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In a physical showdown versus the Las Vegas Blackjacks, both teams fiercely defended their trylines.
The only score of the first half was by Aspen’s Ryan Nichols, who touched down in the 14th minute.
Reminiscent of its semifinal against Pearl City, Vegas came out hungry in the second half and shortly after kickoff caught a quick break up the side. However, the Blackjacks were unable to finish, instead they notched a penalty goal for a 5-3 scoreline.
Due to its fine-tuned defense, Aspen maintained possession for the bulk of the second half and pinned the Blackjacks deep in their end for three more tries.
Man of the Match, Aspen lock Hayden Mexted was the first to cross at 46 minutes and wing Thomas Johnson went diving into the corner to put Aspen ahead 15-3, with just less than 20 minutes remaining.
As the minutes ticked down, the game grew more aggressive and led to yellow cards that put Las Vegas two men down for part of the half and Aspen took advantage.
Mike Hurley all but sealed the deal with the team’s final try with just over a minute left in regulation, but Vegas would have the last word, as Setareki put one down under the posts and the conversion ushered in the final whistle to leave the tally at 25-10.
“Our defense is what we’ve worked on the most all season. We’ve always said that a good defense is just as important as offense because of the opportunities it creates,” Aspen coach Fred Waititi said following the win.
“I’m proud of the team for what we’ve accomplished here – we don’t all live in the same city and some of these guys are driving two or three hours just to get to practice. But the more obstacles we’re given, the higher it seems we rise.”
In the men’s Division II final, the top-seeded East Palo Alto Razorbacks came out firing on all cylinders with their backline darting in for three tries in the first half.
Wing Onesi Havea had back-to-back tries to start off the day and scrumhalf Duke Vabai also touched down at minute 38, in the Razorbacks 22-3 first half showing. Albuquerque’s Diego Sotelo kicked for his team’s only points in the first 40.
East Palo Alto continued its dominance in the second half through a combined effort from the pack and the backline. The tough Razorback defense held Albuquerque from the try zone until the 67th minute when replacement Nick Scholz dotted down.
The Aardvarks steadily chipped away at the steep deficit, but when time ran out it was 46-22 in EPA’s favor.
“It was a great overall team effort from the guys – they worked hard all season and really came together out on the field today,” East Palo Alto coach Rob Holder said. “We also benefited from the great leadership of our captain, Viliami Tai.”
When competition got underway on Sunday morning, Northern State University was crowned the men’s Division III champions. Before six minutes had gone, Northern State and Beaumont each scored a try.
Pinned deep into their own end for nearly 10 minutes in the first half, the South Dakota team held strong until #11 Wade Ginsbach broke away and dove in for a spectacular try.
Northern State led 43-10 close to halftime, allowing just one more Beaumont try just before the break by fullback Grant Vorster.
A refreshed Beaumont side emerged from the locker room in the second half and flyhalf Bijaan Rajapboor chipped away at Northern State’s lead with an early try and conversion. However, Beaumont could not contain the speed of Northern State fullback Chris Campagna-Pinto, who was instrumental in his team’s offensive drive in the second half.
Pinto, who was awarded Man of the Match honors, scored his second try of the day in the second and ran the distance before setting up another superb try for teammate Wade Ginsbach in Northern State’s eventual 67-22 victory over Beaumont.
“It was a great game – both teams play similar styles of rugby and it really came down to making our tackles and playing strong defense,” Northern State coach Sam Mounga said after the match.
“We’re really thankful to be here and especially want to thank the Aberdeen (S.D.) community and the university for their continued support of our team.”
In the consolation matches, after leading just 15-8 at the half, Pearl City pulled away from the Atlanta Renegades and out to a 57-8 final score in the Division I consolation.
Indianapolis upset Roses Rugby (Lancaster) 43-38 in sudden death overtime in the DII consolation, while in DIII, Middlesex shut out Danbury 20-0 in the first half and rolled on to a 49-10 victory.
