This Weekend in SoCal HS Varsity White
This Weekend in SoCal HS Varsity White
It’s week two already in the Southern California Varsity White division, with Week One’s winners, Dana Hills and Mira Costa, meeting up in Dana Point, Calif.
Last year Mira Costa defeated Dana Hills in the Blue (Development) Division title game, so this matchup has more than a little meaning to it. Mira Costa won comfortable over Stern MASS last week, although the game is now officially listed as a forfeit, while Dana Hills were impressive in squeaking by View Park Prep 26-22.
Wilson v St. John Bosco is expected to be rescheduled due to football playoffs. Meanwhile, Palos Verdes, despite being without their football players, will pitch-up against Stern MASS on Sunday. Head Coach Jeremy Wilkinson will rely on a group of juniors and new players to get the job done.
In the San Diego conference of the Varsity White, HTH/Point Loma visits Patrick Henry, UC/Clairemont visits Mission Vista, and Rancho Bernardo is at San Pasqual.
HTH/Point Loma Head Coach David Barnes hopes things are a little easier this year. Last season they began the competition with eight starters unable to play, and most would miss the entire season.
On the plus side, “it required more of all involved and led to our most productive off-season training since the program began five years ago,” said Barnes. “This team is mature and internally driven and while it has several rep-side players, has a directed and singular team purpose.”
HTH doesn’t have a lot of big players, so will need to keep the ball moving and wear teams down. Christian Bernard moves from hooker to open side flanker to join Jacob Rozar as part of a strong back row. Augustin Centurion will return at flyhaf after missing all of last season, while much will be expected from the senior center pairing of Jake Glover and Bryce Watson.
Patrick Henry, said Barnes, “will be a test for us. [We need to] remain in our game plan throughout and continue the pace of play we want to achieve for the entire fixture.”
And then out in the wilds of eastern California the three-team inland conference has the Citrus Valley Blackhawks playing a non-league game against View Park Prep, and the Dead Rabbits playing Desert Sands. It’s a frustrating world for the Inland teams as they are far away from the rest of the teams in Southern California. Travel is difficult, and thus limits their season.
“Most of our kids come from blue-collar, low-income families so it’s difficult to cover the cost of travel,” said Head Coach Bill Gray. “We got some support last year, including from the US Rugby Football Foundation, but it’s an issue every year.”
On the field the Harlequins return half of their starting lineup from 2013-14, with Brandon Hagon moving from hooker to scrumhalf, and Matt Barber shifting from No. 8 to inside center. Gray is a forward’s forward, and runs a team that does the basics well and brings it tight within the front eight most of the time. It works, and moving a forward to scrumhalf is a classic move for him.
“Brandon knows how the forwards operated and he’s a good athlete and a smart player, so it makes sense,” Gray said. “I think overall we’ll do well. We do the basics well and we have a good game plan.”
SoCal Varsity White games this weekend:
Citrus Valley (0-0) at View Park Prep (0-1) - Non-League
Dead Rabbits (0-0) at Desert Sands (0-0) - Inland Conference
Mira Costa (1-0) at Dana Hills (1-0) - Los Angeles Conference
Palos Verdes (0-0) at Stern MASS (0-1) - Los Angeles Conference
St. John Bosco (0-0) at Wilson (0-0) - likely ppd
HTH/Pt. Loma (0-0) at Patrick Henry (0-0) - San Diego Conference
Rancho Bernardo (0-0) at San Paqual (0-0) - San Diego Conference
UC/Clairmont (0-0) at Mission Vista (0-0) - San Diego Conference
