GRR: SOC Raptors
In a thrilling SoCal club faceoff, Belmont Shore edged SOC Raptors 31-29.
This was a Boys HS National Championships play-in, and with the result so close you've got to wonder if there's a place left for the Raptors regardless.
SOC Raptors moved into a tie with the San Diego Mustangs atop the SoCal HS Club league after beating Thunder 33-13 Saturday.
The first half between the two teams was very tight, with Thunder keeping the Raptors pinned in their end. Thunder kicked a penalty goal, but as the half progressed, Raptors gained territory, and after some very strong, hard running, Nolan Abayeta scored.
With the Storer Classic canceled, several high school teams, plus some that were already traveling to SoCal and couldn't cancel, met up for an impromptu tournament over the weekend in Southern California.
Thunder Rugby backed up last week's 3rd-place win in SoCal with a 2-0 performance at the Pacific Invitational this weekend.
Thunder beat a very tough SFGG side 34-32 on Day One. The Thunder forwards got their team on the board first, and SFGG responded, and that exvhange was a harbinger of how the game would go.
Somehow Belmont Shore did it.
Really, it wasn’t as if Shore was playing poorly, but after a loss to the touring Woodlands side from Texas and then in the regular season to the San Diego Mustangs, as well as a very nervy and close semifinal to the SOC Raptors, they were not favorites to win the SoCal Boys HS Club final this past weekend.
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