Much of the talk about the Boys HS National Championship Tier II was whether the seedings would hold up.
Having won the NorCal Gold Division in impressive fashion, the Carmichael Hawks were clearly bristling at being seeded 8th, and they showed it in their play. Moving the ball wide and also powering through the middle the Hawks forced Fort Hunt to commit to their tackles.
Fort Hunt, usually consistent in their double tackles, struggled to get those done. Carmichael lock Reed Knapp scored two tries in the opening 10 minutes, and forced to worry about the power runners, Fort Hunt were now vulnerable out wide.
Devin Pointes was effective as a flyhalf and with Joely Karavaki running well at center they had options. Rupeni Rukuvau capped off some nice passing to score in the corner. And then a rumbling run from flanker Ronan Curry put Carmichael in control 24-0.
Fort Hunt responded, finally putting something together, but each time Carmichael was able to asnwer, finding repeated odd-man rushes on the outside.
Prop Sam Enochian was outstanding, leading the way in traffic and also serving as a connector on long attacks. Fort Hunt won't b happy with how they played, and Carmichael advances to the semis 36-12.
So that was #8 beating #1. What about #2 vs #7? In this case it was the higher seed that took it. A young Eastside team tested Strake early and took a 3-0 lead. However, Strake was patient and smart and waiting for their moments to burn Eastside out wide.
They took a 19-10 lead and then put in two impressive tries late to win it 33-13.
Paolo Masso's try in the middle of the match and William Grace's try early in the second half sealed it for Strake.
