Boys HS Playoffs Rundown

Boys HS Playoffs Rundown

More champions will be decided in boys high school rugby this weekend as state tournaments continue across the country. Here's a rundown of the notable results in each state so far and a preview of the upcoming matchups.

May 10, 2017 by Alex Goff
Boys HS Playoffs Rundown
More champions will be decided in boys high school rugby this weekend as state tournaments continue across the country.

Here's a rundown of the notable results in each state so far and a preview of the upcoming matchups:

Arizona

Red Mountain won another championship over Ahwatukee earlier this spring.

California

In Northern California, Jesuit has already taken the NorCal title over Danville. De La Salle took the DI championship, and Bishop O'Dowd won the DII crown.

Meanwhile in Southern California, Back Bay exacted revenge over Belmont Shore in the semis, and the Irvine Rhinos took care of a San Diego Mustangs team that was run down after a lot of rugby the last couple of weeks.

"They work hard," Rhinos program director Derek Nellmapius said of his team. "The guys work on their skills and their strength and conditioning. We run an academy system, so we pick the guys up from school. They study with us and train. It's coming together, and they're playing as a team." 

Down 21-7 with 10 minutes to go against the Mustangs, the Rhinos scored two tries to tie the semifinal and four in overtime to run away with it. They will have a difficult nut to crack in the Back Bay Sharks. 

"We are going to try and keep plugging along and play our structure that has gotten us this far," Back Bay coach Jeff Bonnett said. "I am really proud of this group, as we've been blessed the past few seasons with multiple high school All-Americans -- some who just won a national title with Saint Mary's. We've not had any this year so we had to really get back to coaching, and the boys have responded and bought in and put in the work."

Colorado

Up in the mountains, the playoffs are continuing after the top seeds all won last weekend. It's been an interesting season in Colorado with three teams -- East, Monarch, and Palmer all virtually equal, and Regis Jesuit chasing them at No. 4. None of the quarterfinal games were especially close, but the semis promise to be tight.

East, getting a solid season from Patrick Berzins at flanker, was barely the No. 1 team in the regular season. The Angels take on Regis Jesuit. Backed by Joe Rusert-Cuddy, the Palmer Terrors have not shied away from anyone. They take on the team they played for the DII title last year, Monarch. Led by outside center Zach Bastres, who has a nose for the tryline, and impressive fullback Warner Wyckoff, Monarch, like Palmer, has shown an ability to compete at the higher levels.

The DII quarterfinals start this weekend, too. The finals will be Saturday, May 13.

Delaware 

Salesianum were edged by Archmere 17-12 on May 6 in the Delaware state final.

Georgia

Phoenix of Alpharetta defeated East Cobb to win the state title.

Hawaii

Kahuku won the state championship over Waimea in April.

Idaho

Eagle upset Capital in the semis last week, and Rocky Mountain won big over Mountain View behind player-of-the-game performances by Kyle and Ethan Van Tonder.

Those two face off in the final this weekend and in fact also play for the JV championship.

Militia out of Magic Valley will play Mano out of Burley in the Idaho DII boys final.

Kansas

St. Thomas Aquinas is already the state champion.

Louisiana

Jesuit of New Orleans is the champion, defeating the Bayou Hurricanes in the final at the end of April.

Missouri

The Kansas City Jr. Blues are the champs but had to weather a second-half comeback by SLUH to do it. The Blues led 21-0 at halftime, and fullback Eric Angrisano kicked two key penalties as St. Louis University High scored four tries to make it 27-26. Angrisano was perfect on his kicks and needed to be for KC to hold on for the win.

Maryland

The Maryland Exiles defeated Bethesda  17-12 last week in the final. 

Nevada

The Las Vegas Black Hawks take on Las Vegas Ruby Academy Saturday for the state championship. The Black Hawks won handily the last time these two teams met.


New Mexico

Rio Rancho plays La Cueva for the state 15s title, and the Albuquerque Owls play El Paso Cathedral for third. New Mexico also has a 10-a-side league for teams with smaller squads. St. Pius plays San Juan, and Los Alamos plays El Paso in the semis in that division. The winners meet in the final. 

North Carolina 

Myers Park defeated Hough to take the single-school league. This weekend, Charlotte Catholic plays Union County for the open final.

Oregon

There are two championships in Oregon, with a single-school (varsity) playoff, and a high school club playoff. In the varsity league, it's more up in the air than it has been in a while. Defending champ Union actually lost a game. The Titans are seeded third in the semis and will take on Newberg. Top-seeded Portland Pumas will play Battle Ground.

"This time of year we've got a couple of guys banged up but, then again, so does everyone," Newberg head coach Rick Rogers said. "The Pumas look like the class of the field, but they have to get by a physical Battle Ground team. For us, Union has always been a challenge. If we trust each other, play as a team, and minimize mistakes, we should be fine."

Newberg lost earlier in the season to Union but by only a point -- 32-31.

In the high school club bracket, Beaverton and Valley Rams both ended up undefeated at 7-0. (Note every team plays each other). Beaverton faces Bend, a team it beat handily two weeks ago, and the Rams play a Northside Panthers team it defeated 26-21 on April 22.

Pennsylvania

The Keystone State has playoffs for single-school teams and club teams. On the club side, Doylestown has been very impressive, knocking off some high-profile opposition. But the Dragons won't be in the playoffs this weekend because they will be at nationals a week later.

Certainly don't count out Media, which has been solid. Coaches Tom Flaherty and Paul Downey have got the players working hard, including standouts Martin Alimonda and Carter Pierucci.

"We have been very successful in retaining possession with strong play at the breakdown, led by a very strong tight five," Media assistant coach Larry Elias said. "But the cornerstone of our play thus far has been our aggressive defense. It is something the coaches emphasize in practice all the time. We have been tackling strong, and our back line has been very attentive to lanes and everyone is starting to communicate effectively."

This weekend, a resurgent West Shore plays North Pitt. Media plays Downingtown. Kiski Valley plays Kutztown, and Iron Lions face Elizabethtown.

On the single-school side, Cumberland Valley has been excellent, and the top-ranked school team out of Pennsylvania. West Allegheny is probably No. 2, but St. Joe's Prep or Gregory the Great could shake things up.

Cumberland Valley vs. LaSalle
West Allegheny vs. Unionville
Gregory the Great vs. Woodland
Malvern Prep vs. St. Joe's Prep

South Carolina

Wando won the state in convincing fashion.

Texas

The Woodlands came back to beat Cy Fair in the semis and held off the Dallas Harlequins Colts in the final last weekend. Full report here.


Utah

After the first round of playoffs last weekend, United and Kau Toa advanced. Then on Wednesday night, United was upended by Genesis 36-22, while West Valley took care of Kau Toa 51-5. West Valley and Genesis play for the HS Club final.

In the single-school bracket, Highland and Olympus advanced last week, and Herriman now plays Olympus while Highland takes on Snow Canyon. Those are the semis slated for Friday, and Saturday will be the final.

Washington

The playoffs will start in a little over a week, with Tacoma and Liberty the top two teams in a four-team playoff that should include Budd Bay and Rainier.