All to Play for in NorCal
Championship games are on the horizon in Northern California, with two tight rivalries on the slate.
Northern California Premier
SFGG hadn’t played De La Salle in the regular season, the game had been postponed and never made up. But the result turned out OK as those two teams ended up #2 and #3 in the semifinals and played each other anyway.
SFGG put together an excellent performance to win 34-24. Head Coach Tony Wells was happy, overall, with his team’s defensive performance and their fight.
Leading the way is the extended Maguire family, which had three players in SFGG’s starting pack and one on the bench. Hooker Gavin Maquire was exceptional on the day and center Christian Calero had a big day. Both scored tries.
Flanker and captain Eion Burke continues to lead the way, especially on defense.
Close Games Across the Board in NorCal Premier Season
The RugbyNorCal Premier Varsity league wrapped up its regular season with three games, all competitive.
Marin improved to 2-4 with a 26-13 victory over Motherlode. And while Motherlode was winless this season, they didn't shy away from playing any of their opponents and pitched-up every time.
De La Salle edged Granite Bay 33-29 thanks to tries from Tyler Holmberg, Brayden Park, Lee Vaouli, and Harrison Kapust. With the score 26-19 for DLS, Granite Bay got tries form Talan Fairbanks and Owen Januario to nudge the Grizzlies ahead 29-26. However, with time winding down Kapust was able to score with Gianluca Deneroff converting to seal the game.
That result left DLS undefeated at 5-0, however, their game with SFGG was never played, and as a result Granite Bay, with a 5-1 record and more bonus points, is actually in 1st place.
NorCal Latest: Granite Bay, DLS, Jesuit Win. SFGG Looms
Granite Bay remains on top of the Rugby NorCal Premier league after they edged SFGG 29-26 to remain unbeaten.
Two tries from flanker and captain Carter Keller paced a Granite Bay side that did well at controlling possession.
A try from Keller and one from center Talan Fairbanks staked GB to a 12-0 lead. SFGG scored late in the first half and added two converted tries in the first 10 minutes of the second period to take the lead at 19-12.
But penalty trouble plagued SFGG.
“We had like 20% of the ball,” said Head Coach Tony Wells. “We have been good defensively; we’ll hold ‘em for four or five or six phases, and then we’d be offside or we would not roll away. We’ve got a real problem with penalties and it hurt.”
Granite Bay got a penalty goal and a yellow card for SFGG put them on the back foot a bit.
Granite Bay Wins Close One in NorCal
Northern California’s Premier league is now underway and Granite Bay put up an impressive marker with a 29-22 victory over Jesuit of Sacramento.
Senior Carter Keller was outstanding for Granite Bay. The openside flanker showcased a high work rate and was, said Head Coach Chris Miller, “a tackling machine.”
Co-Captain Abe Antrobus played both flyhalf and fullback and was effective, especially with his goalkicking. Meanwhile Deacon Ogden led the attack at scrumhalf.
It was a tough battle for both teams. Jesuit took a 17-7 lead into halftime led by captain and flyhalf Jack Patock, who has been enjoying some excellent form.
Eastside of Washington Shuts Out Touring Granite Bay On a day marked by looming Washington skies over Highland Middle School, the Eastside Lions Varsity welcomed the touring Granite Bay Rugby Club in what was anticipated to be a thrilling encounter. Granite Bay, on a tour of the Pacific Northwest with Irish Rugby Tours, brought a considerable number of supporters, setting the stage for an intense showdown with Eastside, a team riding high on a winning streak across Washington and beyond. The match kicked off with both teams displaying high levels of energy, exchanging tactical plays on the wings and through the center field. However, early opportunities were squandered by knock-ons and a lack of discipline at the offside line; nerves, perhaps, in this much-anticipated matchup.
De La Salle Downs Granite Bay in NorCal In a clash of two of the strongest teams in Northern California, De La Salle (GRR #2 School Team) defeated Granite Bay (GRR #9 HS Club). This was a very tight battle throughout, but the DLS defense held sway, limiting Granite Bay to just the one penalty goal in a 19-3 win. De La Salle were coming off a well-take victory over Shawnigan Lake—De La Salle Defeats Touring BC Team—but had a couple of injuries coming out of that game, too.
Granite Bay Plays For Stricken Teammate
In a rugby match against CenCal Rugby on April 30, 2023, Granite Bay front-rower Tyson Wasser sustained a blood clot in his neck that quickly turned into a stroke, and while Wasser is thankfully alive, he has a long road ahead of him.
During the match, Wasser started behaving erratically—he was losing function on his left side. Two players from the opposing team, Thomas Finocchio and Boston Bradford, noticed and, while play was going on, abandoned the game to assist Wasser and call for help. Their selflessness and quick thinking helped save Wasser's life. Because they identified a problem before anyone on the sideline could see, help came more quickly, and paramedics were called more quickly, and that care ultimately saved Tyson Wasser's life.
Tyson Wasser joined the GBR Program in February 2023 and immediately become part of the team.
Granite Bay Holds Off Danville in Rugby NorCal Boys Final
The Premier HS Boys Final in Northern California unleashed a high level of rugby and competitiveness as Granite Bay held off Danville to take top honors.
