The Titan Shield was up for grabs this weekend when the current holders of the trophy, St. Augustine, took on La Costa Canyon Mavericks in Southern California's Boys Varsity Red competition. 

Both teams were undefeated this season and the game promised to be a tight affair.

From the kickoff it was clear that Saints were going to do everything they could to get the ball into the hands of the dominant No. 8, Andrew Alves. On his first touch of the ball he burst through the line and went 60 meters, and would have scored if it were not for a great cover tackle by LCC captain and fullback, Patrick French.  LCC were able to repel a persistent Saints attack, and when they finally got their hands on the ball, it was French who joined the line and went through the smallest of gaps to put speedster Jon Ditto away.  The wing raced 40 meters before finally being caught by flyhgalf James Downey. However, Ditto offloaded to center Sean Lumkong, who scored under the posts. Scruhmalf Nico Gilli made the conversion for a 7-0 lead for La Costa Canyon.

The Saints replied, using pods of powerful ball runners to attack the LCC fringes. They strung together at least 12 phases of good, hard rugby and were rewarded when the impressive hooker Vince Camagay powered over to make it 7-5. The game remained a tight affair, with both teams squandering possession and scoring opportunities. LCC hooker Jarod Suzuki went 30 meters carrying three defenders with him. Gilli recycled quickly, sending it wide to center Ethan Smith, who finished well in the corner. Gillis hit the difficult conversion for a 14-5 LCC lead.

For the next ten minutes Saints dominated possession and territory, and were camped on the LCC tryline. They were unable to punch it in and eventually LCC got out of trouble by forcing a knock-on. From the ensuing scrum deep in the LCC half, No. 8 Dean St. Martin picked from the base of the scrum, broke three tackles, and went the distance to score. Gilli made the conversion. LCC 21, Saints 5. The Saints bounced back quickly with a dominant forward assault led by flanker Matt Maci, Camagay, and Alves, resulting in a well-deserved try under the posts.  James Downey’s conversion attempt was charged down by Gilli, who knew precisely when he was allowed to move, and the score remained 21-10.

Both teams brought on fresh legs, and the game remained tight until La Costa Canyon flyhalf Justin Petersen took a quick tap penalty from 10 meters out, moved left, and cut back. He was stopped short, but from the ensuing ruck Jarod Suzuki picked from the base and forced his way over. Gilli made the easy conversion for the 28-10 lead.

That's how the half ended.

The Mavericks relaxed their grip on the game in the second half with repeated handling errors and penalty infringements at the breakdown. It was Maci, Camagay, and Alves who led from the front, and were excellent on defense and attack. James Downey showed impressive skill at the breakdown to steal the LCC ball, and he fed the charging Alves for a 60-meter run. ALves then offloaded to center John Hickman for the try.  Downey opted to drop kick the conversion and made it to bring the score to 28-17 in LCC's favor.

The Saints were reduced to 14 men after a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, but held LCC to no points. Poor LCC tackling allowed Alves to again go for a 50-meter run, but French was able to catch the much bigger man from behind. Then the hard-working Vince Camagay was able to force his way over in the corner with six minutes left on the clock, but this time Downey missed the conversion and that is how the game ended, LCC 28 – Saints 22.

Both teams scored four tries each, but it was the scrappy Nico Gilli’s accurate place kicking that proved to be the difference in the game so it figured he would get the Man of the Match Award.

Las Costa Canyon moves to 3-0 in the Varsity Red, while St. Augustine drops to 1-1-1. Del Norte improved to 1-1-1 with a win over Fallbrook, which slips to 0-3. Cathedral Catholic is now 2-0 after a defeat of Poway (now 0-2), and Cathedral meets up with St. Augustine and Las Costa Canyon over the next two weeks.