St. Thomas of Houston edged rivals Jesuit of Dallas 17-10 this past weekend in the opening game for both Rugby Texas teams.

Jordan Maat photos.

Despite the fact that this was the first serious run-out for both squads, the game was well-played and the players received multiple compliments for their level of play and their sportsmanship.

The matchup itself is a challenge match for the Bishops Cup. Dallas Jesuit, under new coach Matt Ortiz (previous longtime coach Anthony Mattaccione has taken the Regis Jesuit job in Colorado), is a big, athletic outfit, and made St. Thomas work very hard for their scoring opportunities.

In a physical game, Jesuit opened the scoring in the first half with a nifty 50-meter run. St. Thomas answered with a Riley Bishop penalty kick to cut the Jesuit lead to 7-3. St. Thomas sophomore flanker Seth Dietz scored on a short run to put his side up 10-7 at halftime.   

Both teams moved the ball well to open the second half but St.Thomas was able to dominate possession for most of the last 20 minutes. Senior hooker Tommy Batterson pounded in a short run to make it 17-7. Jesuit closed the scoring with a penalty kick in extra time for a 17-10 final score. 

For St. Thomas, senior prop Sam Yeboa was dominant in the trenches with solid tackling and bruising runs, while senior lock Brigg Banks, senior flanker David Heffernan, and senior No. 8 Michael Gentempo, along with try-scorer Dietz, put in a full night’s work. Senior center Griffin Maat contributed by repeatedly poaching the ball in the breakdown, and also making some offensive plays.