Providence HS was one of the teams able to cap off its regular season before rugby shut down, and they did so by winning the North Carolina single-school championship in style.

Overall, Providence went 9-0, including two forfeits, and won the final 32-0 over Clayton in March. This was the team's first state championship. Eduan Van Heerden was a force all day, scoring two tries and leading the team with 10 tackles. Josh Adams and Harrison Hellner also touched down. Hellner tied with Lucas Silva, Jake Lockhart, and Ashton Martin for second on the team with five tackles.

Flyhalf Reed Samson kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely, converting three of the team's four tries and punishing Clayton indiscipline with three penalty goals.

"We knew we had to play better defense than we did against Charlotte Catholic," said Providence Coach Michael Cook. "We worked really hard on our defensive line speed and slide defense with the backline. Playing smart and keeping the penalty count low stressed all week."

Playing tough defense and using Samson to kick for territory, Providence put Clayton under pressure and forced them into difficult situations. Providence handled the majority of lineouts and stole two scrums from Clayton, once again making it very difficult for Clayton to get any momentum. All they could do was kick, which they did well, but the Providence deep three did very well countering those kicks and counterattacking.

After losing the 2019 state final to Broughton HS on the last play of the game, the Providence players and coaches spent this season trying to erase that memory. They did it with defense as much as anything else, holding opponents to only 27 points in total. Van Heerden was in the middle of all of that at loose forward, leading the team with 58 tackles and 14 tries. 

In the final, Van Heerden and Samson shared MVP honors.

"I personally would like to thank all of the current players, parents and coaches for all of their hard work this season. Would also like to thank all of the previous players and parents who worked hard with fundraising and laying down a solid foundation in order for us to achieve this state title," said Cook. 

The season also shows how this format works for some states. Southern California and now, in a smaller format, Northern California, split their season temporally, with the single-school season in the early months, and then everyone resetting for the second half with HS club teams in action.

For states where there are a large number of both single-school and club teams, and where the weather is relatively warm in the winter, this makes sense. And for Providence, it provided a chance to get that coveted trophy before everyone else had to stop.