These two teams had played to a 26-26 tie earlier in the season so it's no surprise that this game was close as well.
Granite bay ran out to a 17-3 lead in the first half and were seemingly in control of the match. But some over-aggressiveness led to two yellow cards for Granite Bay.
That meant the Grizzlies were down a player for 20 of their final 35 minutes, and it mattered.
Major HS Results This Weekend
Playoffs and major games in Boys HS rugby this weekend so far.
Northern California Playoffs
Danville defeated De La Salle for the second week in a row, this time in the NorCal Premier semifinals, 35-12. It was close into the second half, with Danville leading 14-12 with 25 minutes left. But the Oaks backline started to find some space and pull away late.
Granite Bay followed up with a 63-14 dismissal of a very tough Jesuit team.
"We play as a team and that's what counts," enthused Head Coach Chris Miller. "We peak when we're supposed to, which is now."
Avion Ganse, Talae Tuimaunei, and Jackson Launey all led by example in this game with captain Jared Quenga crucial to the effort. Juniors Will Walker (vice captain), Cole McCracken, Masi Koi and Marcus Maveety were all very solid on the day.
Granite Bay, Danville to Top of NorCal
Granite Bay and Danville are both unbeaten in Northern California league play and will be the top two going into the playoffs.
Danville defeated De La Salle 22-7 in a game that really had no bearing on the playoff seeds. Still, it was De La Salle's Senior Night so they were up for it. DLS got an early try from Chris Biller but some good play from Ethan Younger set up an an answer from Danville. A nice counter on a clearance kick that failed to make touch put Danville ahead at halftime. Superb defense from the Oaks pretty much sealed the game after that, and they scored twice while DLS had a player in the sin bin.
But with Granite Bay winning it was clear Danville would be #2 anyway and DLS #3 and so this coming weekend they will meet again on the campus of Saint Mary's College.
Jesuit won twice this weekend to vault up to #4.
NorCal Latest: GB, Marin, Danville
Granite Bay, Marin, and Danville all won in impressive fashion in Northern California's Premier HS league this weekend.
In addition, De La Salle won via forfeit over Lamorinda.
Danville over SFGG
SFGG has been enjoying a very strong season but they ran up against an oak tree on Saturday, with Danville winning 55-5.
"The team performed well overall," said Danville Head Coach Kort Schubert. "Consistent offensive and defensive pressure allowed us to score in different ways – charged down kicks, wing breakaways, quick taps ... The players have bought in to our plan."
Ganville got tries from six different players, three in the backs and three in the forwards. The players, said Schubert, "are committed to getting better at executing our pattern and improving our skill levels each week."
Around the Nation in HS Rugby March 11
California’s single-school competition enters its final phase, and some key cross-border games highlight the weekend; here’s what’s been going on.
Trips Tours and Cross-Border Games
Defending national single-school champs St. Ignatius ran out to a commanding 43-0 lead over LaSalle College High of Pennsylvania and held on to win 57-0.
The Ignatius defense, coupled with their ability to hold onto possession for long periods, helped produce the shutout. Sophomores Jake Papesh and Conor Bender, along with senior Cole Sutkus, led a strong forward effort and were imposing in contact. Ryan Putka continues to be the pendulum that keeps the backs in rhythm, but the second half slowed down some as Ignatius was hit hard with penalties and cards.
Top HS Clubs Tie in NorCal
The big clash in Northern California Boys HS rugby saw nothing settled.
Longtime rivals Danville and Granite Bay played to a 26-26 tie Saturday.
Photos by David Barpal
It was a well-attended game with plenty of physicality. Granite Bay expected to win this game and came away disappointed.
"Danville took it to us and minimized their mistakes," said Granite Bay Head Coach Chris Miller. His Grizzlies, on the other hand, didn't bring the right level of energy against a tough opponent.
Heating Up in NorCal
A quick nod to the growing group of single-school HS teams helps the Northern California season heat up, but there's more going on, too.
Coming off a bit of a jamboree of games at Jesuit Sacramento, several of the school teams are pitted against each other looking toward an early-season single-school cup before the rest of the season is capped off.
The event at Jesuit was a big success. De La Salle and Jesuit brought over 70 players while Bishop O'Dowd and newer team St Francis showed solid depth, too.
Every team got two games shortened games with good referees and the Jesuit parents fed all the players.
Strong Early Showing by Granite Bay
Granite Bay is picking up where they left off, as the defending national HS Club champions won comfortably over a tough Wolverines team 60-10.
Even emptying the bench does little to easy to pressure form the Grizzlies as Granite Bay is experiences and deep.
"We only had six seniors last year," noted Granite Bay Head Coach Chris Miller, adding that the GB JV side won NorCal's JV championship over Danville and those players are champing at the bit to show what they can do on the Varsity squad.
In addition, 2022 starting flyhalf Jared Quenga, who broke his leg while on tour midseason last year and missed nationals, is back healthy. Returning to rugby also is Spencer Patton, who played for Miller in middle school before taking a break from the sport. He is an impressive athlete.
