#1 vs #2 as Xavier and St. Ignatius Clash
#1 vs #2 as Xavier and St. Ignatius Clash
It is a rare thing to see a mid-season #1 vs #2; it happens, but it is rare.
This week we get one of those games, with Xavier of New York meeting St. Ignatius of Cleveland in a neutral site in Pennsylvania.
Xavier rose to the #1 ranking after they opened their season with a 34-14 defeat of Gregory the Great. GGA had previously beating Gonzaga, GRR's preseason #1. While that wasn't enough ... yet ... to get the Knights to #1, they followed that up with wins over St. Edward, Staples, Fordham Prep, and Greenwich. Last week Xavier won two games on the same day, running out wins over Chaminade and St. Joseph by-the-Sea.
So that's five wins over ranked opponents, with an average score of 36-10. The games weren't what you'd call blowouts, really. The winning margins were led by defense, with none of those five teams scoring more than two tries in a game. Points against in those five games have been, in order, 14, 10, 12, 7, 7. That's pretty consistent and speaks to how the team is working well as a unit.
"I think we are a team who are enjoying their rugby and enjoying the camaraderie of playing with each other," said Head Coach Greg Norris. "Sometimes the team culture is one of the strongest factors of the team and that in itself can do a lot. We have a lot to work on still and we are certainly not exactly where we would ultimately like to be. But we are still five weeks away from Nationals—so peaking now is not really in our best interests. We have a nice tour coming up and so we will put in a lot of work whilst we are together 24/7 for 10 days. Hopefully we can fix some of our ongoing mistakes."
Mistakes?
“We make silly passes and have too many handling errors, especially in the wind,” said Xavier center Conor Gangemi. “But moving forward, I think that our defense is going to continue to shine.”
It will have to, because, as you will see.
The St. Ignatius journey to #2 is a little different. They, too, have won games against ranked teams, beating Pendleton, New Trier, St. Edward, three opponents on tour in Spain, and then St. Xavier of Cincinnati. How they're done it is a little different, and that could be illustrated by their victory against the one opponent Ignatius and Xavier have shared, St. Edward. In that game, Ignatius led 36-27 with less than 10 minutes to go ... and scored four tries in those closing moments to win 62-27. That pattern has repeated itself in other games. The game might seem close, but the Ignatius offense has been a coiled spring.
The only reason they beat Pendleton "only" by the score of 35-6 was because a windy, cold day and lots of tries out wide meant for zero conversions. Only Real Ciencias (19-12 Ignatius victory) kept the Wildcats under 30. Their average score is 48-11. The points against is impressive on the face of it, but their coaches aren't thrilled with the Iggy defense. Even so, the reasons behind the success are similar to those of Xavier.
"Our Varsity group has been a pleasure to work with," said Head Coach Dan Arbeznik, whose five teams (Varsity Gold A and B, Varsity Blue, JV, and Freshmen) will play well over 60 games this spring. "We have a group of guys who are really hard working and who want to be good. The internal leadership has been about the best that I've ever seen within our club. The guys are close with each other and are always pushing themselves and each other to keep the standard high. So in that sense, it's a group that is capable of growing so much more. We have so many 'work-ons' that it would be impossible to touch on all of them. But I think our biggest issue has been defense. We're leaking so many penalties that are giving up possession and territory. We did well to shut out one of our Spanish counterparts on tour but have yet to reach that standard on American soil. We'll need to become much stouter if we're going to make a serious run this year."
So Is This a Big Game?
Yes, it is. The players on both teams care about how they match up with the rest of the nation. But the long-term goal for both is about the National Championships; this game features more as a benchmark for the coaches.
"We have this one marked as our biggest matchup to date," said Arbeznik. "Xavier's line-speed and cohesion is phenomenal. Every game matters but this one has that 'apples-to-apples' standard for seeding at the National Tournament. We're keenly aware of the need to put in a good performance. Our teams are very familiar with each other as well. Our Seniors played and hosted Xavier in the Spring of 2022 when Joe Sweeney brought the boys on tour to Cleveland. As Sophomores in 2023, our guys repaid the visit to New York where they met once again at at Aviator Sports Complex. So these classes have a history of competition built up with each other."
"We are expecting a titanic battle," added Norris. "St Ignatius is a quality team and is well drilled. They have some strong backs who are very skillful. I think with the field being as narrow as it is, we will have a very defensive heavy game. Both teams will find very little space to find gaps and as a result I think that both teams will need to be very disciplined."
Xavier has seen a number of standout performances throughout the season, led by co-captain Max Wyckoff at center, but it's the pack that has driven the defensive work, both by simply making tackles and stopping ballcarriers, but also winning set piece. No. 8 Rob Milacci, prop Nicholas Son, and flanker Malachai Young all earned Man-of-the-Match honors, and those are just examples of how players step into the breach each week.
For St. Ignatius, there have been notable players such as co-captain Mark French, versatile forward Connor Bender, and wing Tommy Passerallo. But Arbeznik took note of two others.
"A couple of guys who really stand out to me are Seniors Tommy McManamon and Mason Hartley," said Arbeznik. "Tommy played out his freshmen year and was slated to start for us his sophomore year until an avulsion fracture in his hip ended the season before it began. In 2024, as a junior, he had some more bad luck in breaking his foot—twice. So he basically missed out on his junior year as well. He's finally back with us and is playing really well. Having missed so much time, he's still getting his 'varsity match IQ' up but I think the ceiling is very high for him. He runs some of the best lines on our team."
Mason Hartley came out to the team later in his high school career and the coaches had the though to make him a center. But playing catch-up in developing the catch-pass and decision-making is tough, and he later was switched to flanker (prompted in part by a rash of injuries to props that moved almost every Ignatius forward to don smaller and smaller numbers.
"When the season began, he was our first sub off of the bench but with injury he's taken a firm grip of that #7 jersey for us," said Arbeznik. "His motor is 'full go' all of the time and he brings that edge and physicality that you need in the pack. He's such a hard worker and he's really earned every minute that he gets out there. You can tell he doesn't take any of it for granted."
Not taking anything for granted seems like a plan for everyone involved.
Xavier and St. Ignatius will face off in Hollidaysburg, Pa. in four games Saturday from Varsity to Freshmen. That, too, is a key feature of this rivalry. It starts with the youngest teams and those players play each other every year.
(Note: Alex Goff is an assistant coach on the freshman team for St. Ignatius)
