Charlotte Cardinals 45 — 10 Gonzaga

Well, 65.79% of you got this one right! That’s the percentage of votes for the Cardinals to win from last week’s poll.

This game was very close at first.

Neither team touched the other’s try zone for the first 20 minutes. There was a moment in the early going when it looked like Gonzaga would be first to score—they marched down the field, coming up only inches short when the ball was knocked forward on the try line.

Then, a flurry of tries came in quick succession. First, a score by the Cardinals, who were operating with 13 men due to two yellow cards.

Gonzaga responded quickly to the Cardinals’ first try, taking advantage of an attacking lineout and punching it in after several phases of quick recycling. But the Cardinals chased a Max Colson kick deep into Gonzaga territory, earned a scrum, and a couple phases later they had extended their lead to 14-5.

That was as close as it got the rest of the way. The Cardinals scored several more tries over the next 25 minutes, and by the time Gonzaga sniffed the try zone again, the score was already 33-10 in the Cardinals’ favor—a large gap to overcome, especially against this Cardinals team.

The second half belonged to the Cardinals. They played on the front foot and didn’t allow Gonzaga to get into a groove.

Credit the Cardinals’ defense—they played an in-your-face style that snuffed out Gonzaga’s space when they had the ball. A bright spot was a beautiful scoring run from Gonzaga fullback Ethan Heim, but aside from that, Gonzaga struggled to maintain a consistent attack.

When the final whistle blew, the Charlotte Cardinals emerged victorious 45-10.

Final thoughts:

• The Cardinals look formidable. They have the enviable combination of speed, size, rugby IQ, and depth. Most teams have two of those—the Cardinals have all four.

• Gonzaga may have been beaten in this one, but we’d guess that most top Single Schools would fall to the Cardinals right now. And Gonzaga seemed to stumble whenever they had momentum… it wasn’t their day today. They’ll bounce back.

  Side note: We can’t wait for the Cardinals to play Woodlands in a couple weeks at the Friendship Cup. 👀

Xavier (NY) 39 — 12 Staples (CT)

Xavier keeps on trucking, but it wasn’t without some challenges.

It was a drizzly and wet day in New York, and Xavier Head Coach Greg Norris noted that “the weather wreaked havoc on ball-handling for both teams. The ball was quite slippery.”

Injuries have also taken a toll on this talented Xavier team, with several key players nursing bumps and bruises. The plus side is that several reserve players were able to put in solid playing time—and they played very well—a boon for the Xavier coaching staff. You can never have too much depth in this game.

Michael LiVigni authored an excellent full recap of the game, which you can read here. In short, Xavier Coach Greg Norris was very pleased with how his lads displayed an ability to lead on the field and make their own decisions. He also mentioned that Staples will be “quite formidable” given a little more time to get into form.

Berks (PA) vs Aspetuck & Conestoga

Berks has started off red hot this year. 🔥

Their first match, a 12-0 victory over the MontCo Bucks, didn’t tell us too much about their quality—only because we don’t have much intel on the Bucks—but this past weekend showed us that Berks is for real.

First they won a very tight contest against Aspetuck, one of the best club teams in Connecticut. This match was a grind, highlighted by superb play from captain and 8-man Josiah Boyer. The guy is a unit (6’ 3” 270lbs) and he put up a hat-trick, scoring three tries for Berks and leading the team with his bruising style of play.

As you’ll see in Coach Greg Stelluti’s quote below, Berks had to come from behind against Aspetuck, scoring two tries in the last 15 minutes to take the lead before the final whistle.

The very next day, Berks saddled up again and got the job done against Pennsylvania rival Conestoga. This one was a shutout victory. The Berks boys put up 35 points on Conestoga while allowing zero. Impressive, especially since it was the day after a physical battle with Aspetuck.

Pennsylvania should be very competitive this year, and early on, Berks has shown they’re a team to watch. They can put up points (see: 57 points in a 24-hour stretch), and they have the depth and grit to play on back-to-back days.

Up Next: Berks faces Gregory the Great this weekend in a rematch of the 2023 State Final. Should be a good one!

CBA (NJ) 33 — 32 Fairfield Prep (CT)

Christian Brothers Academy is making a case for being a team to keep an eye on this season. Fairfield Prep is a formidable foe, and CBA relied on a relentless defense to keep their playmakers in check.

