In a clash of two strong SoCal school teams, the La Costa Canyon Mavericks rode a strong first half to defeated St. Augustine 39–14.
LCC came into the game ranked #10 among school teams by GRR, and the Saints were #35.
The Mavericks struck early with No. 8 Luke Hensley coming in support of scrumhalf Dylan Delport and scoring down the weak side.
Moments later, Delport sniped around the fringe for LCC’s second try. Outside center George Collins added the third, powering through contact and finishing in the corner after multiple strong forward carries bent the Saints’ defensive line.
The highlight of the half came from flyhalf Max Ricono, who chipped over the Saints defense, regathered cleanly, and stepped inside the final defender to score. Delport added his second try late in the half off turnover ball, and the Mavericks took a commanding 29–0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Hensley scored his second try, finishing a perfectly placed crossfield kick from Ricono, and hooker Liam Dunphy added on after a driving maul.
Down 39-0 St. Augustine found some momentum when LCC started getting yellow cards and scored two tries to make it 39-14.
Ultimately St. Augustine scored more points than LCC in the second half, but that 29-0 first half hurt.
Hensley was once again impressive with his work rate and power in his carries. Delport was opportunistic, launched some effective box kicks, and got quick ball to his runners. He combined nicely with Ricono, whose territorial management was impressive.
Up front Dunphy as a dynamic physical presence, and in center Collins was a massive contributor on defense.
