USA Rugby National Guard Boys’ High School and Boys’ and Girls’ Under-19 Championships

SANDY, Utah – In the second day of competition at Rio Tinto Stadium, United secured its first National Championship crown as it beat fierce rival and perennial favorite Highland Rugby, breaking its winning streak and stopping Highland from earning its 20^th National title.

The game began with both Utah sides performing their own versions of the ‘haka’, and with the crowd clearly fired up, it promised to be an action-packed encounter.

United started the brighter of the two sides and some good movement up the middle saw Jared Whippy break through the defense to give them an early advantage. With the atmosphere buzzing inside Rio Tinto, United kept up the pressure and scored twice more to go into half time with a 17-0 lead.

Highland came out looking determined to improve on their first half performance and they got off to the start they needed when prop, Moses Peraza picked up the ball from the ruck and ran nicely in for the try.

The momentum switched hands completely and Highland pressed again. A smart run from Joshua Anderson saw the defending champions close in on United’s lead. The next 10 minutes would prove crucial in this incredible tie.

United regained some energy and pushed Highland back to their five meter line. After a couple rucks, Brian Mehl dove spectacularly in for the try to recapture the lead for United. With the clock running down, Highland dug deep to find a response but firm defense from United denied them a way through.

The final whistle blew, and it signaled the end to a sensational match between the nation’s best two teams. United winning 22-17 in the end.

“Highland is a tough team and we hoped they wouldn’t come back in the second half, it proves the strength of the team that they are.” United Head Coach, Colin Puriri said. “We’ve prepared for this moment all year, after being runners up for the last two years we closed the gap today and proved ourselves as worthy champions.”

In the Boys’ High School division, it was a first-ever all eastern team final between Xavier and Gonzaga. The early stages saw the teams feeling each other out, but some nice play saw Gonzaga break away and take the lead. However, some good kicking and good vision allowed Xavier’s winger, Chris Mattina to get the ball over the line for a try and even things up. The Knights kept up the pressure and ended the first half 22-5 ahead.

Xavier carried their momentum from the first half into the second and more wonderful ball movement put Mattina into space who then sprinted in for another try. Gonzaga were clearly depleted and Xavier looked to turn the screw. A swift move from the Knights freed John Gearity who pushed over the line to put the fixture beyond any doubt.

Gonzaga pressed hard, and a late consolation try saw the game end 32-10 in Xavier’s favor.

“Gonzaga came out with a lot of momentum and confidence, our guys were fired up and they were going to give everything they had. As soon as we threw down our first try down it really kicked off.” Xavier Head Coach, Mike Tolkin said.

When asked about how the rivalry played out on the field Tolkin responded by saying “It played out great, I have huge respect for Gonzaga. It was a clean and hard game, just what I expected. The fact that there were two eastern teams in the final says a lot about what we’re doing over there, we are getting more and more success.”

In the day’s earlier Boys’ High School match-ups, Fallbrook impressively defeated Utah locals, Snow Canyon 24-7 to claim fifth place. Brownsburg and Westlake tied 15-15, but due to their three tries, Brownsburg picked up the victory to pinch seventh place. And in the final match of the consolation bracket, Jesuit let out their frustration of yesterdays defeat on Charlotte Catholic, winning 61-3 to secure third place.

In the Under-19 Boys’ division, Kent staged a sensational comeback and produced possibly the tournaments biggest upset by defeating Belmont Shore 20-19 to snatch third place, while the Westerville Worms finished their campaign with a 24-15 win over Union County to claim fifth place honors. In the battle for seventh place, Alpharetta Phoenix produced another upset by defeating Downingtown 15-10.

Meanwhile, following the first day of Girls’ Under-19 competition, the final day matchups have been set. The powerful Sacramento Amazons will face Fallbrook in the final at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Amazons started their day with a comfortable 31-3 win over a hard working West Carroll team, and then shut out Brookfield in a highly impressive 40-0 victory, to advance to the final.

When asked about how his feelings on reaching the final, Coach Sefesi Green said “It’s great, we’ve been knocking on the door and we lost in the semis last year. The girls are very excited to play in the stadium – we knew we would have to win both games to be able to do so.”

Defending champions, DSHA, avoided an upset in their first game as a late try saw them eke out a 10-7 win over a brave Kent side. However, their luck was to run out against Fallbrook who had earlier crushed Lowland 74-0. Fallbrook showed great discipline and determination to earn an 8-5 win and a trip to tomorrow’s final.

“It was very exciting, this is our third season and the girls’ have come along away. We played with a lot of heart, and the girls’ did what they had to do. Tonight is all about staying focused and doing this again tomorrow.” Assistant Coach, Craig Pinnell said.

In the remainder of the Girls’ Under-19 competition, West Caroll will take on Kent in the 5th/6th place match on Sunday.  The 7th/8th place contenders include Portland and Lowland, as each finished the day at 0-2, respectively. Lastly, the 3rd/4th place match at 11:15 a.m. will see Brookfield battle it out against DSHA.

For more information on the USA Rugby National Guard Boys’ High School and Boys’ and Girls’ Under-19 Championships, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/Championships.

Day 1 Results – May 21, 2010
Boys’ High School

Xavier 43, Westlake 10
Charlotte Cath. 17, Snow Canyon 12
Jesuit 16, Fallbrook 7
Gonzaga College 8, Brownsburg 5
Xavier 24, Charlotte Catholic 12
Snow Canyon 18, Westlake 5
Gonzaga College 17, Jesuit 15
Fallbrook 12, Brownsburg 5

Boys’ Under-19

Katy 22, Westerville 15
United Rugby 50, Alpharetta Phoenix 0
Highland Rugby 38, Union County 0
Belmont Shore 33, Downingtown 0
United Rugby 41, Katy 6
Westerville 47, Alpharetta Phoenix 3
Highland Rugby 31, Belmont Shore 0
Union County 15, Downingtown 10

Day 2 Results – May 22, 2010
Girls’ Under-19

Brookfield 19, Portland 15
Sacramento Amazons 31, West Carroll 3
DSHA 10, Kent 7
Fallbrook 74, Lowland 0
West Carroll 26, Portland 5
Sacramento Amazons 40, Brookfield 0
Kent 45, Lowland 0
Fallbrook 8, DSHA 5

Day 2 Results – May 22, 2010
Boys’ High School & Under-19

Westerville 22, Union 15
Alpharetta Phoenix 15, Downingtown 10
Kent 20, Belmont Shore 19
United 22, Highland 17
Fallbrook 24, Snow Canyon 7
Brownsburg 15, West Lake 15 (Brownsburg win with most tries scored)
Jesuit 61, Charlotte Catholic 3
Gonzaga 10, Xavier 32