Coming into the Tier II National Championship many felt that #8 seed Carmichael had a solid shot at winning it all.
Speedy, skilled, and dynamic, they started well against Fort Hunt, showing the value of having players who have played together a long time.
Meanwhile, it was a tough road for the Charlotte Tigers. They held off a tough KC Jr. Blues thanks to Vaylin Kellerman's goalkicking. Center and captain John Teli was excellent all weekend and it was his breakaway try that kicked it all off. A long gallop from lock Baron Ulusoy made it 14-0 and while it ended 24-20, the Tigers never trailed.
In the second round of games, both Charlotte and Carmichael had to work hard for their wins.
Strake Jesuit got two tries from flanker Diego Singh, the first staking the Texas side to a 7-0 lead when he popped off the back of a maul. But Teli sliced right through the Strake defense to make a try out of nothing, Strake answered with Singh scoring off a pick-and-go.
And Strake Jesuit held that 12-7 lead until late in the first half when Teli once again produced something special, selling a dummy and unleashing his acceleration to score his second. Kellerman converted and it was 14-12 at halftime.
Strake didn't go away. A quick tap from No. 8 Felipe Edbrooke made it 19-14. Strake, who had been a bit of an unknown quantity in this tournament, was challenging seriously for a place in the final.
Charlotte's second row of Ulusoy and Xavier Flowe were a force both on defense and with the ball, and they were especially useful when the game slowed down. All of that was for that one chance to unleash wing Nehemiah Gill, and when Strake's defense spread to worry about the big men, Teli fed Gill on the inside. The wing raced to paydirt and the lead.
Andrew Giordano's try on a quick tap iced it.
For Carmichael, it was a case of handling a stirring comeback from Raptor. The Hawks scored early and backed that up for a 12-0 lead. But a ferocious battle on the tryline finally saw Jake Orefice over. Carmichael stayed in the lead, though. Flyhalf Devin Pointes sidestepped his way close before prop Noah Gomez finished it off.
And then center Joeli Karavaki worked his way through traffic and it was 24-5.
In the second half Karavaki showed his pace and elusiveness, cutting through for a 65-meter gallop to make it 31-5. But Raptor responded after that. Tries from Wyatt Appleton, flanker Jake Roberts, and his back row mate Payton Husak getting them within nine points. Carmichael, however, held on.
In the final, it was a thriller on a misty Saturday morning. Charlotte scored first on an excellent run from lock Xavier Flowe. Then Carmichael took control as flanker Ronan Curry had an excellent game and they led 17-8. After that, however, the Tigers defense held, helped along by Kellerman's kicking for space. Teli was solid again, but it was a superb offload from prop Aiden Gallant to wing Brooks Earp that gave Charlotte hope.
That made it 17-13 when, late in the game, the Tigers ran a play that put Teli, Gill, and Earp on an outside line, Gill got the ball in space and nobody could catch him as he scored the game-winner. Charlotte Tigers 18, Carmichael 17.
Cheered on by their in-city rivals the Charlotte Cardinals during the match, the Tigers then assembled to tunnel-on the Cardinals for their HS Club final in a nice moment of in-state camaraderie. It proved to be a good day to be from North Carolina.
The team that was upset by Carmichael in the opening round, Fort Hunt, won a well-taken and close one against Missoula to make the 5th-place final.
And they followed that up with an equally dramatic and close win over Kansas City. That game also saw a comeback that just fell short, as an interception try from Diego Ramirez seemingly put Fort Hunt in command, only for KC to storm back with three late tries. It wasn't quite enough and Fort Hunt won 34-27.
Raptor was impressive in another close one to take 3rd, and Missoula got their first National Championship win over a young Eastside team that will be back and better for it.
The Tier II bracket produced an astonishing seven out of 12 games decided by a try or less, with the final being a one-pointer. This is an enormously difficult bracket to win, and the Tigers were elated, deservedly so, to lift the trophy. But spare a thought for Carmichael, who almost got there despite toughs adds, and the other teams that were so close.
