HS Rugby Latest. Updates from All Over
HS Rugby Latest. Updates from All Over
A quick rundown of some of the action in HS boys rugby this weekend.
Top-Ranked Sides
The #1 HS Club, Granite Bay, won its playoff game in NorCal. Likewise the #2 School team, De La Salle. Top-ranked School team St. Ignatius won comfortably against a very tough Aspetuck (details). This helps Ignatius solidify their spot (although DLS is still chasing). Gonzaga (#4) rolled over Xavier (#14) 67-5.
"Our counterattack was lethal today," said Gonzaga Head Coach Peter Baggetta. "That made it hard for them to play out of their end."
Almost all of the highly-ranked teams have good depth, but it's interesting to see Ignatius garner results from younger players against highly-rated sides.
Belmont Shore (Club #5) continued their impressive run, beating defending HS club national champs Thunder Rugby (Club #9) 33-28. Belmont Shore got a massive game from tighthead prop Max Amasio, who capped it all off with a pick-and-go that morphed into a 15-meter charge for the line to win the game with less than a minute to go. That drive was all set up by flanker Jagger Tavai who broke through several tackles to get it all started.
"Thunder showed us why they are National Champs, being down in the first half and coming back strong in the second half and taking over the lead," said Belmont Shore Head Coach Johnny Pua. "But Belmont showed Heart and dug down deep, we fought back with the help of our strong bench. Much respect to Head Coach Josh Williams and his coaching staff."
Belmont Shore has now beaten all three SoCal teams that attended nationals last year.
In Florida, the #8 school team Cardinal Gibbons met the #13 club team in Boca for the Florida championship. Boca had a close win over Cardinal Gibbons in the regular season and repeated that, taking the game 18-10 in a tough, hard-hitting contest.
United, the #2-ranked HS club, was tested by #25 Genesis 33-25 in Utah, and the same goes for #12 Vienna against #27 and rising Richmond. Vienna took a lead, saw Richmond claw back, and then with the Strikers on the charge an interception sealed it for Vienna. The Vienna squad has been slammed with injuries but they hung on for this one.
Royal Irish (Club #14) edged #18 School team Bishop Dwenger. This game was back and forth and the lead changed hands several times. Flyhalf Tommy Hannon's second-half penalty was crucial in that it put Royal Irish ahead two scores at the tim. Injuries still hit Royal Irish but "we are learning that there is real depth in the roster this season," said Head Coach Dave Snyder. The coach added that when they just do the basics, Royal Irish finds success, but they deviated from that somewhat.
Herriman (School #3) won 59-23 over Olympus with four tries from Sake Tukuafu and three from Cam Connors in less than a half.
Elsewhere
Friday night we played Rye HS (NY) and won 24-14. We were up 24-0 and emptied the benches and gave up 2 late tries. Next we have 4 MIAA matches against Brookline HS, Lincoln-Sudbury RHS, BC High and then finish regular season with St John's Prep. The team is in good form and enjoying the season and really looking forward to the weeks ahead. If you'd like to connect any further on our season or MA rugby in general, let me know.
Charlotte Tigers beat Phoenix Alpharetta 34-19 with some good work from some younger players.
In Pennsylvania, Berks (Club #18) beat School #20 Conestoga 38-19. Prop Christian Diaz had a big game, with a 35-meter run for a try part of that, whule prop Turk Baum was thunderous in the tackle.
Diohnny Ruiz has been turning heads all over the region lately with his explosive running. An accomplished football player, he is choosing rugby over football in college, so goes the word. He was an X factor for Berks in this game.
Westfield keeps logging big wins in Indiana, and beat North Central 48-5. Yushawn Hatchett set the tone early with a crushing run off of a North Central kick, and he did the same off the ensuing restart to score two tries in quick succession. Hatchett’s physical runs were a feature of the day. Center Casey Graybill scored three and his midfield partner Dalen Blanding also found the tryline.
Denver East beat the Titans in Colorado 33-12 behind big games from Darius Yavala, Alex Sena, and Quaid Hunt.
Belmont High School ran out to a 24-0 lead and held on to beat Rye HS out of New York 24-14. After an early loss to Milton Belmont has beaten Cambridge Rindge and Latin and also Simsbury HS.
Eastside Tsunami and Camas lead Oregon both with 6-0 records. Eastside's fullback, Liam Herring, was excellent on the day both on defense and in scoring four tries.
Coming Up
With less than three weeks to HS Nationals, and also the Florida Invitational, teams are trying to find game time for as many players as possible, managing fatigue and injury risk. They are also fighting for seedings, and there are several battles going on there.
You have teams looking for a #1 or a #2 seed—and realizing that being seeded #2 or #3 sets you up for a really tough semifinal. You have teams also looking to avoid some opponents that could really be difficult to handle in the first round. You have teams hoping to get into the top tier of their bracket,
Dallas Jesuit (School #29) defeated #24 T. Thomas 17-10. First-half tries from Benoni Mesfin, Neil Lancaster,and Luke Lamont held up as St. Thomas defended well in the second half. With the victory, Jesuit earns a berth in the Rugby Texas State Championship game on May 14 and retain the Bishops' Cup for the third consecutive year.
Jesuit will face either St. Pius X or The Woodlands in that final, set for the Austin Huns field in two weeks. Those two teams play this coming weekend.
