Southern California enters its school team playoff phase, and one part of that for the boys is a 7s championship.

Eighteen teams participated in the Boys D1 7s this winter, with six more playing in the Open division.

Of the 18 in D1, nine are now in the playoffs:

Pool A: JSerra, Santa Fe Christian, Patrick Henry

Pool B: Valley Center, Poway, Laguna Beach

Pool C: Redondo, Del Norte, Francis Parker

The Open Division has a championship bracket of three, with Valley Christian, Clairmont, and Tesoro.

Leading the way has to be JSerra. The JSerra Lions went 21-0 in the regular season. 

JSerra has an impressive rugby history even as the numbers have been small, with former Saint Mary's All American Aaron Matthews among their alumni. They have found a home in 7s, which works better with their numbers.

"Our Athletic Director Chris Ledyard, Louis Mosconi, and myself have taken a pretty big stance on having only JSerra students," said Head Coach Nick Sarris.

Leading the JSerra team this year are seniors and captains Will Lhommedieu, Zach Pua, and Nate Leff. All three also feature well at club teams later in the spring. Lhommedieu and Leff have played for the LA Giltinis Academy and Eagle Impact Rugby Academy. Pua is a 2nd-team all-league football player and while he;s been playing rugby for a while, is looking to commit more to the sport now that football is over.

"All three have phenomenal attitudes, insane work ethic, and leadership qualities that are hard to teach," said Sarris.

But there's more. Senior Luke Berry is 6-3, 200 and us quick. He was a first-team all-league linebacker/defensive end in football and just started playing right. He bring a bit of a wild card. Keoni “KT” Tialavea is 6-3 and very quick. He is athletic and can break open a game. Sophomore Clarence Chaney is a compact, powerful package and is strong, elusive, and can accelerate. Another sophomore Jack Munro is a smart rugby player who understand the game well. Junior is very fast and has picked iup the sport quickly.

"All of our kids, especially our 'Young Bucks' have bought into our system, culture, and ethos at JSerra," said Sarris. "They have learned certain values this season that they will be able to take with them into life after high school and after rugby. It’s hard to explain other than saying, they have phenomenal attitudes and work their asses off."

Top 9 D1 Team W-L Records

Open Division Team W-L Records

*Valley Christian also had a tie.

Saturday's championship tournament schedule is as follows: