(JD Black photo)

The Southern California Griffins have been crowned college National All-Star champions after beating the West 32-12 in a heavyweight title fight Saturday night in Glendale, CO.

The Griffins were first to score but didn’t kick clear until the closing stages of the game.

Southern Cal completed its mission, which was to win it all and they did it in style.

In a match befitting a national championship, first one side would strike and then the other would hit right back and that’s how things went for the entire 80 minutes.

“It feels great,” a jubilant Southern California captain Joey Brown told ARN. “They were a hard fought team, they were counter rucking really well and we just turned it on in the second half and came away with the win.”

SoCal fullback Alex Ross started the scoring in the 22nd minute when he touched the ball down over the line, before Duncan Kelm booted a penalty shot. Wing Peter Tiberio then bagged the first of his two tries on the night to set up a 10-0 lead through 24 minutes.

The West hit back via a Hunter Leland score, converted by Charlie Euwema, and that was followed by a Bobby Johns try to make it 13-12 at the break.

The second forty went much the same as did the first, the difference being that the West was shut out while Southern Cal put together three more tries by Nick Regas, Tiberio and Grant Dismuke.

Southern Cal scrumhalf Jamie Purcell was named MVP, while his teammates Ross Silverman and skipper Brown could easily have won that honor.

“It’s hard to describe, I feel relieved,” said Southern California head coach Jeremy Ognall.

“Four years in the making, a lot of hard work but it was a team effort for the whole of Southern California to show that Southern Cal rugby is on the rise. I’m ecstatic.”

A big momentum shift for the Griffins came when two shots at goal by the West bounced off the uprights, misses that kept SoCal in the lead.

“We didn’t execute early on but then we made changes and provided another spark and we were fine,” added West head coach Rich Cortez.

“It’s like any athletic contest, sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. Getting a little tired of these second place finishes.”

ARN’s coverage of the college National All-Star Championships is proudly presented by Down Under Rugby.

Take your game to the next level by experiencing rugby in Australia. For more information visit www.downunderrugby.com

And when in the Denver area, ARN chooses to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Cherry Creek