The Eastside Lions wrapped up the regular season in Washington State 7-0 after beating Liberty 46-19 this past weekend.

Eastside went 7-0, scoring 351 points (just over 50 per game) and gave up just 53 (about 7 1/2 points per game) and now look ahead to the Boys HS Rugby National Championships in a little over two weeks.

Scrumhalf/flyhalf Karl Keane, who is going to be attending Saint Mary's, was the player of the game. His persormance was augmented by center Tiai Vavao and Styles Tu'u. Tu'u moved up from the JV squad to fill in at hooker and led a group of young players who filled in for injured regulars. David Hershberger came on at scrumhalf while Keane moved to flyhalf, and Colin Farrell made an impact at openside flanker.

The Eastside depth showed itsel this year. After graduating 40% of the team in 2018 (with those players all playing rugby at major programs), the Lions reloaded.

"What we lost in experience we have managed to replace with character, a willingness to learn and execute, and sheer athleticism," said Eastside coach Ray Keane. "This year's team is finding the line with more consistency than last year’s group, and with more regularity."

Going into nationals, injuries will be a bit of a concern for Eastside, but the Lions could still be in a position to do well. In 2018 Eastside took 3rd in Tier II, beating Brownsburg and Wando, and losing to Aspetuck by a single point.