Who gets a spot at Boys HS Nationals is an interesting process.
For many teams their place is an annual thing, because invitations are based in part on ongoing quality—we know certain teams will perform well and be among the best in the country because they have depth, consistency in coaching, and a body of work.
That’s more true within the Single-School arena than elsewhere, but we do see it with the HS Clubs, too. But what we also see among both brackets are play-ins, or some sort of competitive evidence before a spot opens up.
So that brings us to the San Mateo Wolverines. The HS Clubs from Northern California that normally apply didn’t this year. But both Elsie Allen and San Mateo did apply; playing in NorCal’s Gold Division, which is a step below NorCal’s Premier Division, these two teams were known to both be very strong. Elsie Allen had played at the national tournament before—put into Tier 2 that year they volunteered to move up when there was a last-minute pullout. They competed well and never complained, and so were certainly in the running for a spot.
But, Elsie Allen Head Coach Alan Petty was quick to set everyone straight—watch out for the Wolverines, he said.
And so it came to pass that the Wolverines beat Elsie Allen in their regular season and earned a spot. They followed that up with a win in the NorCal Gold final, albeit in a much closer game, over those self-same Lobos.
Tier II
With all eight of GRR’s top eight-ranked teams at Nationals it made sense that the Wolverines would be in Tier II, and really this was the perfect spot for a team such as them. They were talent; they had in fact played in NorCal’s Premier (and had Rugby NorCal saw fit to grant them home games they might have stayed), but playing in the competition they played in, Tier II made sense.
But few had the Wolverines winning the whole thing. They were too much of a wild card. They played unstructured rugby, to a certain extent, and would that crash into the wall of more buttoned-down teams?
But here were a couple of things to keep in mind:
1. The fields at Moose Rugby Grounds are beautiful, natural grass, and wide—perfect for a team that is fast and elusive.
2. Many of the Wolverines have been playing the NorCal Single-School part of their season for St. Francis, which runs a more structured game and, more to the point, played against some very structured teams.
3. They had no expectations, and nothing to lose.
Float like a … you know the rest
The way the Wolverines played reminded some observers of the great Muhammad Ali. The legendary boxer would often just dance around and away from his opponents for a round or two, observing, letting the adversary show himself. And then, he would strike. His go-to move was for Ali to allow the opponent to lunge at him with a big haymaker. Ali would jump back at the last moment and at the same time lash out a vicious right to his opponent’s head.
Repeatedly teams had the run of play early against the Wolverines. And once they saw what they had to deal with, the San Mateo players went to work.
They weren’t all backs, not even a little bit. Lock Lyndon Bailey is a real handful who has power, mobility, and a work rate. No. 8 Solomone Pifeleti is a leader and another who relishes the hard work. Prop Nalesoni Fakava was also a ferocious gainer of hard yards.
But when they flung the ball around … or, as the players themselves said, when they spin, spin, spin, they were hard to stop.
Tier II Quarterfinals
San Mateo Wolverines 51 SLUH 12
Tries: Vakalahi, Bailey 2, Fakava 2, Nisa, Latu, Blank, Latu
Convs: Ulufonua 2, M. Puamau
They did this especially well in the semifinals, with the SOC Raptors running out to what seemed like a commanding lead only for the Wolverines to unleash their speedsters. Long-striding Ivan Nisa was very dangerous but it was the sidestepping of Jonah Nemani and Joe Latu that set the scorers free.
Tier II Semifinals
San Mateo Wolverines 27 SOC Raptors 19
Tries: Latu, Nisa 2, M. Puamau, Faaumu
Convs: M. Puamau
