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The nail-biting match was seemingly the perfect capstone to a weekend full of triumphs and upsets at Rocca Field.
Rolling off the momentum of their 17-7 semifinal victory over the Denver Barbarians, Belmont Shore took an early lead over Aspen and maintained control 10-5 heading into the break, but in the second half, it was truly anyone’s game as the sides went try for try in the first seven minutes.
With less than three minutes left to play, the Tigers’ lead had stretched to 12 points, however, Aspen kept the defensive pressure on and came up with two big tries before the end, with Teddy Omondi kicking both extras to put the Gents on top with no time left.
“This is unbelievable. To be honest, it took a minute for the win to sink in,” said Aspen coach Andrew Katoa following the victory.
“I just want to thank Fred Waititi, our 15s head coach for his help with our journey here. He and I have been working for years to bring Aspen back to the height of the national stage and now we’ve made it.”
Aspen’s Mike Palefau was named the tournament MVP.
“We knew Mike would be great for us, but the other guys really came together and made it happen for us. This whole weekend was based on strong defense that helped created offensive opportunities,” said Aspen coach Waititi.
The battle for third place also brought a nail-biting conclusion, as the Denver Barbarians bounced back from a 12-5 halftime deficit to lead NOVA until the game’s 12th minute, when NOVA’s PJ Komongnan went the distance for a try and the successful conversion put the score at 19-all, where it remained until fulltime, despite the Barbos best efforts. NOVA rolled on to win 24-19 two minutes into sudden-death overtime.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came in the Plate Final, where the defending champion Chicago Lions were dealt a harsh upset by the #5 seeded underdogs from Daytona Beach. Chicago led 7-0 heading into the break and looked to be rolling to an easy victory, but in a full team effort, Daytona stepped up and scored three unanswered tries in the last five minutes to bring the final tally to 17-12.
Tournament hosts San Francisco Golden Gate put on an impressive display in the Bowl Final versus OMBAC, shutting out the San Diego side 27-0 in a great team effort before a supportive home crowd. SFGG earned its place in the Bowl final after knocking off Scioto Valley 31-10 in the semis, with Emmanuel Palamo leading the way for his team with 11 points in the victory.
Meanwhile, in the battle for seventh place honors, Boston capped off its weekend with a big 33-7 victory over the Maryland Exiles. Eleventh place went to the Bay Area’s Olympic Club, which shutdown Scioto Valley 38-14.