Some highly-rated HS rugby teams gathered in Charlotte, NC this weekend to celebrate the return to action for the Charlotte RFC’s rugby facility.

The Charlotte Men’s and Women’s club has been shut down for over a year, but this weekend they were able to open up their field for an event. The club had decided quite some time ago to make it a youth-oriented event, and flood the place with volunteers to make it special. This they did, ensuring that Charlotte Tigers, Aspetuck Boys, Charlotte Tigress, Aspetuck Girls, Wando Boys and Girls, Raleigh Redhawks Boys and Girls, and the Okapi U16 Boys all had an enjoyable time celebrating the game.

It was a grand gesture from the senior club and a smart one, too, as they look to the future.

As for the present, the Tigers especially came out looking good. Here’s a look at what happened.

Raleigh Redhawks 13 Wando 3

The Redhawks looked ready to blow past a Wando team that is rebuilding a little, but the game ended up being more stop-start than either team wanted. Still a good result for Raleigh.

Charlotte Tigers 43 Aspetuck 21

This was the big one, with the #1 HS Club team against #8. The game did not disappoint. Aspetuck brought a very snappy backline and tested the Tigers defense throughout. Tigers All American prop Trevion Reed was a force with the ball in hand and scored two tries, while Captain Porter Goodrum was 6-for-7 with kicks, including five conversions and a penalty goal.

Flanker Alex Harrell had the crowd on its feet as her charged down an Aspetuck kick and then caught the ball one-handed and touched it down for a spectacular try. Tigers lock Bruton Peacock played punishing defense throughout and was all kinds of trouble making line breaks.

Wing Jason Trevino scored three tries and helped contain a potent Aspetuck attack.

As for Aspetuck, they had their moments but were missing five starters due to COVID quarantine. They were also missing a couple of their backups. Head Coach Ray Weiner said it wasn’t an excuse and that Charlotte was the better team.

But still, while Pearson Hill and Konye Taylor were very dangerous.

“Our back play was strong and we were able to use the space when it was available,” said Weiner. “This was a very good experience for our younger players.”

Still, Charlotte was too strong. 

Charlotte Tigress vs Aspetuck Girls

Aspetuck brought 10 players down to play their first-ever tackle rugby, and competed well. The Tigress are a very strong outfit and won their game, but Aspetuck did beat the Tigress Bs and Cs at least once.

Okapi U16s 24 Charlotte Tigers U16s 21

Okapi played a very exciting brand of rugby and also beat Aspetuck. They beat Charlotte on the final play of the game, and also logged a shutout of the Aspetuck U16s.

Okapi’s U16 team was in many ways the hit of the weekend.

Charlotte Squadron

Playing under their own name, a team of players not on the Tigers played Aspetuck B, and won 35-0, and then 51-0 after that. The Squadron are young but very talented and have been beating their opposition, including full A-side HS teams, through the spring.

Aspetuck 43 Wando 7

Wando has good numbers but is rebuilding its overall rugby IQ and ran into a big, powerful Aspetuck team that had something to prove. Aspetuck opened up their backline attack and kept running.

Charlotte Tigers 24 Raleigh Redhawks 7

This was a rivalry game in North Carolina and Raleigh played Charlotte tough, as they love to do. Reserve Charlotte center Chase Spiotti got a start on the A-side in this match and was a revelation, playing enormous defense and making key runs as well.

“This is always a hard-hitting match,” said Charlotte Head Coach Erik Saxon. “Raleigh is very good and Aspetuck is a force to be reckoned with. We are just very grateful we got all these teams here, and for the Charlotte Rugby Club for hosting it and making it a special weekend for the players.”