GRR: Rugby Ohio
St. Ignatius of Cleveland defeated St. Xavier 62-12 Saturday on a very, very windy day in Ohio.
Ignatius used defensive pressure as much as anything else to get the job done, pushing St. X back and forcing turnovers and errors simply by making tackles. With players such as Cole Sutkus, Pat Cooney, and Michael Krebs they produced scoring chances early.
St. Joseph's Academy won the Rugby Ohio Girls HS Fall 7s Sunday, beating a skilled Walnut Hills side in the final to take the title.
This was a very competitive finals day for the girls bracket, with some standouts throughout the teams.
St. Ignatius won the Rugby Ohio Boys Fall 7s championships, unleashing a smart, skilled game plan that pushed aside opponents in all of the preliminary tournaments as well as the finals tournament on Sunday.
The Wildcats ended the fall 18-0, including eight shutouts and a points for-and-against of 668-58.
St. Ignatius is now at 9-0 after a 3-0 day at the Northern bracket of Rugby Ohio’s fall HS 7s.
The Wildcats beat Highland 25-7 and St. Edward B 48-7 before having to take on their own B side, a game they won 30-0.
"I think our defense really showed," said Aidan Miczak. "We didn’t let mistakes get into our head."
St. Ignatius is showcasing some serious depth in the boys competition, and their A side has been very strong.
Quick ball movement and good skill execution meant the St. Ignatius offense was moving and scoring, and with them keeping the ball effectively the opposition had trouble getting scoring chances.