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In the Boys’ High School division, it was a Sacramento showdown as Jesuit High School returned to the championship round to face rising club, Christian Brothers in a hard-fought match.
Before the close of the first half, the perennial powerhouse Jesuit built a 14-0 lead; however, Christian Brother refused to back down after the break.
Although Christian Brothers could not quite get the ball to dot down in their favor, the team returned to the field to play a disciplined and patient second half, holding Jesuit to just one more try for a final score of 19-0.
Despite the end result, Christian Brothers coach Sean Lyon could not be prouder of his team, which has made immense developmental strides in its mere five years of existence.
“We were the underdogs and met our archrival in the final. In the Sacramento area, we have stiff competition week in and week out,” said Lyons.
Jesuit coach John Shorey shares Lyon’s sentiments: “Sacramento is a rugby hot bed, and the teams in the area are constantly building and improving to stay ahead of one another,” he said.
“This team worked really hard, they played above their rate, and they have better rugby skills than years past.”
Jesuit flyhalf Brandon Kraft was named the tournament MVP for his leadership on the field – scoring tries and kicking for field position – as well as off the field, as a competitor respected by his teammates, coaches and opponents alike.
In the Boys’ U19 championship, Larry Gelwix’s Highland Rugby team put forth a strong physical effort and steadily grew its lead to a final 32-0 end tally in their match against rival Utah United.
“United is a tremendous team, what a credit to Utah for having the two top rugby teams in the country,” said Gelwix, following his team’s second consecutive U19 victory and 19th championship title win. “This team played the entire tournament with incredible heart and focused on all three games.”
In earlier Boys’ High School matchups, New York’s Xavier High School shut out Gonzaga 24-0 to claim third place honors. After being knocked into the consolation bracket following a tough 33-5 loss against Christian Brothers, Penn High School picked up some momentum in day two, defeating Brownsburg RFC 19-12 to claim fifth place.
St Thomas High School (Texas) picked up its first win of the tournament to nab seventh place in a 29-22 finish versus Charlotte Catholic.
In the U19 Boys’ division, the Kansas City Jr Blues (Mo.) captured third place with a 15-7 win over West Shore United (Pa.), while LA Cougars finished their 2009 Championship outing on a high note, defeating the No. 3 seeded Westerville Worms 24-12 to claim fifth place honors for the second consecutive year.
In the battle for seventh place, it was Chapel Hill’s Highlanders Rugby out in front of Union County 11-7.
Meanwhile, following the first day of Girls’ U19 competition, the finals day pairings have shaped up in similar fashion to 2008. Defending champions Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee) will again meet Lakewood (Ohio) in an all-Midwest Championship final on Sunday.
DSHA started its day with a tough 10-8 win over a powerful Summit High School (Colo.) team, and muscled out a 17-5 win over Maryville (Tenn.) to advance to the final.
Lakewood overcame a size mismatch against the aggressive Sacramento Amazons, eking out an 8-5 tally – just enough to emerge to the final against DSHA.
In the remainder of the Girls’ U19 competition, West Carrol will take on Rutland in the 7th/8th place match.
The 5th/6th place contenders include Summit and Fullerton, which each finished the day at 1-1. Finally, the 3rd/4th place match will showcase the Sacramento Amazons versus Maryville.
