Torrey Pines Wins All-California Final; DLS Takes 3rd
Torrey Pines Wins All-California Final; DLS Takes 3rd
Torrey Pines defeated St. Francis 31-14 to win the All-California single-school championship.
(This championship does not include the SCIRF teams as it's played between the winners of SoCal Youth Rugby and Rugby NorCal). This takes the championship to Southern California for the first time. De La Salle took 3rd over San Clemente in the 3rd-4th game.
Torrey Pines over St. Francis
The final was scoreless for the first 25 minutes. Torrey Pines had the better of possession and territory but couldn't break through the tenacious St. Francis defense. Finally, St. Francis did break out of their own half and a long run from their elusive flyhalf, Kingston Keanaaina, put them in for a 7-0 lead.
Torrey Pines answered minutes later, moving the ball quickly through the hands to wing Max Griffiths for try in the corner. The kick was good and the teams were tied. Receiving the restart, Torrey Pines lost the ball forward. St. Francis surged on, and scrumhalf Andrew Scharrenberg wrestled his way in for a try and a 14-7 lead.
Back came Torrey pines. Center Nick DeFina broke free down the sideline and as he went to score Keanaaina came in to tackle him. The tackle was high, so a penalty try and a yellow card. The score was 14-14, and St. Francis was down to 14 players.
Following a Lancer penalty Torrey went back to what works for them. Flyhalf Jonty Lee kicked to the corner, and a well-worked lineout and maul put hooker Kai Caulfield over for the 19-14 lead. Flanker Andy Livingston's running strong got Torrey Pines going again, and that set up wing Ryan Valenzano, who went in untouched.
Another maul, this time finished off with scrumhalf James Curtis sniping off the back finished the scoring 31-14.
“Improving every week and having your last game be your best is very gratifying for a coach," said Torrey Pines Head Coach Matty Sandoval. "St. Francis is the new kid on the block, but they’ll be a force moving forward. My boys had a day, and I’m very proud of them.”
This was the first season for St. Francis and they performed impressively. With a little more time togethe they will be even more formidable.
De La Salle over San Clemente
Tommy Rainsford broke through and offloaded to Chris Biller in support to take De La Salle close to an opening score. He was stopped, but the high tackle led to a quick tap by Rainsford and DLS had a lead.
At outside center Biller once again made key yardage, and his run allowed center Lucas Meranda to attack the line, draw two defenders, and pass to wing Josh Gnovel for his first try of the season. DLS kept it going with fullback Parker Beilke taking a pass from the forwards, drawing defenders, and linking with flanker Joey Manzone. With wing Jack Kuiper in support Manzone committed the last man and passed to Kuiper for the try.
De La Salle had all the momentum and the scoring, too. A kick ahead by Parker looked to set up the next try, but instead San Clemente center Thomas Hartanov got his hands on the ball, stepping inside a couple of defenders, took off, and then passed to flanker Nolan Reid to set up the try. It was a 90-meter momentum shift.
However, De La Salle responded with Rainsford and Biller combining to get Rainsford in for his second and a 24-7 halftime lead.
The Spartans kept up the pressure in the second half. Gnovel was over again but the try was called back for a forward pass. From that scrum Hartanov again reeled off a huge run and again this led to a try for Reid, who just rambled past everyone off the base of a ruck.
DLS answered with a try from Parker Beilke, and reserve Will MacNamara galloped through to set up Manzone for his second. Lock Dennis White and Beilke, the fullback, were over to wrap it up 44-12.
"I was proud of the boys and their effort but it wasn't close to our best performance at all," said DLS Head Coach Derek Holmberg. "It was 25 degrees warmer than anything we played in this season so I was pleased that they handled that as well as they did with their fitness. This is a team that continues to improve each week and we are still trying to figure out which 15 has the best chemistry on the field. That being said, they handled the travel. Valory Reed of SoCal Youth Rugby put on an amazing event and we look forward to hosting the Championship next year in NorCal. We can't thank her enough for the amount of time she put into this."
