Kansas City Junior Blues won the Tulsa Hooligan Rugby Tournament Sunday, defeating the Chargers out of Wisconsin 20-13 in the final.

Chargers v KC and v. Thomas Aquinas. Photos Teri Mattek.

The Blues defeated Colorado Springs 24-5 and Bixby 20-5 in the first day of competition.The Colorado Springs Grizzlies were ranked #41 in Goff Rugby Report's HS Club rankings last week. Bixby was not ranked, but has been ranked for several weeks in the Single-School list.  Meanwhile, the Chargers's opponents were Union (ranked #42 among single-school teams), who they beat 22-7, and St. Thomas Aquinas (ranked #14), who they beat 10-0.

So that set up the final, and in the final, the Blues took an early lad and led 20-6 at halftime. The Chargers battled back to make it 20-13, and that's how it ended.

"The Chargers are a good team, with some big, tough guys who force you to tackle them," said KC Jr. Blues Coach Ed Cummings. "They were one of the bigger teams we've faced and they caused us problems. Overall we were pretty pleased with the performance, especially since we've not played that much rugby."

Four teams have forfeited against KC, and they were itching for some playing time. It's certainly been frustrating for them. Both the Blues and the Chargers are really just getting started, but this was a pretty impressive start.

Chargers No. 8 Matt Ruppel scored his teams only try in the final, breaking through several tackles to rumble in from midfield. Fullback Cody Struebing had three attempst at goal, a tough-angled conversion and two penalties, and put them all over. Inside center Beau Goudreau was a constant linebreak threat, but the support wasn't always there to build on that. In the pack the Chargers got some nice work from prop Trevor Buteyn in the breakdown and flanker Caleb Rutherford on defense.

"KC is good," said Chargers Coach Neil Mattek. "They are fast, and aggressive on defense. Our boys were disappointed with the result but encouraged to know that at full strength we will play with anyone."

For the Jr. Blues, they left some scoring opportunities unclaimed and Cummings said they can work on that. Captain and No. 8  Mason Tasset was a standout and in fact the entire back row (including Kevin Crawford and Charlie McClain) put in a ton of work. Their defensive effort was crucial.

Jr. Blues flyhalf Chandler Owens also had a very good weekend and his kicking from the hand kept the Chargers back in heir end. Also in the backs, Eli Snyder was a handful.