Tennessee Playoff Update
Harpeth and the Ravenwood Raptors will meet for the Tennessee Boys HS Final after both won convincingly over the weekend in the semifinals.
The Raptors shut out Christian Brothers 34-0. Harpeth went 14 better, shutting out Barden 48-0.
H2 would score the first try of the match six minutes in with Wing Jack Ambrose going over. Scrumhalf Jack Shrader fed flyhalf Jameson Reagan, who passed to inside center Mitch Rossi, who put Ambrose away.
After a yellow card to Bearden, Shrader tapped quickly and fed lock Kyle Means, who would successfully place the ball for his second row partner Spencer Bennett to pick up go over for the second try.
NJ Latest - Delbarton, Unon Win
Delbarton defeated Hudson Catholic 69-0 to remain undefeated in New Jersey in the single-school league.
The Green Wave’s first XV has not lost to a New Jersey team in well over two years, but has gone about .500 in a few matches out of state (wins over St. Thomas and LaSalle College HS, close losses to St. Xavier and St. Mary’s Secondary School, Ontario). They outscored their in-state opponents 140-15 in four matches this year.
Delbarton will be the #1 seed in NJ’s playoff bracket with St. Augustine taking the #2 spot and CBA/St. Peter’s Prep playing for the #3 and #4 seed this week.
Around the Nation in HS Rugby
A quick look at the HS action around the country.
In Idaho, Rocky Mountain and Eagle will play for the Idaho state championship after both won semifinals this weekend.
Both results were something of a surprise. For Eagle, they came into the semis ranked #4 in the league, while Capital was #1. However, there wasn't that much difference among the top four. had indeed lost to Capital earlier in the season, but only 29-22. They'd finished 4-2. Eagle won Friday's semi 26-19.
In the other semi, #3 Rocky Mountain defeated #2 Mountain View. Both teams had been 5-1 (the same record as Capital), and their previous meeting had been a 30-29 Mountain View victory.
However, this time around, Rocky Mountain won going away, 50-14. Kyle van Tonder led the charge and was named player of the game, while his younger brother, Ethan, was also very strong.
Woodlands Wins Texas
The Woodlands ended their Rugby Texas season 12-0, and gave retiring Head Coach Phil Beck a state title in his final season.
Scores:
Semifinals on Saturday, May 6
Woodlands 29 Cy Fair 25
Dallas Harlequins Colts 27 Westlake 17
For details on the semis, go here.
For details on the final, plus links to video interviews, go here.
Video: Woodlands Players thank their supporters.
Favorites Win at Midwest HS Championships
Saint Ignatius, the #1-ranked will play #6 Penn HS in the final of the Midwest Championships after both won two shortened games Saturday in Elkhart, Ind.
St. Ignatius defeated Bishop Dwenger 39-10 in the quarterfinals, and Notre Dame de La Salette 24-14 in the semi.
HS Championships Update
This is a weekend of crowning champions in high school rugby, and here is the latest:
Jesuit defeated Danville to win the Northern California Premier League. Danville scored a penalty goal early in the game, but then the first half was all Jesuit.
With captain Garrett Kay playing really outstanding rugby all season, Jesuit exploded for four tries and a 22-3 lead in the first half. Kyle Estipular, Joe Marchant, Mason Phillips, and Kay all scord tries. Carlos Ramirez added two conversions and two penalties. Joe Marchant and Dylan Boylan were named Jesuit's players of the game.
Also in Northern California, De La Salle dominated against a physical Central Parkway team, winning 72-10. Flanker Richard Fahiua was excellent. The sophomore has had a strong season, but had a breakout game Saturday.
Boys HS Games May 3-7
Here's the list of games in Boys HS rugby this weekend.
There are a umber of state playoff games. We map out the playoff situation here.
We've also got the Midwest Tournament. On the HS Club level, that's not a massive challenge for Royal Irish, who usually win and are huge favorites this season. In the single-school bracket, it's a bit more competitive, with St. Edward and Brownsburg capable of stirring the pot. They pay each other, though, so that will be down to one of them to do the stirring. Penn HS and St. Ignatius are favored to make the final. After that, who knows?
Check back for scores.
SoCal HS Final Four Plays This Weekend
After playing five rugby games and 230 minutes of rugby over the weekend, the San Diego Mustangs and Coastal Dragons still had a playoff game to play.
The plan had been for the Mustangs and Dragons to meet up during the Pacific Cup (or at least, that was the hope). They didn’t. Both showed well in the tournament, which included two 40-minute games on Thursday, two 40-minute games on Friday, and a 70-minute game on Saturday, but the knockout rounds didn’t cooperate in allowing the Mustangs and the Dragons doubling up on their playoff game.
