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United, Granite Bay to Semis

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United, Granite Bay to Semis

Granite Bay found room to run against South Doyle. Steven Lagorio photo.

It will be United v Granite Bay in the semifinals of the Boys National High School Championships club division, as both won convincing quarterfinal games Thursday at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte, NC.

More photos from Steve Lagorio of Granite Bay (in green) v South Doyle. Click on image to enlarge.
Granite Bay v South Doyle
Granite Bay v South Doyle
Granite Bay v South Doyle

The score was a little flattering to both, but both teams also showed why they are so highly-regarded.

United and Orlando battled in a tight game early on. United scored an early try and Orlando replied with a penalty goal, and even at halftime, Orlando was within shouting distance.

But after that, "we wore them down," said United Head Coach Colin Puriri. "At halftime the players weren't too discouraged by the coaches were a bit disappointed. But in the second half our fitness was a little better and the strength of our forwards pushed them back."

With the forwards punching it up the middle Orlando was forced to commit more and more defenders to stopping them. As a result, the United backs got more and more space out wide.

No. 8 Dustin Tafoya was a powerhouse and prop Mason Wooden joined Tafoya on the scoresheet. And then tries from flyhalf Darian Power and Ben Webber put ti away 34-3.

"We look for small improvements every game," said Puriri. "It's all about getting the boys to execute. We know if each time we're on the field we're just a little bit better we'll be alright."

United will face Granite Bay. The Northern California HS club runners up hammered Tennessee champion South Doyle.

"Hats off to their boys," said Granite Bay Head Coach Jason Divine. "They are tough kids and good sports. But we were able to play some solid defense and move the ball. We just needed to be smart - win our set piece, kick out of our 22 - and we did that."

Among the notables for Granite Bay were a couple of youngsters, as sophomore scrumhalf Jon Rogers was a sparkplug in the second half, scoring a try, while sophomore Eyad Mansour had a solid game at No. 8.

"We will see more of him this weekend," said Divine.

The matchup between Granite Bay and United promises to be one of the best of the tournament.

On the other side of the bracket, West Shore defeated the Kansas City Jr. Blues 32-21. Royal Irish had real difficulty with Phoenix Alpharetta early on, but opened it up in the second half to win 38-10.