Several HS Teams Make Statements in Storer Classic
Several HS Teams Make Statements in Storer Classic
As always the Storer Classic provides some important preseason rugby for teams in the West, and this year did not disappoint.
There were several solid showings with SOC Raptors, Marin, Carlsbad, and Layton Christian all producing some good results. Atop all of those was Belmont Shore, which ended the weekend 3-0.
We had a great weekend up in Westwood with a young team (missing Clarence Chaney and Colin Donnely to injuries - both USA UI18 JNT players - starting A-side consisted of 10 juniors, 1 sophomore and 4 seniors) and only two practices under the belt, as you know most of our players are scattered across 5 different high school teams very early in our season, but lots to work with, very excited about this group of players. We took two squads and A & B, 50 players, everyone got good game time. Our A-team went 2-1 on the weekend - Here is a quick summary
SOC Raptors beat Motherlode 26-0 and Danville in a close one 17-12.
Against Motherlode, simple, direct rugby was the recipe. The players had not practiced together much so keeping it simple made sense and a hard-running, vertical attack was the order of the day. Austin Diaz was moved from his regular position of flanker to center and his strong carries netted three tries in the first half. Caden Hartley, who had attended the USA age-grade camp to play lock, suited up at flyhalf for the Raptors, while also being the main target in the lineouts (!). He handled the game very nicely tactically. One more try in the second half finished it off.
Sunday's meeting with Danville was a tough clash that started with the Raptors playing some of their best and most expansive rugby of the weekend. Flanker Waylon Davis was outstanding for the Raptors and fullback Jack Munro found some space and capped off a very nice try while also setting up one for wing Jett Bunch. That put SOC up 12-0. Munro looked to score a second but that potential try was called back. It was a letoff for Danville which took advantage with two well-taken tries to tie the game 12-12.
But some hard carrying from Davis got the Raptors close again and he offloaded to outside center Tristan Gutman for the game-winner 17-12.
Carlsbad defeated Danville 22-0 and Marin 14-5 while dropping a close one 26-19 to Layton Christian.
That loss to LCA was back and forth and a good opening for the Utah side, while Carlsbad, which has been in action already this season, learned much from trying to contain a powerful, smart-passing, and quick LCA team.
The Carlsbad forwards controlled possession very well and ran strong in interior channels in their shutout over Danville. Against a very good Marin, Carlsbad desperately held on against Marin out wide, where the Highlanders were very dangerous. In tight and up the middle Carlsbad was a bit stronger. The Carlsbad forwards, led by front-rowers Kingston Faatili and Ray Taele, along with lock Quintin Johnson, and flanker Jameson Garrison, set the tone for this team and with their depth stretched those four played every minute over the weekend.
The backs had their moments and, as we said, their out-wide defense against Marin held the Highlanders to just the one try. Centers Nate Wilson and Hezekiah Anglin, along with wing Georgie Faasua and scrumhalf Charlie Green, led the way.
"Good solid weekend of rugby for the boys," said Carlsbad Head Coach Josh Williams. "Our first tough competition and it should make us stronger."
Marin ended up 1-2 but they showed well. Their 22-14 win over SOC was the result of dynamic play out wide and punishing Raptors turnovers.
Those turnovers led to a 12-0 Marin lead at halftime. The teams traded tries after that and Marin did well to keep the Raptors at bay.
For Head Coach John Vantress, he got a strong team effort and blooded seven players.
"Coach [Harry] Bennett and UCLA do a great job organizing and executing the Dennis Storer Classic," said Vantress. "We are really grateful for the opportunity to get our boys some tough competition early in the season and immerse them in two days of high school and collegiate rugby. Our goals for the tournament were simply: Have Fun, Get Better and Build Team Chemistry. I don't know if anyone arrives in the second week in January feeling like they are truly prepared to compete but you ask the boys to play tough, and do their best to stick to a simplified structure and game plan, knowing that you will come away from the weekend with plenty to work on."
Meanwhile, the 2023 HS Club National Champions, Belmont Shore, came out of the weekend 3-0.
They beat Marin 20-5, Bright out of Utah 33-5, and LCA in a very close one 15-12.
"Ultimately good results with only one practice together the week of the tournament," said Belmont Shore Head Coach Johnny Pua. "I credit our High School coaches who have launched their season that helped most of our players get a head start into rugby mode. Schools that pipeline into Belmont, like St Anthony, Lakewood, Long Beach, and Los Alamitos."
The club were coming off having hosted Canterbury Crusaders International Coaches who had shared some new perspectives on coaching.
"It's early in the season but it looks promising with a lot of our returners returning from last year's Nationals team," said Pua. "We are a team that adapts and gets better every game once we get into our official club season. With a lot of good potential teams we saw this weekend, like our fellow Socal brothers South OC Raptors and Thunder, both looking healthy and strong competitors. It looks like SoCal will have another strong competitive season."
