🏆 St. Francis repeats in style

The best of SoCal and the best of NorCal clashed on Saturday. The result was a dazzling display of talent and a full-blown score-a-palooza under the beaming California sun.

Torrey Pines entered the final with a pristine 10–0 record and a SoCal title, built on a disciplined, methodical attack that wore teams down over the course of a match. St. Francis, on the other hand, brought a nearly opposite approach—quick strikes through the middle and a willingness to stretch the field with their dangerous backs.

What stood out is that both approaches largely worked.

Torrey Pines was excellent with the ball, working through phases, forcing errors, and steadily marching downfield. They consistently turned possession into points, with their forwards especially impressive against a strong St. Francis pack.

But St. Francis had little interest in a territory battle. They kept the ball in hand, refused to go down in contact, and thrived on the counterattack. Many of their tries came in bursts, striking so quickly that Torrey Pines barely had time to reset.

With 101 total points scored, this one will stick with anyone who watched it. Torrey Pines played with plenty of heart, but St. Francis proved to be a force of nature, piling up 60 points in a wild state final.

Here’s how it played out:

The Falcons opened the scoring with a Rees Curtis penalty kick, but it didn’t take long for St. Francis to respond. On their first real possession, the Lancers struck from a quick tap, moving the ball through a series of offloads before Isaia Porter finished it off.

Torrey Pines answered with a long, grinding drive that ended in a diving score from Ewan Hope-Bell after a sustained goal-line battle.

The 8–5 lead didn’t last long.

St. Francis again went quickly off a penalty—choosing not to kick to touch—and fullback Naia Alatini sliced through for his first try of the day.

And from there, a pattern emerged. Torrey Pines would methodically work their way downfield, chewing up time and phases, while St. Francis struck quickly and from distance.

Late in the half, Torrey Pines reclaimed the lead at 22–19 after another multi-phase sequence, finished powerfully by Gabriel Garcia. But just before the break, St. Francis delivered one of the moments of the match—a coast-to-coast attack starting deep in their own end, finished by Vita Keanaaina, to take a 26–22 lead into halftime.

St. Francis wasted no time in the second half.

Fullback Naia Alatini, a magician all day, fielded a deep kick and found space immediately, racing 70 meters before linking up with Jason Schuler for another Lancer score. At that point, kicking to St. Francis had become a clear risk—their counterattack was humming.

The Falcons struck next from their favorite platform. A lineout deep in Lancer territory led to multiple phases near the line before Rees Curtis spun the ball wide to Finn Johnson, who made a man miss and finished the job.

A midfield battle followed, where momentum briefly tilted toward Torrey Pines. The Falcons did well to pin St. Francis deep in their own 22, with another smart Rees Curtis kick putting pressure on the Lancers.

But by that point, it almost felt like dangerous territory for Torrey Pines.

St. Francis broke out from deep once again, and flanker Judah Halapua shrugged off tackles before sprinting down the sideline for another long-range score—an incredible sixth try for the Lancers.

Then the game began to open up.

Naia Alatini added another after a Dion Jackson line break split the Torrey defense, and moments later Lancer captain Kaimani Keanaaina showed his class with an individual score.

Down 46–29, the Falcons showed no quit. Shay Farkash rumbled forward, shedding tacklers, while scrumhalf Alex Brydson kept things flowing with quick, accurate service on both sides of the ruck. The pressure eventually paid off, with captain Andrew Taich bulldozing over for a hard-earned team try.

Loa Tui’ilaila came off the Lancer bench and made an immediate impact, finishing a sharp scrum set piece with a diving try in the 60th minute. From there, you could feel the momentum tipping. St. Francis were pulling away, and Torrey Pines were chasing.

Then came the dagger.

Talisman Kaimani Keanaaina broke it open—bursting into space and galloping 60 meters for his second try of the match. Just like that, it was 60–34 with six minutes to play, and the result was no longer in doubt.

Torrey Pines had one last valiant push in them. A gritty knife fight inside the Lancers’ 10-meter area finally broke through, with Shay Farkash powering over for his lone try of the day. Rees Curtis added the conversion to bring it to 60–41 St. Francis.

That’s how it would finish.

St. Francis captured the ball after the kickoff, and Alatini belted it out of bounds for the final whistle.

Final Score: St. Francis 60 — 41 Torrey Pines

An incredible 101 points scored.

And St. Francis are your 2026 California State Champs! Back. To. Back.