Herriman Mustangs Look To Run At NAI 7s

The Herriman Mustangs may not be a select side, but they won't be intimidated while playing in the boys elite division at next week's North American Invitational 7s in Salt Lake City.

Jul 26, 2017 by Alex Goff

The Herriman Mustangs may not be a select side, but they won't be intimidated while playing in the boys elite division at next week's North American Invitational 7s in Salt Lake City.

As the 2016 Utah 7s champion, Herriman is no stranger to success, and Mustangs coach Derek Smith likes what he sees heading into the August 4-5 tournament.

"We've got a good team, and while we're missing some players, we expect to compete," Smith said.

Watch NAI 7s LIVE on FloRugby

Herriman's squad for the NAI 7s includes several well-known players. Hooker Gabe Mahuinga has been a force for the Mustangs and for the High School All Americans. Tayson Hammer is an aptly-named pwerhouse up front. Anthony Perschon can play pretty much anywhere in the backs but usually slots in at scrumhalf. Smith said sevens is where Perschon really shines because he has the space to showcase his athleticism.

Jace Kener and Drew McDaniel patrol the outside and are dangerous.

The Mustangs would have liked to use summer sevens season to fold in some football players, but the rugby program has an agreement with the Herriman football team not to use any of its underclassmen until football season is over.

Update

After a little schedule wrangling, the Mustangs have announced that they will have the services of 15s No. 8 and captain Zak Barker. A powerful runner and punishing tackler, Barker was expected to miss the NAI 7s. However, the Mustangs announced after this story was initially posted that Barker will now be available, and he will be a huge addition to an already talented team.

The absence of underclassmen football players does give some other players a chance to show what they can do next week, and Herriman, which finished sixth at the NAI 7s in 2016, has more than enough talent to move up.