Rugby Ohio Opens Up Fall Sevens
Rugby Ohio Opens Up Fall Sevens
Rugby Ohio kicked off its 7s fall with a two-tier tournament in the Cleveland area.
Several programs fielded more than one team, with some in the top division and some in a more development division. St. Ignatius of Cleveland fielded six teams based largely on age, with three in the top division and three in the second tier.
SIHS A, which featured a largely senior group, went 3-0, beating St. Edward B 62-0, St. Edward A 22-0 in probably the highest-level game of the day, and Medina A 24-7. Ignatius were led by Teagan Frain among the fast guys and Dave Kotnik among the power guys, with the consistent kicking of Jimmy Collins allowing the Wildcats to control field position and use their defense to force turnovers and create scoring chances.
St. Edward A ended the day 2-1, beating Avon Lake 31-0 and beating St. Ignatius B 19-12. Avon Lake ended up 1-1-1, beating Mentor and tying West Pitt, which made the tip out from Pennsylvania.
St. Ignatius B, with some smart field generalship from Collin Spellacy, ended up 2-1, beating Shaker and also SIHS C. (This was the only time two Ignatius teams faced each other one the day and it was played with reduced contact.) Medina, beat Perrysburg and Perry to finish 2-1. Medina B went an impressive 2-0-1 on the day.
Good day at @RugbyOhio 7s Sunday. We checked in with @HudsonRugbyClub pic.twitter.com/DAOpx4rRVK
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) September 25, 2023
Solid effort at @RugbyOhio 7s and @MedinaRugby logged two good wins. We ask four of them how that happened. pic.twitter.com/2pfidFYZCl
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) September 25, 2023
Development Bracket
While it's always the case that there could be more HS rugby teams, it's interesting to see how many of the programs in Ohio this weekend had 2nd sides in action. Overall the rugby was filled with mistakes but it was the first outing for players who were, largely, new to the game.
Several of the games—St. ignatius F vs Perrysburg B and vs Shaker B, Avon Lake B vs St. Edward C, and Ed's C vs Perrysburg B—were quite dramatic and close. Ignatius D, E, and F all went 3-0.
