The three championship matchups at the Boys High School Rugby Nationals are set, with Herriman (Utah) taking on Gonzaga (DC) in the Single-School final, Danville (CA) facing Royal Irish (IN) for the High School Club title, and Aspetuck (CT) meeting the San Diego Mustangs for Tier II glory on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, MO.

Single-School

Friday's game of the day was Herriman’s 19-13 defeat of Xavier (NY) in the single-school semifinals. Xavier took a 13-7 halftime lead and was unlucky not to be up more. Herriman scored first in the second half, though, and the conversion put the Mustangs up 14-13.

Then Herriman tacked on one more, this one unconverted, to make it 19-13 with less than 15 minutes to go. Xavier banged its way to Herriman’s doorstep over and over and over again. First, the New Yorkers won an attacking 5-meter lineout and mauled right up to the line, before getting held up. Then it went several phases off the scrum before the Knights knocked on.

The Mustangs never cleared their lines, and Xavier took the ball back in the breakdown. Going on 20-plus phases and multiple set pieces with their heels on their own try line, the Mustangs' defense held strong. Xavier would get one more attacking possession with no time left on the clock, but a Herriman tackle into touch ended the game.

Herriman moves on to face Gonzaga in the semifinals. The Eagles rode the boot of Owen Sheehy to a 27-17 defeat of Jesuit (CA). He nailed two conversions and a penalty and dotted down two tries, accounting for a game-high 17 points. Both teams had kept key performers rested on day one, and that decision may have been a wash. The game was contentious early and late, but ultimately the young Marauders couldn’t keep up with Gonzaga’s firepower.

SF: Gonzaga 27, Jesuit 17
SF: Herriman 19, Xavier 13
Cons. SF: Fishers 31, Greenwich 19
Cons. SF: Penn 19, St. Edward 12

HS Club

In both semifinals, the winner built an early lead and had to protect it. Danville jumped out to a massive lead it had to protect against Granite Bay (CA). The game was essentially over by halftime, as the potent Danville backline was too much to handle.

Two tries were scored by inside center Jason Severance, and he had his hand in another, hitting a hard line tight off Cal Liebowitz, getting tackled at the 5-meter line, and offloading to Luke Ogburn for a great team try. Danville’s backline accounted for all of its points, except the six off the tee of Luke Freeman.

(All photos by Adam Smith)

The Royal Irish similarly built a big lead and held off Fort Hunt (VA) to win 26-19. First, hooker Stuart Earnhart ricocheted off multiple would-be tacklers, spinning his way through each one’s grasp, to score from short range. Inside center Nick Frederick—who had injury concerns leading into the tournament—dotted down the next quickly in support. A teammate gashed the Fort Hunt defense up the middle but the fullback made the tackle. Frederick reacted quickly, snatching the ball out of the tackle area and darting under the sticks.

The Irish would add one more try before halftime. All three were converted, putting the Indianans up 21-0 at the break. The Irish would tack on another try in the second half, while Fort Hunt pumped in three. One came from all-everything scrumhalf Conor McManus, who converted two of the scores, to pull Fort Hunt to a more respectable scoreline.

On the consolation side, South Bay (CA) eked out a 27-26 win over United (Utah), thanks in large part to one of the biggest individual performances of the day, as Dylan Ramirez scored a hat trick of tries. The Spartans each one of them, too, as they converted just one of five team tries.

SF: Danville 34, Granite Bay 14
SF: Royal Irish 26, Fort Hunt 19
Cons. SF: KC Jr. Blues 45, Rhinos 19
Cons. SF: South Bay 27, United 26

Tier II

Aspetuck continued its improbable march toward a Tier II championship with a 16-15 win over the Eastside Lions (WA). The Washingtonians were on the wrong side of the whistle early, allowing Aspetuck to take some shots at goal.

Once the Lions settled into their systems, they got the upper hand, taking a 15-11 lead into the final few minutes. Aspetuck was pinged for a penalty, and the Lions could have gone for posts and made it a seven-point game but chose to run it. Aspetuck ripped the ball from Eastside and ran it all the way the other direction for the game-winner at the death. That sets up a final with the San Diego Mustangs, who throttled Wando (SC) 45-0.

On the consolation side, local favorite St. Thomas Aquinas (KS) felt hard done by in the quarterfinals, losing to Wando by a single point. On Saturday, the Saints delivered the same feeling to Union (NJ), edging the Mudturtles 22-20.

The boot of Sam Masterson paced Aquinas to victory. The Saints scored just three tries to Union’s four, but Masterson stroked over two conversions and a penalty to his opposite’s zero points from the tee, making the difference. Masterson added a try, too, contributing 17 of the Saints’ points. The win sets Aquinas up with a meeting with Brownsburg (IN) to settle fifth place.

SF: Aspetuck 16, Eastside 15
SF: San Diego Mustangs 45, Wando 0
Cons. SF: Brownsburg 26, Phoenix 10
Cons. SF: Aquinas 22, Union 20