High school rugby in Western New York has switched into high gear. The West division of Rugby NY began its league play later than other areas of the country due to its wet climate.  Competition in this area is now entering its fourth week of a packed seven week regular season. 

In Boys Division 1 competition Fairport and Kenmore have created separation between them and the rest of the pack. Both teams are undefeated at 3-0 in league play and have earned the bonus point in each of their wins. The two teams meet on Saturday May 7th in Fairport. Last year Fairport and Kenmore tied their regular season match followed by Fairport edging out a victory just before the end of overtime in the Rugby NY third place match at the state championships.  Fairport begin its season with a loss against nationally ranked opponent St. Edwards after only 2 weeks of practice and has since won each of its matches. Kenmore nearly lost a tight match against Canisius but followed the nail biter with a dominating victory the following week against Grand Island. It will be a highly contested battle for the third and fourth playoff seeds between Orchard Park, Canisius, Hamburg, McQuaid Jesuit, Syracuse and Grand Island. Orchard Park won their first two matches by one try against McQuaid Jesuit and Hamburg until falling to Fairport. Canisius looked impressive in their first two matches although they were outscored by Fairport and Kenmore. 

In Boys Division 2 Pttsford began its season with a win over Rochester and Finger Lakes defeated newcomer Corning.  In this division teams develop quickly, and matches played in late May can look very different than those played in April. 

In the Girls Division, 2015 Rugby NY state champions Orchard Park, along with Kenmore and Buffalo City Honors all remain undefeated while Hamburg will attempt to recover from a one-sided loss to Orchard Park. Both Orchard Park and Buffalo City Honors are loaded with veterans that have select side experience. If the first few matches of the season are an indicator of what’s to come, Orchard Park and Buffalo City Honors are on a collision course that will determine the top seed in the Rugby NY girls playoffs.  Fairport and West Seneca struggled in their first two matches and Syracuse is competing in league play for the first time this year making it an uphill battle for those teams to earn a playoff berth.