Surprisingly Close Games in State Finals
Surprisingly Close Games in State Finals
We've got some state champions and some state finalists decided, and it's surprising how close all of the games were.
Virginia
Fort Hunt edged the Richmond Strikers 38-37 in the Rugby Virginia final, capping off a short but very competitive top-tier competition in that state.
This was an intense, well-played game throughout.
Richmond would rebound from Fort Hunt scores by unleashing their dangerous backs and exploiting space out wide.
"They did a great job at disrupting our attack structure and getting us off schedule," said Fort Hunt Head Coach Dale Roach.
Fort Hunt took a 12-0 lead only for the Strikers to strike back with two converted tries. Fort Hunt responded and led 26-20 at halftime.
Richmond started the second half with two tries to lead 32-26. Fort Hunt scored twice after that and led 38-32. The final five minutes of the game were spent with Richmond bashing against the Fort Hunt tryline. Finally, with time expired, the Strikers went over in the corner. Conversion drifted wide, and Fort Hunt held on 38-37.
Southern California
In SoCal the San Diego Mustangs had, somewhat, dominated the competition, outscoring opponents 57-11 (on average). And they had beaten Belmont Shore, the #2 team, 29-5. But this weekend Belmont Shore unleashed a stronger performance and put the Mustangs under plenty of pressure. The Mustangs did survive, holding off Belmont Shore 27-24.
Tennessee
In the one relatively lopsided final, Raptor Rugby, led by halfback combo of Gavin Trussell and Jake Orefice, defeated 901 41-10 to win the Volunteer State title.
North Carolina
The Charlotte Tigers won fairly comfortably over Clayton 53-17 to win their state title.
Colorado
In another one-point final Denver East held off Valor Rugby 26-25 to win the Colorado state championship.
Northern California
SFGG defeated Granite Bay 32-21 to win the Northern California Premier final. Granite Bay were slammed with injuries in this game, as their three co-captains all had to leave the game.
Meanwhile, SFGG has been steadily improving through the season and ran in six tries. Their normally solid goalkicking didn't add to the tally all that much, however, as they converted just the one, but their tenacity on defense saw them through.
In the NorCal Gold final, on a 90-degree afternoon, Lamorinda and the San Mateo Wolverines played a wild won. The Wolverines came in the favored team but were perhaps a little surprised by Lamo, who sent powerful prop Kekoa Mayo-McKnight and then speedy wing Sharky Tamale over for two well-taken tries. When No. 8 OC Lehner added a third score, the underdogs had built an unexpected lead against a San Mateo side, whose only previous defeat had come against the top-ranked Charlotte Cardinals.
The Wolverines regrouped before halftime, and they showed their ability to score quickly, getting through three times to tie the match 17-17.
San Mateo's dangerous center, Kingston Keaiana, threatened to break Lamorinda's spirit with two lightning-quick tries after the second-half restart. But Lamo refused to surrender, with senior center Elliot Lewis slotting a crucial penalty kick and the dynamic Tamale crossing for his second try to keep the scoreboard tight.
With just two minutes remaining and the score at 29-27, Wolverines fullback None Vakalahi broke Lamorinda hearts with what appeared to be the championship-clinching try. However, the resilient Lamo side responded once more as Lewis converted another pressure penalty to make it 36-30.
In a frantic finish, Lamorinda secured possession from the kickoff, desperately searching for the converted try that would deliver an improbable victory. But their championship dreams ended when Vakalahi forced a turnover and cleared the ball to secure the title. Lamo flanker Elliot Gerbelot and Tamale were selected by San Mateo as the best players on Lamorinda.
Lamorinda now looks ahead to the Best of the West tournament in Utah, while San Mateo will play in the HS National Championships in Indiana.
Florida
The Okapi Wanderers white side, their more experienced team, had only lost one game during the regular season, and that was to a very handy Key Biscayne Rats squad. These two met in the Florida final Saturday. Key Biscayne opened the scoring with a tap penalty move that moved the ball through six nicely-executed passes for a try. Okapi answered with a towering high ball that the Rates struggled to control (and the would-be catcher got little help from his teammates) and the chase was on. Jonathan Arteta grabbed the loose ball and was over.
The Wanderers forwards crashed over for a second try, which was converted and then followed up with a penalty goal for a 15-5 lead.
In the second half the Okapi forwards once again finished off a movement to lead 20-5, but Key Biscayne answered on a brilliant grubber and chase. The conversion was good but at 20-12 the Rats needed to score twice to win. They didn't, and Okapi had their revenge and the state championship.
Pacific Northwest
Eastside and Liberty won their semifinals this weekend: Eastside, Liberty Book Spots in Rugby Washington Final
A lone try separated the #2 and #3 teams in Rugby Oregon, as the Bend Blues edged the Beaverton Barbarians 43-38. Top-ranked Eastside Tsunamis beat summit 42-17 to join Bend in the final. Those two teams last met April 12, with Eastside winning 34-7.
In Idaho Owyhee edged Eagle HS 31-29. The scoreline certainly demonstrates how competitive the match was and the breakdown was central to the contest.
With the score 24-24 and time winding down, Eagle scored to take a 29-24 lead. Owyhee came back to work their way into Eagle territory, and after a penalty mauled it over. That tied it 29-29, and the conversion won it.
Utah
Overtime Ending for Utah Final
Provo took the Tier 2 final and Olympus took Tier 3.
In the 10 top-divisional state finals, six were decided by a try or less, including one in overtime. Two other games were decided by eight points and 11 points. Take out the Tennessee and NC finals and your average score of state finals this weekend was an astonishing 31-26.
