School-Team HS Roundup
School-Team HS Roundup
Leading single-school teams had a good weekend this week, although some games were a little bit tougher than others.
Gonzaga on the Rise
Gonzaga had encountered a couple of rough early results with a squad that is a bit less experienced than most. The Eagles then went to Italy where they played Rugby Rovigo Delta and Rugby Colorno with multiple sides. Losing to some top club teams in Italy isn't something to be ashamed of and Head Coach peter Baggetta told GRR that winning isn't the purpose, anyway.
"A tour is always helpful for us," said Baggetta. "We rarely win games on tour because we make sure to schedule tough opponents, often academy teams and sometimes national teams. This year we went 0-6, just like last year. The year before were were 1-5."
The point, of course, is to expose players to a higher level. With a front-line squad of 25 that has six seniors—a very low number for Gonzaga—that kind of experience is critical. The result was, this week, a 50-14 win over St. Edward out of Cleveland, Ohio.
"Overall a good performance for us," said Baggetta. "We think we now know our top 25 going forward. It took us the first seven games to get there."
Ignatius Finishing Strong
St. Ignatius has a habit of scoring tries late to pull away and this week was no different. An intercept try and one helped along by penalties saw St. Xavier of Cincinnati score on the Cleveland team, but Ignatius took a 28-14 lead into halftime. As the game wore on, and despite some unforced errors, the Wildcats built on that lead and ended up winning 64-14.
There were some bright spots for St. Xavier, notable inside center and captain Sam McNab and try-scorers Nate Hodapp and Mikey Ealy. But Ignatius, especially their forwards, were powerful in contact and finished well. Jacob Papesh and newly-minted Naval Academy commit Connor Bender were very good, while flanker Mason Hartley was tireless and produced one of the more impressive tries of the day. The best might have been Chris Perez's effort when he saw a chance for a grubber, regathered his kick and outpaced the chasers. Or it might have been a nice interplay of offloads for Jimmy Coughlin to score in the corner.
Rafe Gabrovsek continues to be very difficult to play against.
Xavier and La Salette
Top-ranked Xavier HS of New York played two varsity games, against Chaminade and St. Joseph's By the Sea, and won both in convincing fashion. La Salette has been enjoying a very good season and won comfortably over Chesterton, a relatively new school team in Rugby Illinois league play.
Some Close Ones
St. Thomas Aquinas, back from their tour of Ireland, edged a very strong St. Martin's Kingfishers 12-10. It was very poor weather and with the wind and rain ball-handling was difficult.
"I am proud of the boys and how they toughed it out," said STA Head Coach Tim Kluempers. Up front, prop Lou Mullin and hooker Max Laurentsen were very strong, while flanker Jack Boddicker had a solid game on the day. Harrison Kraus and James Hinds led the way in the backs as a conversion was the difference for the Saints.
In another close one, Strake Jesuit edged Lake Travis 26-24 in the Texas-Louisiana Single-School Varsity Cup.
"Really hard-fought game by both teams," said Strake Head Coach Jason Kimball. "We went up 19-5 at half and then 26-10 but Lake Travis never backed down and pushed us to the edge. We had the wind advantage in the first half and played solid on defense to give us the lead, but LT did the same to us in the second half. We made a few brain fades at the midpoint of each half and a team that is as well organized as Lake Travis will make you pay every time."
Jackson Hebert scored two tries for Strake, while Felipe Edbrooke added one. Fran Moretti scored 11 points with a try and three conversions.
"The Varsity Cup playoff South Bracket is going to be a tough row to get through," added Kimball. "Four teams are capable of winning it."
Strake is 5-0 in the VC South, while Lake Travis drops to 4-1. Right behind them is Jesuit New Orleans (3-2) and St. Thomas of Houston (3-2).
Dallas Jesuit is 5-0 in the North with Celina at 4-1. They won in a forfeit over Allen this week
The Northeast
As reported earlier, Fairfield Prep beat Staples on a last-minute penalty: Dramatic Ending Friday Night in Connecticut
Fordham Prep produced a good result, beating Pelham HS 36-26, with James Scanlon scoring two tries, while Tadgh O'Neill, Marcello Viscoso, Sean Rooney, and Tyler Vujtech also touching down.
