St Augustine Prep defeated Christian Brothers Academy on Saturday to win the Rugby New Jersey Boys HS state championship.
CBA was perhaps a bit of a surprise team in the playoffs as they weren't really expected to advance. But the Colts edged Morris 22-14 to make the final.
The Hermits of St. Augustine handled Union fairly convincingly to set up the final, where Christian Brothers once again looked to create an upset.
St. Augustine held on 25-22 to take the Hermits' fourth state championships since 2017.
"CBA has an outstanding coaching staff who gave us some fresh looks from seeing them earlier in the season," said St. Augustine Head Coach Brendan Towell. "We were also a bit over-anxious early until we settled down. While it wasn’t our most technical effort, grit and even creativity came into play."
St.Augustine called some relatively new and ambitious plays and they paid off. One certainly helped swing the momentum.
"Both sides traditionally compete very hard, both in the spring and in fall sevens," said Towell. "While Rugby NJ may not have the number of teams that NY or PA have, I do think there is, in any given season, some top talent in the Garden State and I am proud that St. Augustine Prep can represent New Jersey as the top program again this spring."