CBA Coach Pat Moroney had this to say about his team’s effort:
“It seems ridiculous to say in a high-scoring game, but defense won us the game. Our straightforward system focuses on taking the opposition's time and space away, and the Lads executed it very well. We knew they had a size advantage, with their pack significantly bigger than CBA's, so we planned to put as much pressure on them as possible from the breakdown out.”

It was a tightly contested match from start to finish, and the lead changed no less than four times (!).

But CBA held strong, stayed disciplined, and found the inner strength to pull off an impressive victory against a very talented Fairfield Prep team.

Van Jones (winger) was a force, scoring three tries in the second half. His last try was the most memorable, as he plowed his way into the try zone while one-on-one with a defender. This brought the score within a point. A conversion by teammate Fionn Moroney put CBA on top—and a few minutes later, the final whistle blew. An incredible finish for CBA, and a great start to their season.

CBA’s Man of the Match: Jordan Young, Inside-center.
Young was a beast all match, especially on defense where he stifled Fairfield’s attack with aplomb.

Another player to shine a spotlight on🔦:

This is straight from the Coach’s mouth—Nico Briggs balled out.

“We have to recognize Freshman Hooker Nico Briggs, who put in an incredible 70 minutes showing resolve in his second-ever varsity game.”

Granite Bay (CA) 29 — 22 Sacramento Jesuit (CA)

NorCal is a meat grinder. There are high caliber teams on the schedule every weekend, and this particular weekend featured an intense matchup between two such teams.

It was a tight match from start to finish, and Sacramento Jesuit held the lead at halftime 17-7. Jesuit’s flyhalf, Jack Patock, was incredible throughout the game while his trusty fullback Maverick Nagel showed off his footwork with several shifty runs through the Granite Bay defense.

But Granite Bay finished the game with their hair on fire—taking advantage of key Jesuit mistakes and turning them into points.

Granite Bay captain and senior, Carter Keller (flanker), was a “relentless tackling machine,” according to Coach Chris Miller. Fellow senior and co-captain Abe Antrobus (flyhalf/fullback) was lethal in the kicking game, especially in the second half, and junior Deacon Ogden “did a fantastic job leading the attack” during their comeback in the second half.

Ultimately, Granite Bay took home the ‘W’ with a well fought effort that coach Miller described as an “epic match.”

Up Next: Jesuit plays Danville this weekend, while Granite Bay faces off against Motherlode.

Mustangs (CA) 84 — 12 OMBAC (CA)

If you only watched the first half of this game, you might wonder what happened in the second half. OMBAC is not a bad team, they’re aggressive, physical, and fast—in fact, OMBAC scored the first try in this game in the opening minutes.

So what happened in the second half? In short, the Mustangs started clicking and cleaned up a few things in their attack.

In the first half, the Mustangs looked like a bunch of very good players playing their first game together this season. Several speculative passes showed an attack that needed a little more grease.

OMBAC seemed to play most of the first half with ‘advantage’ in their favor—and the Mustangs learned that this particular referee has an allergy to any tackles made above the knee-caps. (lots of interesting “high tackle” calls)

But the Mustangs adjusted in the second half, cleaned up their attack, and damaged the scoreboard relentlessly. The defense was never the problem—there was rarely a missed tackle by the Mustangs—so once the attack started grooving it became a score-fest.

Lots of players contributed to the scoring—we lost track to be honest—but a few players stood out on the film: Spencer Huntley was decisive at scrumhalf before moving to the wing for a bit, Shay Farkash had several tremendous runs and tackles, Dylan Trower dictated field position with his rocket-launcher foot, and James Curtis was a threat at the 13 position—putting in a nice try in the second half.

The score was not close in the end, with the Mustangs on top 84-12. Oh, and they did it while playing down a man for 40 minutes due to a red card.

Takeaway: The Mustangs have begun their 2025 campaign—and they’re going to be a scary opponent for anybody.

Speaking of opponents, the Mustangs have a massive clash coming up this weekend against Belmont Shore. It’s going to be can’t-miss material, and likely our Match of the Week. Stay tuned.

St. Ignatius (OH) 60 — 27 St. Edward (OH)

The first round of the Cavoli Cup is in the books!

