GRR: Player of the Week
The procedure wasn’t expected to be a big deal - wrestlers and rugby players, and Jesse Phillips was both, get their noses bashed around a bit - but it ended up being a very, very big deal.
Westlake HS won the Texas state championship by a point, and it would be fair to say that without Ryan Rees, it wouldn’t have happened like that.
Of course, we could say that about anyone on the Westlake team, but we are picking Rees. The Chaps scrumhalf has had a good example to follow. His brother, Alex, is a star scrumhalf at Arkansas, and also filled that role at Westlake.
Among the players to have a big day when the Cape Pirates beat the Tampa Krewe this past weekend in Florida was a prop forward who always delivers.
OK, bad joke - his nickname is “Pizza Man” - prop forward Antonio Pizatella is one reason the Pirates have been steadily improving through the season. He’s an excellent athlete - 6-0, 280, but able to play prop, No. 8, and flanker.
St. Ignatius won their opening game of their Texas tour in large part thanks to some precise kicking and smart game management from flyhalf Andrew Baldado.
The senior flyhalf was singled out by several observers as a key performer for the Ohio state champions, and Head Coach Dan Arbeznik agrees.
When one thinks of girls high school rugby in Texas, alum Meya Bizer is the first image that comes to mind. But Aircraft Charter Solutions Player of the Week Whitney Wilson has been carving out her piece of Texas history. A four-year star at Kingwood, Wilson capped her high school career with another Back of the Year nod, awarded after last weekend’s state 7s championship.