Pendleton Rugby came off a challenging three games at the Boys HS National Championships only to have to play their state final game on Monday against the Westside Black Swarm.
These two teams met in the 2022 D2 semis, with Pendleton winning 35-31, so they knew this game would be a tough one.
The match started well for Westside as Trayvon Mathis regained possession of the opening kick. Two phases later, Pendleton was penalized for a side entry but from the ensuing lineout Pendleton lock Zane Davis stole the ball. Inside center Nick Trout then booted the ball about 40 meters, and the chase was good as Pendleton forced a holding-on penalty.
Quickly Pendleton had turned the tables on Westside. The ensuing lineout was won by Pendleton, but Westside's defense was solid and they forced a turnover.
This seemed to be the tone of the early part of the game, as both teams had forays only to be stopped. Finally Pendleton was able to get inside Westside's 22. They tapped after the Black Swarm was offside; Garrett Pederson picked quickly and then set up Trout to score in the corner. Pendleton 5 Westside 0.
Pendleton had two more opportunities inside the Westside 22. On one they scored a try almost identical to the first, with Trout making it 10-0.
More Pendleton power, Trout sent a 50-22 deep into the Westside zone giving his side the throwing. The throw, however, went over the jumper and into the hands of a Westside forward. Davis fixed that by ripping the ball free and racing to the corner. Trout converted and Pendleton had a 17-0 lead.
But the Black Swarm were not done, not by a long shot. A Pendleton knock on after a successful turnover led to a scrum and from there wing Dailon Zeigler found some space and was over. Two minutes later center Jaiden Jones scored the first of his hat-trick when he found a gap near the sideline and accelerated past the Pendleton defense. That made it 17-10, with momentum shifting to Westside.
