The Maryland Exiles won the American HS 7s Championships Elite Boys Division Sunday, defeating  Greenwich HS 29-7 in the semis and the New Jersey Blaze in the final, 24-0.

The Blaze had squeaked by Atlantis 14-12 to make the championship game.

For the Exiles, which, interestingly played under the Atlantis Roman numerals in the Las Vegas Invitational, and also won the HSRC club division in Chester, Pa., this was the culmination of an excellent 7s year.

“What we wanted to work on most was defense,” said Coach Paul Sheehy. “We knew we’d get our points, so what we wanted to do was shut teams out. It worked out well for us. We had 100% but-in from the players.”

“We have been working hard at defense in training, and it’s something we felt we could do better coming out of Vegas,” added captain Aaron Gray of Perry Street Prep. “The guys knew they wanted to play strong D, and wanted to execute.”

Asked what they talked about in pre-game huddles, Gray said one work: “Connection.”

“We do best when we play together and communication,” said Gray. “Since Vegas and through Philly we’ve been getting better. It’s a connection we all have with each other.”

Sheehy was hugely complimentary of the tournament, held at the Surfside Sevens in Stone Harbor, NJ.

“Steve Siano does an amazing job,” said Sheehy. “It’s a fantastic tournament. Just coming here, we are very happy.”

Don’t expect the Exiles to fall off next year. In the U15 bracket, two Exiles teams made the final, with Maryland Exiles Gold shutting out Doylestown 36-0 in the semis and the Exiles Black shutting out the Surfside Exiles 31-0. It was a very good day for U15s Coach Rob Sklaka, and a good day for program director Sheehy overall.

The U15 teams posed together.