At least they got the game in before the snow came.

East HS defeated Regis Jesuit 10-5 in the Rugby Colorado Boys DI championship game Saturday at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo. It was a cold, rainy day and that didn’t lend itself to smooth ball-handling, and certainly both teams had their share of knock-ons. That put scoring at a premium, and in fact the teams changed ends with a 0-0 halftime score.

Photos Steven Cohen.

With flyhalf Adam Leonard lofting massive high balls, the East chasers were able to put Regis under some pressure, and work for a scoring opportunity. Center Jack Martin-LInsley put East up 3-0 with a penalty goal, and then the benefits of playing in Infinity Park came into play.

First of all, the stadium turf was in very good shape for the series of games played this weekend. But the added benefit is that the stadium has a large scoreboard screen. That was put to use after East lock and captain Ryan Herberman chased after a long attacking kick and dove into in-goal to touch the ball down just as a Regis Jesuit defender reached for it. The ref went to the big screen to check on who had touched it down first, confirmed it was Herberman, and awarded the try. Martin-Linsley was good on the conversion, and East led 10-5.

Regis Jesuit replied, scoring in the corner to make it 10-5. And then the final several minutes were played right on the East HS line. Regis kept working and finally went over in the corner. The referee signaled try, but decided to check the call on the big screen. Upon further review, he saw that East scrumhalf Chris Musselman had got his arms under the ball and held it up. No try.

Regis Jesuit had one more chance to get it over, but couldn’t, and East held on.

“I have nothing but good things to say about Regis Jesuit, they are a great team,” said Was HS Head Coach Bill Baer. “I know we would both have liked to play a wide open game, but the conditions made it difficult. The weather had a major influence, but I think Adam Leonard’s kicking really helped us.”

PAC defeated Colorado Springs 38-7 to take 3rd in the state. Meanwhile, in DII, Fort Collins held off the Titans 26-24.