La Jolla, Calif. - Veteran Referee Mark Richards stood at midfield after Friday night's match between Snow Canyon High School from St. George, Utah, and the San Diego Mustangs U18 club  surrounded by the sweaty, exhausted players and summed up both the expectation and the realization that arises when a highly-ranked high school team (No. 16 in GRR Single-School Rankings) plays a seasoned club from athletically rich Southern California (No. 13 in GRR HS Club Rankings).

"Boys, when I saw this match on the schedule," said Richards, "I asked for this game.  It is so fun to ref a well-played match. Great plays, big hits, this match was a pleasure. Utah, it's always good to see you out here every year, you're a great team. San Diego Mustangs, as always, I enjoyed reffing your match."

What Richards and a sizeable crowd at the UC San Diego pitch saw was Snow Canyon go ahead early, fall behind, tie at the half, and then eke out a 31-26 victory - kicking the ball into touch as a last-ditch Mustang drive fell about 5 meters short.

Snow Canyon was powerful in the rucks and counterrucks. The Mustangs and prop Nico Friscia dominated in the lineouts. The backlines evenly matched, and powerful Mustang captain, No. 8 Brandon Cole, dropped back to fullback on defense, and used his booming leg to kick San Diego out of defensive trouble on several occasions.

But flyhalf Andy Day and beefy inside center Kody Jacobsen for Snow Canyon gave the visitors the edge. With the score 21-21 coming out of halftime, Day made a beautiful squib kick that split the Mustang backline, and Jacobsen raced to pick it up for a lead that Snow Canyon never relinquished. That was Jacobsen's 2nd try of the day. 

It didn't hurt that Day nailed every conversion and, with just a few minutes left, a 25 meter penalty kick to give Snow Canyon a 31-26 lead.  The Mustangs respectfully named Day the Man of the Match.

San Diego had its moments: a steal by flanker Benny Ruffolo and a 30-meter sprint with a perfect off-load to hustling hooker, Nick Zimmer, to put the team ahead in the first half; Breakaway runs by Brandon Cole; and a heroic, try-saving, open field tackle by fullback Matthew Zimmer, who gave up 50 pounds to his Snow Canyon opponent, and paid for it with a game-ending injury.  

In the second half, the San Diego defense, led by forward Cole Valley and scrumhalf James Downey, defied several minutes of repeated pick-and-jam pounding by Snow Canyon. The Utah team inched their way to the tryline, and then finally spun the ball out in frustration, turning it over on the wing. Snow Canyon returned the favor as the final seconds ticked off, giving up grudging yardage as the Mustangs made a strong final drive. But, Snow Canyon bent, didn't break, and finally forced a turnover.

Notes:  the match was originally scheduled for a grass pitch on the University of California, San Diego campus.  But, the poor, clay San Diego soil did not respond well to one-and-a-half days of rain, and the match was moved to an artificial turf deck on the east side of the UCSD campus. Snow Canyon took 50 boys to Southern California, and their U16 team dominated the Mustang U16s. Ten separate Mustangs parents slow-roasted pork shoulders, and the boys enjoyed a pulled-pork feast afterwards, before the Snow Canyon players left to billet with the Mustangs families.