Virginia HS club Fort Hunt took a trip to North Carolina over the weekend and returned with plenty of things to work on, as the #3-ranked Warriors lost to the Raleigh Redhawks and Charlotte Tigers.

On Saturday night, the Redhawks took on the Warriors. The narrow pitch required physical play and restricted the ability of the wings to get loose, but the Redhawks didn’t shy away from the contact and prevailed 21-7.  Fort Hunt rarely threatened, and the Redhawks controlled the match with good structure on both sides of the ball. 

Junior scrumhalf George O’Brien, an EIRA tour and winter camp veteran, executed the game plan nicely, breaking several good runs and delivering crisp outlet passes from the ruck and scrum. Senior captain and prop Koby Baker provided stability in the scrum,as did junior Brad Harris, and made his presence known elsewhere on the pitch.  Senior flanker Mac Rich and junior flanker Nate Roeback delivered jarring tackles and solid go-forward running throughout the evening.  Coaches Dave Krosner and Andy Thomas applauded the entire team’s effort and look forward to embarking on the Redhawks’ defense of last year’s state championship. 

Lock Frank Lewis, Rich, and wing Scotty Sidney all scored tries for Raleigh, and those tries were converted by Aiden Laros.

On Sunday, the Charlotte Tigers handed Fort Hunt a 50-19 defeat. Locks Eddy van Heerden and David Grant, wings Chris Witt and Ryan Callefas, center Ethyn Baker, and flanker Will Smith all scored tries. Wing Donavan Law added two, while fullback Carson Green kicked five conversions.

The game was the opener for a huge celebration of youth rugby in Charlotte and also featured a Charlotte-Fort Hunt Jv game won by Charlotte at the final whistle.

Charlotte No. 8 Jarrett Self and center Ethyn Baker were the best of the Tigers. Jarrett was a terror in stealing balls in the ruck while Baker drew plenty of attention from defenders, allowing him to set free his teammates.

For Fort Hunt, the trip showed there's much to work on.

"First and foremost we played two very well-coached and organized teams," said Forth Hunt Coach Dale Roach. "Both teams had skill and power. We are again this year a pretty physical team but both the Redhawks and Tigers played well and hard. We made too many basic ball handling and ball control errors to beat good teams like we played this weekend."

The Tigers also hosted Fort Hunt, helping set up the field and running touch as well as feeding the teams.

"Erik Saxon and his coaches, players and especially their parents do it right in Charlotte,' said Roach.