The Rugby Texas Boys HS leagues has been like an ocean, with the tides and waves shifting and changing throughout the season.

St. Thomas v Kingwood, a game St. Thomas needed to win, and did. Elizabeth Pardee photo.

Only one team, Westlake, is undefeated among 17 squads, and even they were very fortunate to escape Lake Travis with a 7-5 win early in the season. And in the South, there’s a cluster of four teams all battling for one of the two playoff spots. Woodlands and Cy-Fair hold at 4-1, while Kingwood is 4-2. And moving up to 4-2 with two straight victories, including a tight one over Katy, is St. Thomas.

The Houston Catholic school hasn’t lost in five games (including non-league matches) and were unbeaten on their tour east. They also have beaten Kingwood, scoring in the last minute to win 29-22.

So now it comes down to Thursday’s pressure match against 4-1 Cy-Fair.

“”If we do the right things we can potentially leapfrog up to second place going into the championships,” said Head Coach Jim Wolfinger. “We are a very young team. Early season losses were a direct result of inexperience at this level against inspired opponents. But the kids have matured as young men and bonded as teammates and have really started to play for one another.”

With that has come a bigger commitment to the defensive and offensive pattern. The forwards have begun to play as a unit just as each player is raising his game, and the backs are improving, as well.

Captain and flanker Payton Pardee scored four tries against St Pius last week, and continues to lead well. Josh Pane has been a force at both lock and No. 8, while Santiago Gonzalez’s goalkicking may well be the thing that puts them over the edge in close games.

“We are still looking for more fire power and creativity in the backline,” added Wolfinger. “Tactical awareness and pressure defense are coming around and we hope to continue our current progress.

2015 has been a wonderful year to coach these kids. Parent support, team depth and attitudes have all been first class.”

And while St. Thomas makes its move, so too has Lake Travis in the Northern Conference. Now at 5-1, Lake Travis’s only loss is that aforementioned 7-5 game against Westlake (one the Lake Travis guys still remember). 

The key to the Lake Travis surge has been support from the team’s immensely successful and well-supported football program. It used to be that Head Coach Rick Medina got football players only in their senior year. But as the rugby program has progressed, so, too has support from Head Coach and Athletic Director Hank Carter. Underclassmen who are varsity football players now come out for rugby, allowing Medina and his (much smaller) coaching staff to work on these athletes for a longer period.

“We’ve got buy-in from the players and the parents and the school,” said Medina. “We’re playing games in the JV football stadium, which holds about 2,000 fans, and we feel really good about what we’re doing here.”

No. 8 Garrett Womack plays defensive end on the football team and is a powerful runner who can tackle. Medina’s son, Patrick, has moved from scrumhalf to flyhalf now that he’s 6-2, and his reading of the game has been impressive. The younger Medina has been playing serious rugby since the 6th grade.

Noah Thompson and Teague Roberts are HSAA camp invitees.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys who were brand new to rugby when we played Westlake,” said Medina. “They understand the idea of an aggressive defense creating offensive opportunities.”

Now they have another opportunity, as they have virtually wrapped up a playoff spot.

Here’s how the Texas playoff situation looks:

North: Westlake has a playoff spot wrapped up and finishes up against Plano (4-2) and Richardson (2-2). Lake Travis has Allen (1-4) and Plano. Plano needs to beat Lake Travis to have a shot at the playoffs, and they need some help from Allen.

South: As Wolfinger said, Thursday’s St. Thomas v Cy-Fair game is a big one. The winner will be in excellent position for a playoff spot. Cy-Fair can live with a loss, but St. Thomas probably can’t. Woodlands has two games left, against teams that are 1-4, and as such will be favored and could well win the South with a 6-1 record. Kingwood, like St. Thomas at 4-2, finishes up against Cy-Fair April 18. So it’s those two games that will decide who takes 2nd - Cy-Fair v St. Thomas, and Cy-Fair v Kingwood. If Kingwood wins with a bonus point on April 18 then they will clinch 2nd. If St. Thomas loses to Cy-Fair, they will be eliminated. Cy-Fair has to beat Kingwood to take 2nd.