Of course the Boys HS Rugby National Championships were held over the weekend, but some more games happened, too.
MIAA
In Massachusetts, we're getting close to the playoffs. BC High put in a huge result over Belmont HS. Belmont has been hit with injuries and it showed.
BC High opened up the scoring quickly, moving the ball through their structure and finding space on the edges. Ten different players scored tries, with captain Mikey Smith scoring two and Gavin McNicholl going 8-for-10 on kicks.
"I'm pleased with our pace of play and discipline," said BC High Head Coach Paul Carty.
Also in MIAA, Weymouth showed they remain a top D2 team with an overwhelming win over Brookline last week and Marshfield this past weekend. Cam Aieta continues to be a try-scoring machine for them.
New York
McQuaid Jesuit remains undefeated in Upstate New York after defeating Fairport. Owen Begemann, Travor Patel, Bryce Weber, George Kaltenbach, Brady Herrema, and Caleb Clark all scored tries for McQuaid. Charlie Raymond scored two and Will Whelehan converted six in a 40-0 shutout. McQuaid is now 7-0.
We have the RugbyNY playoffs coming up.
Ohio
It's an unfortunate fact that the playoffs in Ohio in the Varsity bracket were not moved to accommodate attendance to HS Nationals. This was true in 2023, when St. Ignatius had to play four games in four days—three HS Nationals games and then, on Sunday, their state semifinal match. Requests to move that game at least a day to Memorial Day (which other states have done) were not approved. This year, two teams were in this boat, Ignatius and St. Edward. For a very deep Ignatius team, they managed to beat a physically demanding Moeller side 34-7. Early on Moeller defended their line doggedly but finally Ignatius prop Garrett Butchko bulled over. The Wildcats were able to exert some pressure after a couple of penalties to get over a second time. Then a straight pass from the scrum to wing Tommy Passarello put him over.
In the second half wing Jimmy Collins scored on a pick-and-go after some solid team work. And then a long kick from Moeller rolled dead which set up an attacking scrum. Ignatius worked the short side and a cutout pass from scrumhalf Mark French put hooker Liam Burrows over. Moeller answered with an excellent chip-and-chase, but their indiscipline continued to hurt them and Ignatius wrapped it up with the forwards crashing through on a tap move.
For St. Edward, which played in their first HS Nationals in eight years, this was a bridge too far. Favored over St. Xavier, but not by a ton, the Eagles' depth was sorely tested on this fourth day. Even one day's rest might have made a difference.
St. Xavier has been enjoying one of its better season, however, and when Ed's got into penalty trouble—they were shown several cards and ended the game with 13 players on the field—it seemed like St. X would carry the day. Flanker Landon Smoot's try late in the first half put St. Xavier ahead to stay at 12-5 (with Nick Zaring's conversion). St. X added a penalty goal and then another. St. Edward got a try but it ended 18-10. Certainly there seemed to be some frustration in that game.
Next week's finals then will see Olentangy vs Northern Force among the Club teams, Medina vs Warrior among the School teams, and then the Varsity championship will be Ignatius vs St. Xavier.
Indiana
Unlike Ohio, Rugby Indiana accommodated their representative to HS Nationals, with Pendleton playing their semifinal a week before everyone else, and then playing their final on Monday. Penn did well to make this final, beating Mudsock 36-15. On MOnday, Pendleton took down Penn 38-7 behind two tries from Andrew Evans and a strong game from flyhalf and captain Nick Trout. Jacob Rowley, Reese Reddington, Peyton Pollocl, and Nate DeRolf all touched down for the Arabians as they took the state title.