Take your eyes off that score line for a second—I need to tell you something.

This game was actually very close.

Right up until the final nine minutes—when it was 36-27 for Ignatius—these two were neck and neck.

Here’s some quick notes on the game:

The game started in St. Edward’s favor, with two quick penalty kicks for a 6-0 lead. But St. Ignatius responded minutes later, taking a 7-6 lead.

Ignatius then went on a scoring spree, fueled by strong runs from Tommy Passerallo and Mark French, making it 29-6 at halftime.

The wind played a factor, taking the ball for a ride on every kick. Emotions ran high at times—nothing ugly, just classic rivalry energy.

St. Ed’s came out firing in the second half, scoring two quick tries to cut it to 29-20. Hard running and clean ball handling made it look like momentum was shifting.

After another try apiece, it was 36-27 Ignatius. Then Ignatius opened the throttle.

The final nine minutes were, frankly, chaotic. St. Edward’s defense struggled, and Ignatius’ playmakers took advantage. But both teams will watch the film and see areas to clean up.

A flurry of late tries sealed it—St. Ignatius rolled to a 60-27 win.

Overall, this was a hard-fought affair that lived up to the hype. The score does not tell the full tale—95% of this match was high intensity, edge-of-your-seat rugby.

St. Martins 41 — 0 St. James Academy

This was a mid-week game last week, and although the score wasn’t close we still wanted to highlight something.

First off, St. James is a team on the rise. They did very well in their first two games—both wins with a dominant scoreline. Then they had a couple close losses to St. Thomas Aquinas and Wichita.

But this game wasn’t close—it was 41-0 in a shortened game. And we don’t point that out to rag on St. James, but rather because it caused us to raise an eyebrow…what’s St. Martin’s all about?

Last year, St. Martin’s went to Nationals and acquitted themselves just fine—losing a close game to Herriman in the first round was the highlight, as injuries took their toll on the depth-hungry squad.

This year, they have many of their starters back and they’re off to a great start. The St. Martin’s crew fairly dominated at the recent Lindenwood tournament and then followed up with this victory over St. James.

St. Martin’s Head Coach John Prezzia isn’t shy about delivering great soundbites, and his take on his team’s performance against SLUH might be our favorite quote of the month:
“It was ‘TV Rugby’. My guys played incredible.”

Love it. But the real question is—who’s gonna be the first team to change the channel?

Next weekend, St. Martin’s will have a great test when they play St. Edward (OH). We’ll be keeping an eye on that result.

Rye (NY) 40 — 17 Jesuit New Orleans (LA)

Rye played their first game of 2025 down in New Orleans—and had not only an excellent game, but also a fun team bonding experience to start the season.

While the score may suggest a lopsided event, Rye Head Coach Jim O’Hara was quick to dismiss that notion, saying “It was a back and forth game, and they actually scored right out of the gate.”

Going down 0-5 in the opening minute isn’t exactly how you want to start your first game of the season, but the Rye boys got to work and responded with excellent work throughout the rest of the game.

The score stood at 18-5 in favor of Rye at halftime—still a close game. But throughout the second half, Rye started slowly pulling away, eventually finishing with a final score of 40-17 in Rye’s favor.

Everybody received high praise from Coach O’Hara for their effort, with the performance of their forward pack, and their kicking game being the highlights of the day.

Jack Anderson, Rye hooker, had a great game as a first-time starter, with Coach O’Hara beaming “he stepped up big-time.” Anderson’s front-row partner, senior prop Owen Saya also received a shout-out for his leadership and play during game.

Overall, the Rye squad was able to fly home to New York all smiles.
Nice Weather ✅
New Orleans Cuisine ✅
First “W” of the season ✅

Rock Rugby (TX) 47 — 14 Westlake (TX)

This result is notable because Rock Rugby had never beaten Westlake, so this was a great result for them. Rock Rugby is grooving right now, holding a 5-1 record and currently placed 15th in our rankings. Pretty impressive stuff.

Tries in this match came from Braden Templeton (2), Joaquin Maldonado (1), Jonah Mussey (1), Rylan Mathis (1), and Beres Owens (1). They really spread it around!

If you’d like to see the scoring highlights from this game, check out this instagram video.