La Salle Rugby and Downingtown shared the 2016 Rugby Pennsylvania 7s championship this fall after a wild finish in the final tournament.

La Salle came into the final tournament as defending champs, with several good teams, including Downingtown and Cumberland Valley. 

The Explorers began the day against a talented Coventry team.  Although a formidable opponent, it was one La Salle has had much success against recently.  This year Aidan Kelly turned out to be the Coventry killer, scoring two tries of his own and leading the team with solid defense.  Additional offense was provided by  Joe Meehan, Jack Desmond and Brian Brunner in the La Salle 31-7 win.

La Salle next faced Malvern Prep, an opponent the Explorers were wary of based on recent competition and Malvern’s explosive offense.  Finding themselves down 10-0 early the La Salle team battled back to a 12-10 win with tremendous defense and scoring contributions from Nick D’Angelo and Shawn McBryde as well as the winning conversion kicked by Tim Groff.  

Next was a match up with Bishop Shanahan. Joe Meehan passed to D’Angelo, then to Kelly who had a beautiful offload to Keyshaun Epps to take down field who delivered to Brian Brunner cutting in only to find D’Angelo again for the 80 meter, team-effort try.  Shanahan matched the effort quickly with an 80 meter try of their own but the Explorers gained confidence at the end of the half with another by D’Angelo and quickly followed with another score at the start of the 2nd led by Delaney and Epps which was eventually finished by Meehan to make it 24-12.  

A young but very talented 7s program, Downingtown was led by Max Brown, Jonathan Ahern, Jack and Will McCausland. The McCausland twins played for Atlantis U16 Boys Team in Las Vegas in 2016 and they epitomize Downingtown speedy style of play. Downingtown beat LaSalle II, Saint Joes Prep and Central Catholic in pool play to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, La Salle faced Turk’s Head, a strong team from West Chester and the clear favorite to win the tournament. Turk’s Head was led by Michael Wier, Dan Brown and John Dorman (All played for Atlantis in the North America High School 7s Tournament in Utah 2016). Poise and discipline while deep in their own zone led the Explorers to their first score. Following the opening kickoff, La Salle possessed the ball behind their own 22 and played keep away for a minute and a half before Brian Brunner found the edge and cut in past the last defender for another try. Mistakes and poor ball handling allowed Turk’s Head to tie it up, but La Salle quickly regrouped and again kept the ball away from the opponent for about a minute before Joe Meehan took the ball into contact, drawing in four Turk’s Head defenders, and opening up tspace for Carson Delaney and Nick D’Angelo. They found Tim Groff for the finish and conversion. 

Turk’s Head then attempted a kick behind the La Salle defense to create some offense but Shawn McBryde made them pay by returning the kick 60 meters, setting up another Nick D’Angelo try as he sped past the Turk’s Head defender on the wing, reached out and dove over the line, slamming the ball down in definitive fashion.  To start the 2nd half, Groff fielded his own kickoff to set up the final try of the day, another by Brian Brunner.  Groff finished the kick then led the team on defense in the final minutes to cap the win.

Downingtown beat Cumberland Valley in a tough match to advance to Rugby Pennsylvania High School Boys 7s Championship Game.

So the stage was set for a classic final between two strong teams. However, the weather did not cooperate. A thunderstorm system moved into the area and lightning canceled the game. La Salle and Downingtown had played each other twice, splitting the series, so this was going to be the decider.

But it wasn't to be. The teams couldn't find a way to play, and Rugby Pennsylvania named the teams Co-Champions for 2016.