While Pelham HS is one of the newer faces on the high school rugby scene, they play with the experience and confidence as a team rich with tradition.

Pelham in just their 3rd spring season have catapulted all the way to the top of the conference and found themselves battling for the Rugby NY Division I title against Xavier HS. While they seemed to have graduated a good portion of their nucleus from last season, their desire for the top spot has not wavered, as they have done well to recruit from around the area with some strong international talent, such as Thai Boux Lefour and Rico Pearson. As this year is gearing up to become another strong year in the Rugby NY Metropolitan Division, Pelham is looking to ride the momentum created from last spring.

Having just been named as one of the teams invited to the Boys HS Rugby National Championships, where they finished 2nd in Tier II last year, they have, said Head Coach Matt Persanis, expectations.

Pelham has reason to set their goals high, as they are returning some key player from their 2016 season. Both scrumhalf Luke Persanis and prop Tim Quinn received accolades at nationals. Persanis, along with center center Sam Lauman, attended the High School All-American camp over this past winter. The core group of guys coming back for the Pelicans have both experience and talent at some key positions. They are looking to utilize this depth to find their way back into the National spotlight as they are gearing up for another late season run. 

We wont have to wait long to see if the optimism surrounding the team is warranted with this weekend's scrimmage with Union (NJ), and then upcoming games with Xavier and Greenwich (Conn.) - all will become a strong barometer on the talent pool of Pelham. It seems to be the Pelham will be up for the challenge, after a successful 7s fall season, all directions seem to be pointing upwards.  

- Conor O'Brien