National Champs: Charlotte Cardinals

The Charlotte Cardinals have reached the top once again.

After falling to the San Diego Mustangs in the 2025 final, the Cardinals stormed through 2026 undefeated to reach the big game. The defending champion Mustangs entered the match unbeaten as well, setting the stage for a colossal rematch.

Hell of a game. Let’s get right into it.

The Mustangs set the tone early with their beastly forwards. Duck Choy, Carson Bischoff, and the rest of the pack pounded the gain line relentlessly.

It was flanker Shay Farkash who got the scoring started with his signature slippery moves from the phalanx-like Mustangs maul. The conversion missed, but the San Diego boys made a statement and took a 5-0 lead in the first 3 minutes.

Momentum remained in the Mustangs’ hands for the majority of the first half, and the collisions between these two forward packs were nothing short of epic. Farkash nearly broke free for another try from a mid-field maul, but the ball hit the deck on his offload. Then Reese Reiter, the speed demon Mustang winger, sliced through the Cardinals’ kick chase—and may have taken it the distance if not for a terrific Luke Zehmke tackle in the open field.

Sophomore flyhalf Rees Curtis added to the scoreboard by slotting a penalty kick, and the Mustangs held an 8-0 lead midway through the first half.

The Cardinals—despite being down—remained calm and stuck to their structure. Their rush defense gave the Mustangs little breathing room and Luke Zehmke rained down up-and-under kicks without mercy, pressuring the Mustangs’ talented back three. The pressure started paying off.

With defenders in their face, the Mustangs let the ball squirt loose on a broken play and Cardinals winger Zane Schumacher pounced. He activated rocket-mode and blazed into the corner for the Cardinals’ first points on the day.

8-7 Mustangs read the scoreboard at the break. But it felt like the Mustangs had controlled more minutes to that point.

When the second half opened, Cardinals sophomore Markus Guerrero took over scrumhalf duties from the steady hands of Andrew Kuhn. This was no surprise to anyone who has watched the Cardinals this year—they often turn to the jitterbug sophomore in the second half to give the opponent a different style of scrummy to worry about.

For the next 15-20 minutes, nobody scored, and momentum toggled back and forth. The chess match was a thing of beauty. A key turnover here, a try-saving tackle there, this was a war between the best—with only one point separating them. Both forward packs made bone-rattling tackles and refused to let the other side break free. At times the Mustangs looked like they were controlling the tempo, and then the Cardinals would wrestle the metronome right back and pound the gain line.

Luke Zehmke and Max Colson took turns hitting the launch codes with their boot, repeatedly putting the Mustangs’ back three in difficult situations.

Then Aiden McLaughlin happened—and the logjam finally broke.

Colson fielded a kick and launched a counterattack. McLaughlin received the ball wide, slipped a grubber back inside, somehow won the race to his own kick, and dove across the line to dot it down. The crowd went bananas.

This was one of the best individual tries of the entire tournament. Aiden McLaughlin owns elite speed—we’re talking a 4.3 40 yd dash—and having the confidence to call his own number in a big moment was spectacular.

Suddenly, the Cardinals held their first lead of the game 14-8.

Just a few short minutes later, Max Colson showed more brilliance with the ball in-hand. The Cardinals fullback carried into contact and dished the ball to a full-steam-ahead Kai Campbell. Campbell did the rest and plowed into the try zone to put the Cardinals up 21-8 with the clock winding down.

The Mustangs mounted a ferocious attack on the restart. Courtesy of two powerful mauls and a couple Cardinals infractions, Max Marshall plunged over the goal line to close the gap 21-13.

But that would be the end of the scoring. With less than five seconds remaining, Luke Zehmke sprinted backwards to kill the clock and booted it into touch.

Ballgame.

Final Score: Cardinals 21 — 13 Mustangs

The Charlotte Cardinals are the 2026 High School Club National Champions.

Congratulations!

There are many things that make a team special—the athletic talent, the rugby IQ, the grit and determination to close out games. But one thing I’d like to highlight about both the Cardinals and Mustangs is their gentlemanly approach to this noble game. These are two classy groups, from the coaches, to the parents, to the players. They treat their opponents with tremendous respect, and that starts with how they treat one another.

Many of the players on both sides have been playing alongside their teammates since middle school. They're close friends, and they carry themselves with a maturity that should make all American rugby fans proud.

The terrific skills displayed on the pitch are matched by the type of rugby culture being championed by these two clubs.

And we just got to see them compete in a thrilling game at the highest level. What a treat.

Final notes: