The University of Kentucky is hosting a meeting of four HS teams, two from Tennessee, and one each from Ohio and Indiana.

Defending Tennessee state champions South Doyle, 2015 runners-up Ravenwood, 2015 Rugby Ohio runners-up St Edward  (who won the Midwest championship), and Indiana DI team Culver Academy all will bring two sides for the two-day meeting.

On Saturday South Doyle faces St. Edward at 11:15am, and Ravenwood faces Culver Academy. The B-sides play also, and Kentucky plays Louisville in a college matchup in the middle of it all.

On Sunday, St. Edward plays Ravenwood while South Doyle takes on Culver.

For South Doyle, this is a good matchup after a long layoff. Head Coach Matthew Lance said his team is fairly experienced, and he’s pleased with the skill level.

“This is our first chance to put our best team on the field,” said Lance. “We’re excited to compete against a team the caliber of St. Edward. 

New sophomore scrumhalf Jaycob Forrester was the teams’ fullback as a freshman, but has embraced the role at #9 with gusto. Lance likes his work ethos. Flyhalf Jonathan Doster is a year older and more experienced, and he was a standout for South Doyle last ear. Michael Turner was the team’s 7s MVP and is a dangerous runner from fullback.

Ravenwood welcomes back USA Rugby South U19 all-star Andrew Rappe and Brady HuYoung, Jesse Boone at flyhalf, and halfback Tripp Waring are all skilled players and leaders.

St. Edward dominated on their trip to North Carolina, and is expected to compete for the Ohio state title again, while Culver is in the 2nd-tier DI in Indiana (Indiana has a Super League), but that doesn’t mean they won’t be strong. They defeated St. Xavier out of Kentucky in their opening game of the season.