Berks County Sevens Squad = PA's Final Boss 🏉🏆

It was physical. It was fast. It was 14 minutes of exciting rugby!

Winners of the 2021 and 2022 sevens titles, Berks County boys rocked and rolled their way to another PA sevens state title versus LaSalle on Sunday.

You can watch a replay right here.

FINAL SCORE: Berks 15 - LaSalle 7

Here are our takeaways from the Pennsylvania championship game:

LaSalle played some solid defense throughout the first half of the game, corralling Berks’ attack with decisive tackles and good coverage across the pitch. There were opportunities for them to score, but most of LaSalle’s line breaks didn’t quite make it through - it felt like they were always just one offload away from scoring. LaSalle’s #10 ran with his hair on fire every time he touched the ball - talented kid - but Berks kept him from busting loose.

Berks County has a reputation around PA for being very physical. That aggressive style of rugby certainly looked effective during the 7s championship game. Berks bulldozed the gain-line repeatedly and then swung the ball wide to their speedy playmakers all game. Sophomore Nate Bourassa scored on the last play of the first half, putting Berks up 5-0. Junior, Damian Mager, ran with some zip-sauce and had a good tackle-breaking run for a try in the second half. But the try that basically put the game away came from junior, Brendan Zimmerman: Berks won a LaSalle scrum and Zimmerman quickly darted weak-side for Berks’ third try of the game. Brilliant decision by him and well executed.

The game felt close even with Berks up by 15 points, and LaSalle did eventually score a try (and made the kick!) with about a minute left on the clock. But alas, it was too late for a comeback. Ultimately, Berks made the most of their opportunities during the brief 14 minutes, and they did a good job of keeping LaSalle’s playmakers at bay until the game was essentially decided.

Congrats to Berks!

A few more game notes:

🕒A great second half adjustment by Berks made a big difference: choosing to keep their attack closer to the gain-line rather than lining up deep. This forced Lasalle to commit to their ball carriers instead of drifting, which opened up space along their line.

💪Great individual effort: With no time left on the clock in the first half - and the game tied at zero - Berks’ sophomore, Kaiden Boyer, broke through LaSalle’s defense for a long run before getting tackled inside the LaSalle 22. Seeing that he had no support, he showed great awareness in getting back to his feet and picking up the ball TWICE to buy some time. Sure enough, the other Berks players caught up to action and one phase later they scored a try to end the half. Boyer also had an excellent sideline tackle earlier in the game that likely prevented LaSalle from scoring.

🏉Drop goals remain elusive for many teams around the country. Berks failed to complete any of their three points-after attempts while LaSalle DID slot their one attempt for the extra points. Seems to me that practicing this skill should be a priority for any team that wishes to excel at sevens since it plays a larger role in the sevens format. 15s is a different story, but you could make an argument for implementing more drop goals there as well. But that’s for another article.

And lastly…

🎥 RugbyPA deserves a shout out for their high quality live-stream. Not many state rugby organizations are doing as good a job as RugbyPA has done the past few years. The video quality was top notch, as it was for the Spring 15s State Final. I appreciate being able to hear the fans cheering - it gives the game a fun energy. Having an accurate digital scoreboard on the screen was the cherry on top for an excellent viewing experience. Thanks, RugbyPA! You da bomb!