Xavier HS of NY defeated Connecticut-based Aspetuck over the weekend in a well-played clash of two teams with national championship aspirations.
Both Xavier's 1st and 2nd sides took wins on St. Patrick’s Day. Junior lock Hanoi Nelson, who scored Xavier’s first A-side try, described the victory over Aspetuck best, saying “we came out explosive and we didn’t let up.”
Xavier dominated the first half against the perennial club team powerhouse from Connecticut, scoring four tries in the first half with senior center Benedetto Loria, sophomore flanker Liam Averill, and senior wing Matthew Verengia each adding to Nelson’s score in the first half. Loria kicked two conversions on a windy day at Aviator Field that played havoc when the ball was in the air. Aspetuck’s defense gave up hard runs and good passing by Xavier.
Strong runs by centers Jason Champagne and Keane Horne, as well as Jaden Seabrook on the wing got Aspetuck intro scoring position, but miscues and Xavier defenses prevented any scoring by the visiting team.
“We came out to this game thinking we wanted a quick energetic first half,” said Xavier's Averill, “and that’s what we did. We spread the ball to reference points on both sides, we let the backs work, and once the forwards punched the holes through.”
The second half opened with senior prop Michael Mioduszewski scoring Xavier’s final try three minutes in. But Aspetuck was not going down without a fight and allowed no further scoring by Xavier in the game. The defense picked up in a big way, led by athletic efforts from hooker Nate Hirsch and flanker Aidan Bethray. Aspetuck kept the ball in Xavier’s red zone for over 25 minutes, scoring three tries in quick succession. The flurry was led by Larell Biggs at flanker and Luke Benway at No. 8 and featured an impressive series of back-and-forth passes between Horne and Seabrook across much of the pitch for a long-distance try.
Junior flyhalf Max Wyckoff noted the difference in Xavier’s play between the two halves. “In the first half, we played fast, smart, and strong. But in the second half, our defense could have been better. We were stuck in our red zone for a long time trying to get the ball out.”
“We are definitely a first-half team right now,” agreed Xavier senior captain and No. 8, Emir Yuksel, noting that learning to deal with changing field conditions was something that needed work. But the Knights' defense regrouped in the final few minutes and put the match away for Xavier 29-17.
Senior vice-captain Benedetto Loria praised his team’s physicality. “When you have guys, like the ones in our forward pack, that are going to come out and hit everyone at 100%, it makes it easy for the backs to thread the needle and be precise. We did that today.”
Head coach Greg Norris was impressed with the team’s play, particularly at the start of the game. “The boys made some good calls in the first half when we were playing with the wind. There was very good play by Michael Mioduszewski, Hanoi Nelson, and Liam Averill in our contact zone and our ruck zone.”
However, Norris noted that the second half did not go the way the team had hoped. "I was disappointed with the second half. We didn’t realize when we changed sides the wind was going to have that much of an effect; we knew it would have some effect but we didn’t adapt or react properly to it.” Still, Norris said that overall the match was a good one. “We are playing at a pace that is close to what we wanted, we played some good and quick forward ball and there were huge positives in this match.”
For Aspetuck it was still early days as often happens with HS Clubs. They have talent and numbers and have already logged wins over Fairfield and Berks. This was a good learning experience for them.
03.21.2024HS Boys
Earlier in the day, the second side played a St. Anthony’s High School team that is on its way to becoming a force in New York rugby. Second-side coach Ski Bailey commended St. Anthony’s on the match saying, “They are becoming more and more of a challenge each season. I think it speaks to the strength of rugby in New York to see this progress. We had to make a lot of adjustments to our game. Their defense proved to be stalwart but we found the try line a few times.”
The first of those tries was by junior lock Christopher Williams, who pounded his way across the try line six minutes into the match. Senior Padraig Long, playing center, added two more tries, with junior wing Edward Marquez-Miles, kicking the lone after-try conversion point. St. Anthony’s put up a try 25 minutes in, leaving the score 17-7 at the end of the first half.
Senior flanker Brendan Meyers, who scored a try mid-way through the second half, believes that the Knights found their groove in the second half. “The Second half was our game. The tackles were good, our goal-line defense was really good, and we had multiple tries.” Adding to Meyer’s try in the second half were senior number eight Tomas Diaz and junior Vance Johnson at outside center. St. Anthony’s would also add two more tries to their score, including one to end the match.
Johnson noted that while he was happy with his and the team’s performance it was still early in the season and the Knights had to “work on tackling, aggression, and stamina.” Junior scrumhalf Oscar DeVilleneuve agreed noting that the Knights were playing very simple rugby. “We’re not getting out of our comfort zone or trying new stuff. When we finally did we scored a try immediately. We’re a little predictable right now, so we have to become more versatile as the season goes on.”
—Mike LiVigni / GRR
