🏟️Montana Invitational
Bozeman, MT
🗓️April 24-26

🏟️Gonzaga Classic
Alexandria, VA
🗓️April 25-26

📍Herriman HS
⌚️April 17, 8pm MST
📺 Watch here (GOLS)

When the top teams in Utah face off, your attention is required. Herriman and Cavemen are the standard in the Beehive State (had to google that nickname 😂) and they have a short, but intense, history.
Last year, Cavemen bumped Herriman out of the state playoffs in a 33-20 dogfight. The Herriman lads haven’t forgotten that game—so yeah, this is a rematch you don’t want to miss.

Earlier this year at the Puriri Invitational, Cavemen again defeated Herriman 24-17. But that was several months ago, and both these squads have evolved and found their groove.

This one is a “friendly”, so there aren’t any state titles on the line, but you’d be foolish to think that means it will be lacking intensity.

Here’s what Herriman head coach, Jeff Wilson, had to say about the upcoming game:

“We are very excited for what should be a tremendous match. Cavemen are a very talented program, and they have added former Vienna coach Kendall Erickson to what was already a very good staff. We have not had a close game in the regular season this year, so it will be great to be tested by a national-caliber team. 

The group of boys we have this year is a special group, and they love challenges and opportunities to prove themselves. The close loss last year just made them hungrier and put a big chip on their shoulder, and they love to compete, so they are looking forward to this game as an opportunity to show the strides that we have made with that mindset of not being satisfied with 2nd place and continuing to find ways to get better and raise our standard for how we play the game.

These are the kind of games that you love to play, and it will be a great atmosphere with it being Friday night under the lights and senior night to boot. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to this incredible group of seniors, but we want to honor them by playing our best with it being their final home game.”
—Jeff Wilson, Herriman head coach

Well said, coach. No notes. 👌

Montana Invitational & Gonzaga Classic

Both of these happen next weekend, April 24-26.

The Montana Invitational has a really intriguing lineup in the Elite division, with Herriman and Sacramento Jesuit headlining their respective pools. It’s also a chance for us to see how rising teams like Missoula (MT), Highland (UT), Kahuku (HI), and Liberty (WA) stack up against top competition. Last year, we heard many reports that this event was phenomenal—from the field conditions to the game action. We anticipate the same this year.

The Gonzaga Classic is a perennial talent showcase on the East Coast. This year, the event moves to Alexandria, just outside downtown DC, and the competition promises to be exciting. Gonzaga fields a couple squads, and teams like the SC Barbarians and Fort Hunt (VA) will be battling it out on the pitch.
We’ll be at this one in person—looking forward to the action!

Highland (UT) — Several years removed from a dominant run that saw this team have a motion picture released about them, Highland is undergoing a bit of a revival. We’ve heard from several sources that new head coach Haloti Liava’a has this group focused and executing better each week. That’s terrific to hear. Highland back in the national convo? We’re here for it.

East (CO) — Denver East are the reigning Colorado champs, so it’s not like this is earth-shattering news—but some recent results jumped out. Last week, East traveled to Kansas City and took down St. Thomas Aquinas and KC Jr. Blues in back-to-back games. Both those squads are preparing for a trip to Nationals next month. Maybe Denver East deserves a little more love.

Greenwich (CT)
The Greenwich lads jumped 10 spots in the Riot Rankings this week after their 33-17 win over rivals Fairfield Prep. They now sit at #11 on Rugby Riot and #12 with Goff. Not too shabby, lads 👊

SD Mustangs (CA)
The Stangs continue climbing with each victory. This week sees them crack the top ten for the first time this season—reaching #10 exactly—after defeating Red Mountain on the road in Arizona. With a couple more season games, before playoffs and Nationals, there’s plenty of time for them to climb even higher.

