The Tennessee state championship went to South Doyle after they held off Ravenwood 24-18 in the final Saturday.

In a physical game where both teams wanted to play open rugby, the teams were separated by just a point on three different occasions before a late South Doyle try put it away.

Ravenwood looked to use the boot to pin South Doyle back, but it wash’ always effective as South Doyle’s wings and fullback were aggressive in their counter-attacks.

Good quick ball combined with hard running allowed South Doyle to get much-needed points at crucial moments, as did stealing a few of Ravenwood’s scrum put-ins.

Senior hooker Elijah Hamilton, who had stolen all of Father Ryan’s scrum put-ins in the semis, was again crucial in this aspect, and stole on Ravenwood scrum ball five meters from his own line.

Hamilton was also solid defensively, making several open-field tackles, while senior captain Charlie Holman was named player of the game.

The backs were led by center Harley Wheeler, who scored two tries and was an effective tackler and ball-poacher, as well. 

“His ability to hit gaps at full speed and offload through contact is what makes him special,” said South Doyle Head Coach Matthew Lance. “Rhat and he owns every tackle he has ever made.”

South Doyle has won several 7s state championships, but never in 15s until this weekend. 

Now they look ahead to the Boys National HS Championships, where they are in the club division and matched up against Granite Bay in the opening round (South Doyle plays as a multi-school team at nationals, but by Goff Rugby Report’s definition, qualifies as single-school in the rankings).

“We hope to take this motivation and confidence with us and compete with the best,” said Lance.