GRR: Penn HS
Penn HS defeated top-ranked HS club Royal Irish 22-19 Saturday in a Rugby Indiana Boys Super League match.
Played in heavy wind, the game hinged somewhat on how the wind was used. Royal Irish won the toss and opted to play with the wind in the second half. By that time they were behind 15-5.
In a clash of two top-10 HS teams, Penn HS edged Fishers 28-25 in Rugby Indiana league play over the weekend.
The game was slated to be played at Fishers, but weather made that field unplayable, and so Fishers Rugby requested the game be moved to Penn's fields in Elkhart, Ind. That accommodation made, the game was on and both teams brought the physicality.
The Penn Invite, in its 14th year, saw 21 HS teams from Indiana and nearby states in a preseason effort at the Moose Rugby Grounds in Elkhart, IN.
Every team played two short games to see different opponents, with Boys and Girls teams both seeing action.
Penn defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 39-0 in a season-opener for the Indiana team.
It was Penn's third time outside, and while Aquinas had been on the field already, but this was still early days.
The Midwest Boys HS Championships kicks off this weekend and it's a new-look tournament.
Previous years have seen the tournament split into HS Club and Single-School brackets. However, that has not been the best option, especially as Royal Irish has won fairly easily on the club side.