East Cobb Get MSIRL Win - MSIRL Update
Last weekend South Greenville capped off their MSIRL season with two games in Georgia.
With time limits for age-grade players in place, South Greenville played two 45-minute games on Saturday, one against Phoenix of Alpharetta, and one against the East Cobb Trojans.
South Greenville defeated Phoenix 27-10, and were upended 17-9 by East Cobb. It was the Trojans' first MSIRL victory of the season.
In the second game, the EC Trojans showed tenacity on building pressure and Scored in the 11th-Minute with Junior All American loosehead Muhammed Abdullah dotting the down the try. Flyhalf Declan Wilson converted 7-0.
Massachusetts MIAA Update
The inaugural MIAA season is entering the back half of the schedule in Massachusetts.
Now recognized by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association as a varsity sport, a new tournament setup will also go into effect for teams in the league.
Rather than points and a league table, any team that makes .500 will automatically qualify for the post-season.
Here is a snapshot of where each team in Division 1 currently stands with 3 weeks remaining in the regular season:
BC High: 4-0, (3-0 MIAA)
Wins over St John’s Prep, Xaverian Brothers HS, Belmont, Bishop Hendricken (non-league).
Remaining Matches: Brookline, Lincoln-Sudbury, Needham.
Belmont: 3-1 MIAA
Wins over Xaverian, Brookline, Lincoln Sudbury. Non-league tour of Chile.
Tennessee HS Playoffs!
The Tennessee state playoffs are ready to kick off now that the West Tennessee Conference has completed its playoffs.
It was a very tight semifinal-finals series among the Memphis-area teams. Power Center defeated Freedom Prep Academy 14-0, while Christian Brothers Academy held off Germantown 19-15. It was a tough, hard-nosed effort from Germantown, and in the end took too much out of them, as they fell convincingly to Freedom Prep on Sunday in the 3rd/4th game.
Christian Brothers then won another close one, 24-17 over PCA to win the conference.
Tacoma to Top of Washington
The Tacoma U19 team defeated Liberty HS 29-26 on Wednesday to secure 1st in the Rugby Washington league.
The two teams were guaranteed to be the top two in the league going into the playoffs, so this was as much about pride as anything. Tacoma had beaten Liberty 39-34 in a non-league game. But this game had more meaning.
"it was a good game, and the better team won," said Liberty HS Head Coach Jeff Candler. "We had a tough time with their big runners and their pick-and-go game. We played well, and we could have done a few things better. We hope to see them again in the playoffs."
Paced by two tries from Noah Wright, Liberty ran out to a 19-7 halftime lead. But Tacoma kept at it and scored twice to eventually lead 24-19. Liberty replied with a try and a 26-24 lead. But Tacoma scored late to win it.
Rugby Ohio Latest - Ignatius v Edward and More
A battle of top-ranked teams came off this past weekend as St. Ignatius met St. Edward in Rugby Ohio action.
Ignatius, the #1-ranked single-school team, and St. Edward, the #6 team, faced off, with Ignatius winning 26-17 despite missing some starters.
Also in Rugby Ohio, Archbishop Moeller beat St. Xavier 21-5. Moeller improves to 1-1, St. Edward drops to 2-1, St. Xavier drops to 0-3, and St. Ignatius is now 2-0. St. Edward HS All American Jack Bradfield leads all scorers with 91 points and 15 tries.
For more details on the St. Ignatius v St. Edward game, please go here.
Roosters, Exiles to Maryland Final
We're down to two teams in the Rugby Maryland league after Bethesda and the Maryland Exiles won semifinal games over the weekend.
The Roosters took care of West Carroll 31-14, while the Exiles, which had lost to North Bay just a few weeks ago to get bumped down to 3rd, rebounded with a convincing 45-14 victory over North Bay this time around.
Bethesda will take on the Exiles on the campus of UMBC on May 7 at 2pm.
For Maryland, this will be an interesting clash as the Exiles saw many players from last year shift to the Roosters. The player moves put the Exiles in danger of not being able to field a team. But a strong recruiting effort from the Maryland players got them on the field, and then some heavy-duty coaching got them learning the game.
Kahuku Rides Unity to Pacific Cup Title
Kahuku's ride to a victory at the Pacific Cup was a bumpy one, at least at the start, but in the end the Red Raiders upended some impressive opposition to take the title this past weekend.
After two years of making the final and losing to Danville, Kahuku finally got the better of the Oaks, and did so by playing some of their best team rugby. As usual for the Hawaiian team, finding games has been difficult. Kahuku won the small Oahu league, and barely giving up a point, and then hammered Waimea to win the state.
