HS Nationals News
Having been ranked #1 for much of the season, St. Ignatius rolled into Elkhart, Ind. with a massive target on their backs and even more massive expectations.
The comeback didn’t happen this time.
Granite Bay ran out to an early lead and held on against the cardiac kids from Belmont Shore, capping a 12-week run as the #1-ranked HS Club team with a 29-9 victory in the national championship final.
The big favorites and rivals will meet for the Boys HS National Championship school-team championship, but we also saw some surprises on Day Two.
The word after Day One in the HS Club at the Boys HS Nationals was actually two words: “close” and “posts.”
The games were all close on Thursday, and the lesson, especially from the SOC Raptors vs Granite Bay game was, go for posts when you can—the winner has the most points, not the most tries.
Well, as one SOC player said, “lesson learned.”
The Boys HS Nationals Tier II joined the trend and brought a slew of tight games on Day Two.
Everyone seems to have learned the lesson that if you have even just a decent kicker, you take points when they are on offer.
Understanding that and when it’s the right time to line up a penalty was in evidence in the first games of the day.