Missoula (MT)
We mentioned this in a quick hit here, but Missoula is a team to watch moving forward. They were unranked previously—we didn't have their results logged in our system yet—but in their Riot Rankings debut they landed at #19. And that’s no fluke. The Stampede defeated Eastside (WA) and Liberty (WA) earlier this year, which caught our attention. 👀

Full rankings here

If you follow us on Instagram and TikTok (which you should) you know all about this. We’re running a 30 Days of Tries campaign, where we’ll feature cool tries from high school players around the country this season for 30 days straight.
While we have loads of great tries to feature already, we’d love to get more submissions. That’s where you come in. If you have a sick highlight of a try from this season, just DM it to us on Instagram and we’ll take a look. Not all tries will be featured, and higher video quality gets first dibs, but go ahead and send your clips over.

This weekend, we’ve got St. Thomas Houston facing Strake Jesuit, and Celina matching up with HEB in the Varsity Cup division.

Plus, Barbarians have a huge rematch with Spartans in the Club division.

Woodlands sit this weekend out, waiting for the result of the Barbarians/Spartans game to know who they’ll play in the state final.

BC High (MA) vs Greenwich (CT)
Northeast firepower at its best. Greenwich is heating up at the right time, having just defeated their biggest state rival Fairfield Prep, while BC High is coming off a big win over rival Xaverian Bros (MA).
Both won their respective state title last season. Now they face off. Boom.
🎯Banger score: 8.2/10

Raptors (TN) vs St. Martin’s (KS)
Pretty sure these teams have never played each other… interesting. St. Martin’s has been running the table in Kansas on their quest for a fourth-straight state title. The Raptors just whacked Father Ryan and clinched the first seed in Tennessee playoffs. Basically, these are the best teams in Kansas and Tennessee.
🎯Banger score: 8.6/10

Barbarians (TX) vs Spartans (TX)
It’s playoffs, baby! These guys already beat the stuffing out of each other during the regular season, with the Spartans grabbing the upset victory. Now it’s the Texas Club D1 semifinal and the stakes don’t get much higher. Grab the popcorn.
🎯Banger score: 9.4/10

SFGG (CA) vs Wolverines (CA)
Both teams are humming. The Wolverines have been immense in their NorCal Premier Division debut, racking up wins ever since mid-March—when their St. Francis contingent joined the roster. SFGG, meanwhile, returns from a New Zealand tour ready to back up their stellar undefeated NorCal record.
🎯Banger score: 8.0/10

Charlotte Tigers (NC) vs Charlotte Cardinals (NC)
Cross-town rivalries hit different—especially in the hyper competitive Charlotte scene. These kids all know each other well from the winter school season, and that familiarity always shows up in this matchup. Cardinals enter as favorites, but underestimate the Tigers at your own risk.
🎯Banger score: 7.9/10

St. Edward (OH) vs Gonzaga (DC)
Both back from overseas and primed to throw haymakers. Gonzaga returns from New Zealand and St. Ed’s is back from Ireland. Each side has played reigning National champs, St. Ignatius (OH)—both losses, though they each held the advantage during periods of the game. This game feels like measuring stick for these squads as May—and Nationals—creeps up on the calendar.
🎯Banger score: 8.8/10

Okapi (FL) vs Key Biscayne (FL)
Key Biscayne is the only Florida team that’s kept it close with Okapi. Last time they met, Okapi won 33-22. But if you roll the calendar back to early 2025, Key Biscayne actually grabbed a rare victory over Okapi.
But that was last year, and Okapi looks even stronger this year—they’ve only dropped one game… to the Charlotte Cardinals. Still, we like the odds of this one being close.
🎯Banger score: 7.0/10

Part of our 30 Days of Tries series, you’ve gotta see this clip we posted in a collab with 4GPerformance.
Spoiler: There’s a grubber nutmeg involved 🤯

Oddball musings, thanks to the cold tub.

🏀 Saw a post where Victor Wembanyama said he wants to try playing rugby. Wemby…my dude—I don’t think they make stretchers that long.

🏉 Finn Russell looks like that guy in college who can never find his key card to get into the dorms.

🎵 I thought I put my playlist on shuffle while writing today and spaced out. Ended up listening to Crazy Frog for two hours before noticing. Thanks kids.