Some interesting outcomes in the Boys U18 Elite 7s at the Las Vegas Invitational, not least of which was one of the favorites losing their opening game.
The High School All Americans were shocked, and quite convincingly, 24-10 in their opening game, as the Maryland Exiles shut them down for large portions of the game. The Exiles, led by super-speedsters Dmontae Noble (West End) and Tyree Randolph (Gonzaga) and with another Gonzaga standout, Patrick Sheehy at flyhalf, were superb all day and also beat Utah Rugby Academy and National Athletic Village to go 3-0 in Pool A. The HS All Americans played Utah Academy in the final game for both on Friday, with both teams at 1-1. The All Americans won 24-7 to get a spot in the quarterfinals.
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In Pool B, it was the Atavus All-Stars, a team made up of players from some less-high-profile programs, the dominated. Atavus crushed the competition, while the other three teams all won once to force a tiebreaker for 2nd. Rhino Rugby Academy 1 took 2nd on points difference over USA South and Coastal Dragons.
In Pool C, Atlantis, led by Alex Schlager and Jayden Demmy from West Shore United, and Hack Bradfield from St. Edward, and the always speedy Royaal Jones from the New Jersey Blaze, was too much for the competition.
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The big surprise was Rhino Rugby Academy 2, which edged Canada’s Upright Rugby Rogues 27-24 to take 2nd.
And in Pool D, British Columbia won, as expected, going 3-0. But they had to battle, and both Eagle Impact Rugby Academy (EIRA) and the Utah Cannibals scored twice on the defending champions.
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EIRA took second after defeating Utah 19-7 and thrashing Tribe.
So the knockout rounds are set:
Cup QFs
8am Maryland v Rhino Academy 1
8:20am British Columbia v Rhino Academy 2
8:40am Atlantis v EIRA
9am Atavus v HSAA
Bowl QFs
8am Utah Rugby Academy v Coast Dragons
8:20am Utah Cannibals v Washington Loggers
8:40am Upright Rugby v Tribe
9am USA South v National Athletes Village
The scores and pool standings are below.
Seeding these pools is always tough, but in general the tournament seems to have spread out the teams nicely.
| Atavus All Stars | 38-5 | Rhino Rugby Academy 1 |
| USA South Panthers | 31-12 | Coastal Dragons |
| Atlantis | 26-17 | Upright Rugby Rogues |
| Washington Loggers | 0-31 | Rhino Rugby Academy 2 |
| HSAA 1 | 10-24 | Maryland Exiles |
| Utah Rugby Academy | 28-14 | Nat'l Athletic Village Selects |
| BCEY 7s | 28-12 | Eagle Impact Rugby Academy |
| Utah Cannibals | 36-0 | Tribe |
| Atavus All-Stars | 31-0 | Coastal Dragons |
| USA South Panthers | 7-36 | Rhino Rugby Academy 1 |
| Atlantis | 24-7 | Rhino Rugby Academy 2 |
| Washington Loggers | 19-24 | Upright Rugby Rogues |
| HSAA 1 | 33-12 | Nat'l Athletic Village Selects |
| Utah Rugby Academy | 14-24 | Maryland Exiles |
| BCEY 7s | 31-0 | Tribe |
| Utah Cannibals | 7-19 | Eagle Impact Rugby Academy |
| Atavus All-Stars | 26-0 | USA South Panthers |
| Rhino Rugby Academy 1 | 7-19 | Coastal Dragons |
| Atlantis | 47-7 | Washington Loggers |
| Upright Rugby Rogues | 24-27 | Rhino Rugby Academy 2 |
| HSAA 1 | 24-7 | Utah Rugby Academy |
| Maryland Exiles | 24-19 | Nat'l Athletic Village Selects |
| BCEY 7s | 26-12 | Utah Cannibals |
| Eagle Impact Rugby Academy | 40-5 | Tribe |
| Pool A | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Maryland Exiles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 43 | 29 | 9 |
| HSAA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 43 | 24 | 7 |
| Utah Rugby Academy | 1 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 62 | -13 | 5 |
| Nat Athletic Village | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 85 | -40 | 3 |
| Pool B | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Atavus All-Stars | 3 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 5 | 90 | 9 |
| Rhino Academy 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 64 | -16 | 5 |
| USA South | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 74 | -36 | 5 |
| Coastal Dragons | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 69 | -38 | 5 |
| Pool C | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Atlantis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 31 | 66 | 9 |
| Rhino Academy 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 48 | 17 | 7 |
| Upright Rugby | 1 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 53 | 19 | 5 |
| Washington Loggers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 102 | -76 | 3 |
| Pool D | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| British Columbia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 24 | 61 | 9 |
| EIRA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 40 | 31 | 7 |
| Utah Cannibals | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 45 | 10 | 5 |
| Tribe | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 107 | -102 | 3 |
