The Raleigh Redhawks opened their 2020 season with an impressive showing, beating single-school #4 Gonzaga HS 17-14 on Sunday.

It was a defensive battle throughout and neither team was able to find much space.

The Redhawks scored first, with flyhalf Aidan Laros selling a dummy and taking a strong line to paydirt. Laros added the extras and Raleigh had a 7-0 lead.

Gonzaga battled back, as they always do, and tied the game midway through the first half.

But the Redhawks scored twice after that and took a 17-7 lead that they would hold most of the second half. With time winding down, Redhawks center Ben Watson was sin-binned for a late tackle. That opened up a little room for Gonzaga to exploit. The Redhawks held on, defending doggedly. The Gonzaga attack continued past full time, and then, with No. 8 Nate Roeback also in the sin bin for an intentional knock-on, Gonzaga scored on a counter from a kick—Raleigh players thought Gonzaga had knocked on the ball and so slowed down. It was a harsh seven-point lesson for the Raleigh players as Gonzaga raced in to score.

That was it, 17-14. It was a huely impressive performance for the Redhawks, who have serious designs on making a splash on the national scene.

Laros was the player of the game but it was a strong team performance, with the back row of Roeback, Turner Barefoot, and Sam Sorice swarming the field, while locks Vince Meymandi and Frank Lewis were a powerful presence in tight.

Elusive scrumhalf George O'Brien was difficult to contain and put pressure on Gonzaga at the base of the scrum, while the center pairing of Watson and Christian Dickens ran and defended well. Fullback Nahuel Wingord had a massive game both in kicking and in running back kicks.

This was a good road win for the Redhawks, and showed that they not only can score, they can defend.

"I felt it was a great start with a win against a very strong and always extremely well coached Gonzaga Varsity Purple team and, for us, all the more satisfying given we have had limited practice time with something like 12 of our training sessions canceled due to weather conditions," said Redhawks Head Coach Dave Krosner. "I think that lack of training showed with various handling errors and set piece issues that we hope to iron out in the coming weeks. But any time you are able to beat Gonzaga at Gonzaga, you have to be happy with the win, so we will take it and get to work on the areas we need to improve. Playing Gonzaga at Gonzaga has been an annual fixture for our club for several years now and it is one our players and families always enjoy given their great facilities, superb fans and great coaching. We thank them for their incredible hospitality."

The Redhawks now begin their league season in a newly expanded league with a local game against the highly ranked Clayton Rugby Club, which beat Salesianum, West Carroll, and South Greenville at the Carolina Ruggerfest.