After a two-game trip to Seattle, the San Diego Mustangs raced back to Southern California where they hosted Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver.

The wet weather San Diego met in Seattle was similar to the conditions Prince of Wales had been dealing with at their home. The school had been forced to move a recent game because, said Head Coach Kelly Egilsson, "our pitch was ankle-deep in water. The weather has been miserable in Vancouver."

The Walesmen, who play in the British Columbia Premier League, are in Southern California for an upcoming tournament in Fullerton, Calif. The Mustangs were able to secure a field at Poway HS, and the game was on.

Prince of Wales, said Egilsson, likes to play "sideline to sideline  We spin
to win."  With captain and inside center Nick Glavias and fullback Mike Zhang showcasing plenty of skill, and prop Haske Sumaila providing much of the beef up front.

The match was scoreless for nearly 15 minutes as the team's tested each other. The Mustangs seemed to be gaining the upper hand and were pressing for a score when Zhang took a turnover 75 meters in the other direction to relieve pressure before being tackled. San Diego countered with long runs by flanker Benny Ruffolo and No. 8 Brandon Cole.

Finally, at midfield, Mustang wing Bryce Pickwell counter-rucked over a Prince of Wales player, driving him well off the ball.  An easy pick up
by San Diego, a pass to Cole, and a long, bruising run by the No. 8 had San Diego on the board first. Jackson Baere hit the conversion to make
it 7-0. Five minutes later, off a broken play, Baere broke off a weaving run before offloading to Cole for his second try.  Baere with the conversion again, and it was 14-0.

San Diego scrumhalf James Downey had been poaching all half, and finally stole a ball out of a Walesman scrum and took it in himself for
a try before the break. Baere was again good with the kick and it was 21-0 at halftime.

Prince of Wales was traveling light with no parents, little equipment, and no back-ups. So the Poway Spartan RFC lent them four of their best,
and several enormous Spartan Props entered at the half in the Black & Yellow Walesmen colors.

But the Mustangs kept up the pressure. Pickwell continued his strong defensive play with a hard sideline tackle, and shortly thereafter was rewarded with a try as
Downey spun the ball out to center Michael Terlep, who passed to fullback Alec Packer, who found Pickwell streaking in from 15 meters. That made it 26-0, and then Packer, and then wing Max Lyle, broke through in quick succession to make the score 36-0.

San Diego rang the changes and Walesmen dullback Zhang showed why his coach regards him as one of the top players on the team, when he stole a pass, beat several defenders
and put Prince of Wales on the Board.  Scrumhalf Mitchell Eraut nailed the conversion. The Prince of Wales pack started to gain some traction and they chugged downfield before Eraut took it in to make the score 36-14. Late in the game the Mustangs put in one more and the game ended 43-14 for San Diego.

Before the pizza and soda was shared, the team's huddled at midfield and named their opponents' top forwards and backs. Prince of Wales called-out Mustang Michael Terlep as the Back of the
Match - his second such designation in as many games, and No. 8 Brandon Cole was the Forward of the Match and Man of the Match.

Mustang captain Cole handed souvenir Mustang jerseys to Prince of Wales Forward of the Match, towering No. 8, Jamie Sullivan-Phillips, and Back-of-the-Match, flyhalf Cade McTaggart, and Man of the Match to fullback Mike Zhang.

It was a gratifying, if slightly imperfect showing by San Diego. But considering their tough schedule over the last five days, three wins out of three is not back at all.

San Diego 43
Tries:  Cole (2), Downey, Pickwell, Packer, Lyle, Ruffolo
Convs: Baere (4).

Prince of Wales 14
Tries:  Zhang, Eraut
Convs: Eraut (2)

Referee: Mark Richards.