So it’s all about who makes the playoffs at this point in Texas HS rugby.

Lake Travis won THE big game last week, defeating Rock Rugby 24-14 and almost guaranteeing that LT will be in the semis. But almost, isn’t the same as a sure thing. Lake Travis will still have to get by Four Points, Jesuit of Dallas, and Allen.

“Beating Rock was huge,” said Lake Travis Coach Rick Medina. “For us the goal was to play better rugby. We knew they had athletes as do we, and they work hard, like we do. So if we out-rugby them, we’ll win.”

That meant working the phases and not just relying on a big play. Earlier in the season, against Westlake, Lake Travis fell victim to trying to make the big play. A little impatience, a little white-line fever, hurt them in a 12-7 loss.

“Against Rock, we showed we’d learned that lesson. Instead of going six phases and getting the feeling we’ve got to score now, we went ten phases or more and continued to play the way we needed to play,” said Medina - who was for many years a scrumhalf for the Austin Blacks club, and knows the rhythm of the game as well as anyone.

The Lake Travis win had plenty of players contribute. Aidan Estrada was again the go-to guy in the backline, although Patrick Medina played well also. In the pack, loose forwards Teague Roberts and Garrett Womack were good at the breakdown, and in the tackle. Womack’s ability to corral Rock’s center Jose Lugo was a crucial contribution.

So now Lake Travis looks in good shape to finish no worse than 5-2, and possible 6-1. It’s that one game against Jesuit-Dallas that might unseat them, but even that loss won’t necessarily be enough to drop them out of 2nd.

Westlake remains 1st with a 4-0 record and their two toughest opponents - Rock and Travis - behind them. So Westlake can afford to play touring St. Ignatius and prepare for the playoffs.

In the South Region, there are more questions to answer. Katy leads at 4-0-1, but waiting them are St. Thomas on Thursday evening, and The Woodlands a week later. St. Thomas has been steadily improving, and battled St. Ignatius well earlier this week - the big question will be whether playing the Ohio tourists hardened St. Thomas for the task ahead, or tired them out.

A win by St. Thomas could put them in excellent position for a playoff spot. 

But it’s not just down to those two teams. The Woodlands team is poised to strike. The Houston-area team started nicely in the early going, pushing Westlake close in a non-league game, and beating St. Thomas and Kingwood..

"That game against Westlake showed the guys what we can do," said Coach Doug Mooneyham. "It kind of turned around their psyche."

But now it's all going to come crashing down on them. They have five games to play in very short order, and this young, athletic team will be glad to have put two of their tougher games behind them. Wins over St. Pius X and Katy will vault them into contention for the #1 spot.

So, in short, it’s all to play for in April in Texas.