GRR: Minnesota Youth Rugby
Edina overcame an early deficit to beat Minnetonka 22-10 Saturday and win the Minnesota Youth Rugby Boys HS championship.
Minnetonka did take a 5-0 lead, capitalizing on some Edina errors. And in fact it wasn't really a comfortable run for Edina - last week they needed overtime to get through the semis against Duluth.
Edina and Minnetonka will meet in the final of the Minnesota Youth Rugby Boys HS championship next week after both won semifinals Saturday.
For Edina, the favorite and defending champs, it was a scary day. Edina ran out to a 12-0 lead, but were stifled by a strong Duluth forward pack and the game ended 12-12.
Edina has been plowing through the Minnesota Youth Rugby season, but they didn’t so much plow this week in the MYR quarterfinals.
The National Championships may be done, but there are still plenty of playoffs to pay attention to this weekend.
In Connecticut, Fairfield Prep defeated Simsbury 36-33 in the single-school semis. Simsbury led 26-12 at halftime, but Prep stormed back to win it in the final minutes.
Up in the frozen north the top teams out of Minnesota are starting to show their hand.
Leading the way may well be Edina, which has started 5-0, including this past weekend’s 39-7 win over Duluth. Edina has scored 299 points and given up 19. Faribault is also 5-0, although two of those wins - 10-7 over Eden Prairie and 8-0 over Western Warriors - have been close.