HS Rugby: What Happened Saturday?
HS Rugby: What Happened Saturday?
An upset or two and the end of one regular season (no, seriously) highlighted Saturday in boys HS rugby.
History in Indiana
Bishop Dwenger had never beaten Penn HS; never, that is, until Saturday. Dwenger played a very strong defensive game and ran out to a 19-0 lead paced by Joe Fabini's two tries. Penn rebounded to score twice in the final 20 minutes, but it wasn't enough and Dwenger won 19-12.
Penn is younger than they usually are and had some things to learn against a very capable Dwenger side, but this was still a first for Bishop Dwenger (at least since 2004), and a well-taken first.
Also in the Midwest, St. Ignatius beat Archbishop Moeller in a contentious 34-24 decision. There were a lot of cards flashed in this game and a good showing by Moeller, but Ignatius held on. And Miami County beat Withrow, showing the newly-ranked Withrow that being ranked is a fickle state of affairs.
Florida Wraps Up
The playoffs beckon in Florida but first we had to finish up the regular season. Naples, as expected, won and finished 1st with a 5-0 record. Boca slammed Sarasota to ensure a top-four spot, and Jacksonville, looking to be top four as well was handed a 54-0 shutout by Cardinal Gibbons.
Now, Jacksonville were pretty much assured a top four spot anyway, but this result was also an indication of how Gibbons has been improving.
"All teams in Florida are evenly matched and have a chance to win each week," said Gibbons head Coach Eric Aumann. "We just came with a lot more energy this week and desire to win."
Everyone makes the playoffs, so it's all up in the air starting now.
But the top four will get a bye and host the quarterfinals. Teams 5 through 7 also get byes, while Cardinal Gibbons played the Cape Pirates for the last spot in those quarterfinals, and the honor of playing Okapi.
The April 10 quarterfinals, then, are Tampa at Naples, Cardinals or Cape at Okapi, Key Biscayne at Boca, and Wellington at Jacksonville.
| Florida U19s | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | PTS |
| Naples | 5 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 72 | 74 | 20 |
| Okapi | 5 | 1 | 0 | 168 | 94 | 74 | 20 |
| Boca Raton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 204 | 84 | 120 | 18 |
| Jacksonville | 4 | 2 | 0 | 125 | 112 | 13 | 16 |
| Wellington | 3 | 3 | 0 | 120 | 120 | 0 | 12 |
| Key Biscayne | 3 | 3 | 0 | 142 | 107 | 35 | 12 |
| Tampa | 2 | 4 | 0 | 143 | 198 | -55 | 8 |
| Cardinal Gibbons | 1 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 69 | 29 | 6 |
| Cape Pirates | 1 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 163 | -135 | 4 |
| Sarasota | 0 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 112 | -78 | 0 |
Texas Happenings
Jesuit Dallas (#4 school team) came back from a 10-0 deficit against #22 HS Club Allen and won 28-20 thanks to two tries from skipper Sy Mendenhall, including the one that turned a 21-20 nailbiter into a 28-20 final score, and tries from Jack Judson and Luke Aldinger. That bumped Jesuit to 4-0 in Texas.
Rock Rugby edged Lake Travis 12-8 in a defensive battle. The #30 HS Club did well to beat the #23 School team to go to 2-0. Ranked St. Pius X (#21 School team) was upset 40-12 by West Houston, while Woodlands (#5 HS Club) beat Westlake 33-5.
And hosting a touring side, #5 School team Strake Jesuit beat #1 Brother Martin 34-22. Strake scored early and while Brother Martin edged closer, Strake never trailed. The Texas side scored three times to lead 24-5, Brother Martin clawed back, but Strake kept them at arms length all day. This game was played as a curtain-raiser for the Houston vs New England Major League Rugby game.
