Jesuit of Sacramento defeated SCIRF champion St. Augustine 22-5 in a crossover clash Saturday.

The game was played at Cal Maritime, and was an excellent example of the quality of rugby top schools are capable of. The Saints had trouble breaking through a staunch Jesuit defense, but play a smart, structured game throughout.

"Their speed to the breakdown was impressive," said St. Augustine Head Coach Ethan Willis. "It was a positive learning experience for our group."

"They are very well organizations," said Jesuit Head Coach Andrew Acosta. "We need more of these games —two high school teams who are organized. It was a good, proper game of rugby that hgh school rugby needs to have."

Jesuit has rebounded well from an early-season loss to De La Salle in the NorCal Single-School final. DLS went on to win the crossover clash with the SoCal Youth Rugby Varsity White champs Carlsbad.

"We did not play well against De La Salle and we learned a lot," said Acosta. "We realized that we can get better on the rugby IQ side, which is what we have addressed the last two weeks. In the end, the kids have to figure it out. We made some decisions today that we good, and some that we OK."

Sophomore Roanin Krieger has stepped in at flyhalf and looked very impressive. Forward Keleki Latu is back playing and making a huge impact for the Marauders.

"He's strong and technically he's very solid," said Acosta.

Despite two yellow cards and a penalty count that Acosta said was way too high, Jesuit held on. That pretty much wraps up the season for St. Augustine, as SoCal players move on to their club season. Jesuit now looks ahead to a challenging four-week stint in the Rugby NorCal season with Granite Bay, Lamorinda, Danville, and SFGG.