leading up to the tournament was learning the structure and running our system. The boys came together amazingly well on and off the pitch. What worked best for us was sticking to that structure and playing solid all around defense with only a few lapses."
Their overall scoreline pro-rated to one 70-minute game was 46-17.
This Coming Weekend
This week we have two fairly large select-side events with different profiles.
Mount St. Mary's is hosting a multi-tier tournament centered around academy teams, which usually draw from multiple regions. This is potentially the beginning of something bigger as these events return to the East Coast.
An interesting additional factor with this tournament is that teams can use the MSM rugby facilities early and the teams are coming into Emmitsburg, Md. a day or two before to warm up and get prepared.
