Some Serious Words about a Serious Single-School Championship

05.26.2024HS Boys

Gonzaga College High Schools national championship record reached a high point this weekend.

There is no doubt they are the best school team in the country. Some teams get close, but when we’re talking single-school teams, we’re talking Gonzaga.

Now, there are some caveats. As we mentioned a little bit, St. Ignatius has deal with a flood of injuries this year. It’s only thanks to the depth of their program that they were able to put out a side that was that good. Now, let’s not overstate it—Ignatius had plenty of outstanding rugby players in that lineup on Saturday, but they were certainly testing their depth.

Same, to a certain extent, goes for Herriman. Back at the beginning of the seas we at GRR World Headquarters attended the Purriri tournament and ended up speaking with Herriman play Rylan Southwick’s father. Southwick had impressed us, but then right after we left the tournament Southwick suffered a very scary neck injury—out for the season and maybe for rugby (he has made a remarkable recovery since, thankfully).

Then on Friday, a freak collision in the semifinal saw both Herriman and Ignatius lose players (injury to Herriman and red card to Ignatius). Fortunately the injury wasn’t bad, but certainly those teams weren’t fully-stocked.

Gonzaga, for their part, were fully-stocked. As Head Coach Peter Baggetta said, their semifinal game was the first time that group of 15 players had taken the field. They repeated that lineup for the final. It was a lineup with 13 seniors, almost all committed to top-notch rugby programs. They had size—big men like Kimani Laumoli (game MVP), Conall Brannan, and Steele Dombo—but those guys could run and had the fitness to finish the game. They had speed—Brody Johnson’s acceleration and Will Breslin’s pace were huge aspects of Gonzaga’s success. But they were also brave in contact. They had rugby vision—Kieran Downs always had his eyes open and his brain working, combining with excellent skill; fullback Mack Smith isn’t exactly a letdown in that department.

And they have ballers—it’s easy to dismiss a fancy-schmancy private school in the nation’s capital as a bunch of softies, and you’d be very wrong to do that. Hooker Alex Jancy, captain and flanker Andrew LaFrankie, and Matt Grau at lock just play hard, make tackles, win rucks, and make tough yards. You can’t win without those guys. We didn’t mention everyone on the Gonzaga team, but they can all play, and so can the next 15 or so.

And with that experience together and in the game, and with those combinations of abilities, they were so very hard to stop. In their first 30 against St. Edward combined with their first 30 against St. Ignatius, Gonzaga outscored the best pair of single school teams between the Potomac and the Orem by more than a point a minute.

Since the Boys HS National Championships went private and embraced its current format in 2013, Gonzaga is 28-5. They have lost to only two teams in that time: Jesuit-Sacramento in 2013, 2017, and 2019; St. Ignatius in 2021 and 2022.

Having Said That

The unsuccessful comeback by St. Ignatius was one of the more stirring things you’d ever want to see in High School Rugby. The Wildcats, really, had no chance. The hole there were in (exacerbated by Downs being perfect on his conversions) was too deep. And yet they almost did it. Pat Cooney is an undersized flanker asked to play hooker who was a warrior. Jimmy Collins did everything he could to get his team into a winning position, Prop Bobby Rosol, scrumhalf Mark French (watch him tackle Brannan and tell us he’s not brave), Gavin Vollmer, and Auggie Sowkinski to name a few (we’re unfairly leaving guys out) just didn’t capitulate.

You have to respect that.

And as LaFrankie told his Gonzaga teammates after the game (with slight exaggeration, but not much), “that Ignatius team is all juniors and sophomores,” so next year won’t be any easier.

Also Among Single-Schools

Finishing 8th St. Martin’s had nothing to be ashamed of. They are physically small; their program is four years old; they have never been at this tournament before. You don’t know what it’s like until you play. They were in every game they played; they almost beat Herriman … seriously, the Mustangs were in trouble.

Kingfishers ended up with 60 points for and 74 points against, and lost all three. Watch them next year.

Xavier pushed Gonzaga on Day One and Xavier loves to push teams. They ended up 2-1 and 5th, and perhaps finally showed the Xavier we suspected was there all along.

St. Edward did very well in their opener and while they gave up points in their next two games, we saw what is coming from that program.

Herriman, despite their scares and everything, were excellent, and 3rd.

Why They Play the Game

If you’re involved with a single-school team and you want to become stronger and better, going on a tour to another part of the USA, or overseas, is a great way. But playing in a national tournament where everyone wants to win a championship is the way to find out exactly what high-level rugby is.

The respect and the handshakes and the hugs are there, yes, but this is for a championship and a national order of finish. It matters, and because it matters, the games mean more, the games are more intense, the demands on your skill set are raised.

This is true also for the school teams in Tier II, St. Joe’s and SLUH. Not one team played poorly; but gaps and less-strong areas were exposed. You think your team is good? Come win a game in Elkhart and see what that means.

Come to Nationals and lose on Day One … maybe suffer your first loss of the year … and come back the next day and front-up again.

Give up 30 points at halftime and realize everyone around the country is watching how you respond. Get up early on Saturday morning hoping to finish 7th.

Play the best team in the country with their best lineup at the peak of their periodization and tackle and tackle and tackle and stick with it for the full game.

And do this with a training and preparation plan, and a recovery plan, and proper medical care, and getting all your paperwork done, and being on time and professional and respectful and showing sportsmanship.

Then you can talk about being among the best, because the best will welcome you with open arms if you just take up the challenge.