GRR: Marin Highlanders
There is plenty of rugby still to be played in Rugby NorCal's Boys HS league, but plenty has happened already.
We already pointed out that Granite Bay and Danville tied 26-26—Top HS Clubs Tie in NorCal—and that result has kind of thrown the standings into a whirlwind.
In a preseason game for the Washington-based team, the Eastside Lions made the trip down south to Northern California to play the Marin Highlanders.
This was the second year in a row that the Lions played Marin to start their season. It is tough to find practice fields, let along game fields, in Washington until March comes around, so this trip is hugely valuable to Eastside.
High-profile HS teams at the Storer Classic started off strong despite the rainy weather.
With rain a constant feature in Southern California these days, teams have eschewed the typical regional response to drops of water out of the sky (that is, they run screaming for shelter), and instead have done the best they could to practice and play.
There's a long list of solid teams in Northern California, and there seem to be few easy games, but at the same time, all eyes seem to be on Granite Bay and De La Salle at the top.
The Marin Highlanders will get back into league play and will be nicely poised to do so after a tour to Italy for just over a week during this month.