Gamebreakers in HS Rugby As May Begins
Gamebreakers in HS Rugby As May Begins
With games all over the nation, we have a wide range of Gamebreakers this week—here's who made key plays and important contributions to their HS teams over the past several days.
Liam Malloy, Fort Hunt
The Fort Hunt captain and hooker (pictured) led the Warriors to a 33-0 shutout of Xavier, providing leadership to the forwards, a steadying presence everywhere, and scoring two tries.
Brady Weatherly, Germantown
The sophomore outside center scored three tries in Germantown's state semifinal win over Father Ryan.
Caleb Brubaker, West Shore
The center scored two tries and nailed down the midfield defense as West Shore defeated Cumberland Valley.
Max Rhodes, Eastside Lions
Rhodes (pictured) recently changed position from center to openside flanker and the team got a big boost from him as a result. In Saturday's 17-12 defeat of Budd Bay, Rhodes was excellent, using his speed to get to the breakdown quickly and showcasing his excellent open-field tackling skills. He also ran with power as Eastside won a key early league game.
Titus Henkels, St. Joe’s Prep
The St. Joe's captain ran in three tries as St. Joe's defeated Downingtown.
Brendan Beilke, Georgetown Prep
The Georgetown Prep fullback kicked three conversions, made a key break to set up one try, and then scored the game-tying try in spectacular fashion as Georgetown eked out a tie with Gonzaga.
Grant Willis, St. Thomas Aquinas
Hooker Willis was active throughout his team's win over Gorilla, throwing well in the lineout, controlling the scrum, and poaching balls in the rucks throughout.
Jacob Schmidt, Brother Martin
Schmidt was all over the action in Brother Martin's Louisiana state, setting the platform at prop, playing defense, oh, and scoring three tries, including a 55-meter gallop that turned out to be the game-winner.
Nick Marker, Norwalk
Norwalk won two games in the Iowa 7s league on Friday, and Marker was all over the place, scoring two in each of those games and leading the league now with 19 in 10 games.
Drake Poth, Bixby
Poth's play at fullback was a big part of Bixby's shutout of F5 in the Oklahoma state final. He handled F5's kicking game nicely, ran back most of them for additional yardage, slotted into the attack well, and played excellent defense in a shutout win.
Logan Lair, Monarch HS
Lair controlled the attack as Monarch defeated Valor Christian in the CIRA opener.
Marcus Terzoli, Cathedral Catholic
Player of the Match Terzoli (pictured) scored 22 points in his team's shutout of Steele Canyon, leading an impressive offensive effort in the opening weekend of SCIRF.
Sy Mendenhall, Dallas Jesuit
In a repeat Gamebreaker performance Mendenhall once against caused the opposition defense all sorts of problems, played solid defense in the midifield, and scored two tries in Dallas Jesuit's defeat of Strake Jesuit in Texas.
Thomas Daniel, Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge played two opponents with records as good as theirs in the Iowa 7s league, and in two close wins over Bondurant-Farrar and Waterloo Columbus, Daniel scored a try in each to help his side improve to a 9-1 overall record.
Timmy Putka, St. Ignatius
Not the biggest of openside flanker, Putka makes up for it with moxie, hitting rucks with abandon, making tackles, and poaching balls. He was a terror all day as St. Ignatius won two games at the Midwest tournament.
John Michael Fabini, Bishop Dwenger
The center for Dwenger, Fabini was an excellent link between the halfbacks and Dwenger's outside attackers, and he repeatedly set up those teammates with passes as Dwenger won two at the Midwest tournament.
Olive produced a big performance at prop and scored the game-winner off a shot throw in the lineout as Salesianum beat St. Augustine (NJ).
Aidan Laros, Raleigh Redhawks
Flyhalf and captain for Raleigh, Laros led the team in attack and defense, organizing the Redhawks structure and keeping them on task during their 40-0 defeat of a well-regarded Phoenix Alpharetta side. Laros also added five conversions, and the next day converted another five in a 50-0 defeat of South Greenville.
Luke Misleh, Moeller
The Moeller lock, Misleh set the tone for a physical, intense Moeller team that took two games at the Midwest Tournament.
Marcus Nguyen, SOC Raptors
The outside center for South Orange County was a force running with the ball, scoring a try and setting up others as the Raptors defeated Back Bay.