GRR: Edina
While the Minnesota HS league has struggled to bounce back to full numbers, they did hold a two-tiered state championship last week, with Edina HS taking the title in both tiers.
Edina defeated Eagan 22-17 to win the Minnesota Youth Rugby Boys HS title this past weekend.
After running through the season undefeated, Edina was the favorite here, but, as head coach Chris Babiash said, "you always hear the cliché that beating a team three times is a tough task."
And that's how it ended up.
After a regular Minnesota Youth Rugby season where Eagan seemed to be in control, Edina emerged as state champs with a 22-10 defeat of Eagan in the MYR playoffs this past weekend.
Edina overcame an early deficit to beat Minnetonka 22-10 Saturday and win the Minnesota Youth Rugby Boys HS championship.
Minnetonka did take a 5-0 lead, capitalizing on some Edina errors. And in fact it wasn't really a comfortable run for Edina - last week they needed overtime to get through the semis against Duluth.
Edina and Minnetonka will meet in the final of the Minnesota Youth Rugby Boys HS championship next week after both won semifinals Saturday.
For Edina, the favorite and defending champs, it was a scary day. Edina ran out to a 12-0 lead, but were stifled by a strong Duluth forward pack and the game ended 12-12.