State Champions Decided Across the Country
State Champions Decided Across the Country
New club Charlotte Cardinals won the North Carolina state championship in emphatic fashion on Saturday.
The Cardinals which is a new club that sprung up out of the Charlotte Tigers club, has expanded the rugby offerings in the city which certainly could lead to more growth. Saturday the Cardinals downed Cape Fear 58-14 to take the state title. The Cardinals will move on to play in the Florida Rugby Invitational Rugby Showcase next weekend.
In Texas, Woodlands took the state championship, beating Dallas Jesuit 42-5. This was part of a three-championship sweep for the club. The Woodlands D2 team beat Brazoria 18-17 to win the Boys D2 final, and the Woodlands girls team edged TNT 17-14 to win the Texas girls championship. Woodlands moves on to the HS Club Division of the Boys HS Nationals next week, where they are seeded #2 in the HS Club bracket.
St. Thomas Aquinas won the Kansas state championship without dropping a point. In a semifinal-final format of two shortened games, Aquinas beat Blue Valley 58-0 in the semis. St. Martin's Kingfishers scored on the final play of the game in the other semifinal to beat St. James 14-7. But Aquinas shut the door in the final winning 19-0.
Head Coach Tim Kluempers said it was a very solid day of rugby for his charges, who are seeded #4 in the Single-School division of the Boys HS Nationals, and the defensive effort was superb.
Raptor Rugby beat Germantown in a very tight final in Tennessee, taking the game 32-27.
In Utah Highland upset Herriman 33-31 to win the Utah Youth Rugby school final. Herriman had some key scoring chances that Highland stymied at important moments with defensive pressure. The Highland backs found enough space out wide to exploit their speed. United beat Layton Christian 55-34 for the club championship, and Bright took the D2 final over Kearns. Boys HS Nationals is next for both Herriman and United.
And in Virginia Fort Hunt downed the Richmond Strikers with a big 50-12 victory in the Virginia final. Fort Hunt also beat Richmond in the JV final. Earlier this past week Gonzaga won the MAVRC League final over Georgetown Prep 48-14.
