GRR: St. Ignatius
Gonzaga HS is thinking national championship again and took an impressive step toward that end with a 34-12 defeat of St. Ignatius out of Cleveland.
This is a regular meeting between these two teams, and it's often very close. While still a competitive game, it was a little more on Gonzaga's side, and there's a reason for that.
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.
St. Ignatius of Cleveland defeated top-ranked HS club team Royal Irish 27-13 Saturday in a classic crossover match.
Ignatius, which defeated Gonzaga earlier this year - a team Royal Irish also beat - has now defeated the #2 single-school team (Gonzaga at the time), and the #1 HS cub.
St. Edward probably secured its #1 single-school ranking for now with a 21-14 defeat of #2 St. Ignatius last week.
It was an exciting all-Rugby-Ohio league game that came down to the final moments, and St. Edward, led by center Grant Gutchall, lock Collin Haas, and tighthead prop Noah DiMichele scored three tries to take the game.
St. Ignatius logged impressive victories over Penn HS and West Shore this weekend.
In a three-team preseason meeting in the Cleveland area, Ignatius won on Saturday and Sunday, with Penn volunteerring to play two games on the day.