GRR: Naples
In a game that turned out to be quite the upset, Cardinal Gibbons defeated the Naples Hammerheads 34-14 to win the Florida Boys High School final.
Naples had not lost all season before Saturday while Gibbons had had to pull themselves out of a 0-3-1 start, winning five straight to take it all.
It will be Cardinal Gibbons vs Naples in the final of the Florida Rugby U19 championship after those teams won semifinal games Saturday.
Naples, aka the SWFL Hammerheads, edged a rebuilding but tenacious Jacksonville team 22-19 to make it through the semifinals. For the Hammerheads this was their 7th straight victory in Florida competition and the third decided by less than a try.
We're down to four boys HS teams in Florida after this past weekend's quarterfinals and the quarters bore out what coaches have been saying—this is a very competitive league.
An upset or two and the end of one regular season (no, seriously) highlighted Saturday in boys HS rugby.
It's time to bring back our Gamebreakers column as boys HS rugby is now in (almost) full swing.
We saw some excellent clutch plays and strong performances around the country this past week, from West Virginia out to Southern California. Here's a look at some special efforts from High School rugby around the nation: