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.

David Barpal photo.

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.

Atlantis in action. David Barpal photo.

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.

EIRA with the ball v BC. David Barpal photo.

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