GRR: Thunder Rugby SoCal
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.
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.
As always the Storer Classic provides some important preseason rugby for teams in the West, and this year did not disappoint.
There were several solid showings with SOC Raptors, Marin, Carlsbad, and Layton Christian all producing some good results. Atop all of those was Belmont Shore, which ended the weekend 3-0.
Carlsbad won big in their first game of the New Year in the Southern California school league, defeating San Clemente 52-12.
The game itself felt a lot closer than the score might indicate—San Clemente did well to test the Carlsbad defense and did find gaps to exploit.
Pages
