Monarch and East will face off in the Colorado Boys High School DI final after both won semifinals this weekend.

Monarch defeated Palmer 29-24 in a physical, hard-hitting game on Saturday. Paced by a strong performance from outside center Zach Bastres, Monarch rode an impressive second half to victory. Palmer led 17-15 at halftime, but Monarch's fitness started to show. Scrumhalf Jordan Savage managed the attack nicely, and No. 8 Max Laychak was powerful in defense.

In the second half, the front row of Evan Williams, Austin Barnes, and Chris Jensen was excellent in the breakdowns and slowed opposition ball down. The three front-rowers helped run two sequences of a large number of phases that ended in tries. Laychak scored the game-winner.

"Our first half was mediocre," Monarch coach Chris Hanson said. "Our second half, especially the last 10 minutes, was excellent."

Meanwhile, East defeated Regis Jesuit 40-5.

"Regis is very well coached and plays a good game," East coach Bill Baer said. "Our boys played really well."

The East lineout was functioning nicely and set an strong platform. Fullback Luke Neureiter was impressive, and flyhalf Sam Adix ran the offense well.

"Both teams kick a lot," Baer said. "And Luke's counter-attacking was really good for us."

This sets up an exciting final for Saturday, May 20.

"A lot of teams in high school rugby can be one-dimensional," Baer said. "Monarch isn't like that. They play really good 15-man rugby. We're really looking forward to the game."