The Maryland Exiles Rugby Festival got back on track this month and like a lot of tournaments is looking to rebuild after some COVID speedbumps.

This year saw North Bay, Loudoun County, Mount St. Joseph's, Frederick, and, of course, the hosts MDX take each other on.

Match #1: Maryland Exiles 12 - Mount Saint Joseph's 12

Match #2: North Bay 0 - Loudoun County 43

Match #3: Maryland Exiles 31 - Frederick 22

Match #4: Mount Saint Joseph's 0 - Loudoun County 50

Match #5: North Bay 27 - Frederick 26

Here's a closer look at how each team faired:

North Bay

Led by flyhalf Sullivan King, wing Tacari Sheppard, and hooker Chris Clasing, North Bay battled through a tough game against Loudoun County. LC ran the offloads quite nicely and kept the ball moving. But North Bay's second game against Frederick saw improvement and some good attacking rugby as both teams looked to go wide.

Maryland Exiles

Wing Mark McDowell scored two tries on the day while the forwards enjoyed some solid performances, including No. 8 Evan Miller, flanker Ben Tummonds, and prop AJ Conway. All of them scored at some point.

This was used as a chance to get some younger players some 1st-team experience and they stepped up in impressive fashion. The key was looking to pass and using one's teammates, and they did. MDX ended the day with a win and a tie.

Loudoun County

Flyhalf Taylor Downer led the team with 23 points thanks to nine conversions and a try. Their main strike runners were No. 8 Scott Wilkins and inside center Nick White, who each scored three tries on the day.

According to their coaches Loudoun played some of the best rugby of the season. They upped the tempo of their attack and everyone seemed to join in to support and make it work.

Loudoun's ballhandling was good even as they looked to play quicker, and they thrived in a competition outside of their normal schedule.

Frederick

It's a young Frederick team and the key here for them was playing, regrouping, and playing again. The forwards played tough and were difficult to stop, with loose forwards Carter and Drew McCudney carrying much of the load. Mickey Ayers in the centers impressed as the teamshowed significant improvement throughout the day, which is the point.