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Stars & Stripes Boys Wrap

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Stars & Stripes Boys Wrap

The Stars & Stripes week ended for 44 highly-regarded high school boys rugby players Saturday with the Stars & Stripes game in Greeley, Colo.

The Stars fell behind early and then came back in a high-scoring game to win 42-38. But more than that, the game was the culmination of a week of work with their respective coaching staffs.

“We wanted to broaden the players’ horizons and expose them to different patterns and approaches,” said Stripes Head Coach Michael Engelbrecht. “I thought the players were really open to new ideas and new ways of playing.”

Engelbrecht and his staff of Justin Goonan and Alex Houser also wanted to make the players more tactically aware - tat took about 35 minutes of game time to establish.

“We were not so good in that area,” said Engelbrecht. “In the first half we were a bit too bold in getting out of our own 22. That resulted in two intercept tries. So they didn’t really take in that message until it hit them in the face.”

Defensively, overall, both teams struggled to maintain defensive shape and fell off a few tackles, but offensively they showed off some impressive team play with the ball in hand.

Ruben De Haas of the Little Rock Stormers in Arkansas was impressive for the Stars and flanker Makai Clearwater of Del Norte HS in Southern California. Clearwater was perhaps a less well-known player in the Stars & Stripes group, but he was very active on defense, worked effectively in the open field and in tight, and ran good lines on offense. He was named player of the game.

Also for the Stars, Zach Heistercamp was very strong at blindside flanker, while flyhalf Anton Grigoriou and wing Luke Beinstock continued their strong form.

For the Stripes, Leki Fotu was immense at second row and partnered nicely with his fellow Herriman lock Kenton McPeak. Westlake’s Bobby Butchofsky out of Texas captained the team ably at flanker.

The teams scrimmaged earlier in the week in a non-contact session that allowed each to figure out more what the other was doing. This allowed for some planning, and set things up for an exciting game.

For the Stars coaching staff, the win was pleasing, but the week was also about development.

“We had a pretty young team and we wanted to work with the players to put them in position to succeed later,” said assistant coach Sean Duffy. “It was a good event, a good camp all week.”

 

  Boys Stars    
  Name Position Club/School State
1 Joe Fezza Prop Jupiter Florida
2 Nic Franklyn Hooker New York New York
3 David Ainuu Prop Prairie Washington
4 Beau Falco Second row SCV Tigers California
5 Joshua Warnock Second row Peninsula Green California
6 Makai Clearwater Flanker Del Norte/Poway California
7 Line Latu Fullback Peninsula Green California
8 Bronson Teles No. 8 Katy Texas
9 Ruben DeHaas Scrumhalf Little Rock Arkansas
10 Anton Grigoriou Flyhalf San Clemente California
11 Luke Bienstock Left wing Greenwich Connecticut
12 Mika Kruse Inside center Bullard California
13 Micah Stewart Outside center Wando South Carolina
14 Dmontae Noble Right wing Warrenton Virginia
15 Zach Heisterkamp Flanker St. Edward Ohio
Reserve Will Brennan Back Seattle Washington
Reserve Owen Duvall Forward Coast Dragons California
Reserve Dante Lopresti Forward Gonzaga DC
         
Head Coach Jeff Bonnett      
Asst. Coach Sean Duffy      
Asst. Coach Shawn Pittman      
         
  Boys Stripes    
  Name Position Club/School State
1 Pule Faitau Prop KC Jr Blues Missouri
2 Oscar OckoMichalak Hooker Santa Monica California
3 Bubba Fuga Prop Liberty Washington
4 Kenton McPeak Second Row Herriman Utah
5 Leki Fotu Second Row Herriman Utah
6 Bobby Butchofsky Flanker Westlake Texas
7 Ian Crilly Flanker Fallbrook California
8 Sosefo Mailangi-Ray No. 8 Back Bay California
9 Cale Williams Scrumhalf New York New York
10 Christian Dyer Flyhalf Jesuit California
11 Saia Lavulo Left wing Islanders California
12 Ryan Bradfield Inside center St. Edward Ohio
13 Adam Channel Outside center Belmont Shore California
14 Sam Chapman Right wing KC Jr Blues Missouri
15 Patrick Madden Fullback SD Young Aztecs California
Reserve Soh Nakayama Back Greenwich Connecticut
Reserve Matthew Mairowitz Back Weston Florida
Reserve Kelly Fernandi Forward Prince William Virginia
Reserve Carter Hunchik Forward Plano Texas
Reserve Brandon Cole Forward Torrey Pines/SD California
         
Head Coach Michael Engelbrecht      
Asst. Coach Justin Goonan      
Asst. Coach Alex Houser