West Allegheny is now 4-0 and leads the Rugby Pennsylvania Single School Blue Division.

Photos Bill Stout.

It’s early days yet, but only three teams, Gregory the Great, Malvern Prep, and West Allegheny, are undefeated in single-school league play.

Having dispatched North Pitt, Kiski Valley, Burrell, and Moon Area, WA is nicely positioned to run the table.

As reported last season, West Allegheny Head Coach Mark Davis gets a lot of pretty serious-minded football players on his squad. So he has designed the rugby season as a bit of a break from the football grind. The players do weight and fitness work anyway, so he works on rugby laws and skills in one practice a week, and then they play.

“It works really well,” said Davis. “They have fun, we work a lot on how the game flows. We’ve got some great, coachable kids, and now that they have some experience, they are starting to play like it.”

With a more relaxed atmosphere, compared to football, the West Allegheny players are blossoming. Matt Holmes is a four-year starter and an impressive athlete, while Mateo Vandamia has emerged as a snappy young talent. But Davis said this is a balanced team, and that’s why they win.

“They’re learning, and we’ve got a good ball control offense now,” he said. “They are making better decisions on two-in-ones and in playing the game in general. We have about 38 kids at practice, so that makes it tougher to make the 1st 15. But we are just having fun with it.”