The Kickoff Tournament for HS boys was held in the Sacramento area this past weekend, with ten boys brackets from U10 to Varsity HS.

In the top level, Jesuit HS of Sacramento looked to strongest, shutting out Sierra Foothills and Dixon. 

Hayward was also 2-0, shutting out McClatchy and Cougar, but a much-hoped-for meeting between Hayward and Jesuit didn’t quite come off for nebulous reasons. 

Sierra Foothills, Cougar, and Mother Lode were all 1-1 on the day.

In the Varsity Silver division, Pleasanton was 3-0, beating PITS, Bishop O’Dowd, and Elk Grove. Dixon was 2-0-1, tying the Sacramento Eagles and beating Elsie Allen and Sierra Foothills.

For Jesuit, it was a good start to a season full of questions. They made the final of the 2014 Boys NIT, losing by a point to Gonzaga. Their B team won the NIT 2nd tier bracket, winning the final by a point over Brother Rice.

This year, Jesuit has graduated a large group of players and have a junior/sophomore-heavy lineup. 

“We are in rebuild and reload mode,” said Head Coach John Shorey. 

However, they were missing some starters for the KOT, so maybe they’ve already reloaded.

Jesuit will once again enter two teams in Northern California, one in the single-school varsity league, and one in the top multi-school division. They still have the depth to do that, although Shorey said his squad isn’t quite as deep as it was last year.

Still they have 6-5, 250-kb lock forward Robert Paylor (name corrected), who is a hugely skilled second row and has turned down football offers to play rugby in college.

Along with being a big, tough lock, Paylor is, said Shorey, “a super-hard worker.”

Chris Dyer is a talented fullback who made the HS All American camp. Shorey said Dyer is like Jesuit alumnus and former Eagle Colin Hawley - tall, lanky, strong, and fast.

“He looks like Hawley, plays like Hawley, and even acts like him,” said Shorey. That, by the way, is a good thing.