⭐️Rankings Movement

📈This Week’s Biggest Risers

• Mustangs (CA) ⬆️ rose 9 spots overall, 3 in Club
  Now sitting at #5 in Club, and charging hard after the top 4. Their 98-5 victory over Try Time (CA) earned them 196.08 points—second-highest total of the week.

• St. Ignatius (OH) ⬆️ rose 2 spots overall, 1 in Single School
  Now locked in at #2 Single School after a 64-24 win over rival St. Edward. The Wildcats banked 139.78 points and are in striking distance of the top spot.

• Eastside (WA) ⬆️ rose 8 spots overall, 3 in Club
  Up to #4 in Club, right behind Woodlands. Their 41-20 win over Liberty (WA) added 143.93 points to the Lions’ climb.

• Brother Martin (LA) ⬆️ rose 5 spots overall, 3 in Single School
  Now #4 in Single School after a 55-7 win over St. Paul. They picked up 178.37 points—and all eyes are on their title match vs. Jesuit New Orleans this weekend.

• Herriman (UT) ⬆️ rose 15 spots overall, 10 in Single School
  Now #17, but let’s be real—they’re closer to top 10 quality. Herriman’s schedule has been brutal, and their 60-28 win over Highland (UT) brought in 164.94 points. A strong Montana Tournament showing could rocket them into top 10 territory.

• Sacramento Jesuit (CA) ⬆️ rose 35 spots overall, 15 in Single School
  Now #28, and rising fast. Their 48-3 win over a well-ranked Fairfield Prep (CT) netted 256.35 points—highest total of the week. That says a lot about their ceiling when facing Single School teams instead of NorCal club juggernauts.
  📍 Fun Fact: Jesuit has played more full-length matches (13) than any other Single School team this season.

• Chaminade (NY) ⬆️ rose 18 spots overall, 9 in Single School
  Climbing fast after a 38-12 win over Fairfield Pegasi, earning 110.5 points. They’re one of the youngest programs on this list—but don’t sleep on them.

Quick hits from the rugby scene.

✈️ Road Warriors Return

• Doylestown (PA) recently returned from Ireland—and it sounds like they cleaned up! See: 36-7 over Malahide RFC and 19-0 over Ballyclare RFC. In fact, their tour operator said they were the best team they had ever hosted. 👀
  Players that balled out in Ireland include: Hooker Marco Burns (Man of the Match honors vs Malahide RFC) and outside-center Nick Miletto (Man of the Match honors vs Ballyclare RFC).
  Doylestown will now turn their attention to a stacked Pennsylvania D1 division and a playoff run.
  

• Fairfield Prep (CT) completed a west coast tour, playing Sacramento Jesuit and St. Ignatius SF. The boys from Connecticut were dealt a couple losses, but we know they’ll return to their CT stomping grounds battle tested and ready to make a run at the state title.

🔥 Schedules heating up.

• Gonzaga (DC) and St. Ignatius (OH) play this week. We’ve had this circled forever.

• The Charlotte Cardinals (NC) are hosting the Wolverines (CA) this weekend. It’s East meets West in what should be a certified cracker.

• St. Ignatius (OH) and the Charlotte Cardinals (NC) have a showdown on the calendar soon. Bookmark this one.

• In Louisiana, Brother Martin and Jesuit New Orleans will clash in the state championship this weekend.

• In Connecticut, Fairfield Prep and Greenwich meet this week. This is always a high intensity affair—stay tuned.

• The Barbarians and Woodlands face off in Texas this week. This match will be the biggest test for the Barbarians this season. They’ve already played Woodlands and lost—but rematches, especially in state semifinals, usually get cranked up a notch.

• Also in Texas, The Spartans and the Boks face off in the opposite pool of the state semifinal. Both solid teams, but whoever wins may be walking into a buzzsaw.

🌴 Tropical 7s was a smashing success.

• The USA Panther Academy took home the U19 Boys Elite trophy in commanding fashion. It was an impressive weekend from Panther Academy overall, with several of their squads dominating their divisions.

• The coverage was superb. Beyond the games themselves, Mr. Goff and Rugby In FL provided a season’s worth of sideline interviews, candid moments, and photos. We love this.
  How can we bring that same energy to more rugby events? The Florida weather sure helps, but with thousands of rugby-obsessed players and fans, we should be able to drag rugby into the modern age of social media coverage. We don’t need ESPN, folks—we need the rugby community to speak up. 📣 👏

👀 Two teams that have earned our attention.

• Chaminade (NY) may only be in their third season, but they’re already fielding three teams and have 105 players total. That’s pretty dang impressive. We’ve spoken to a few coaches in the Northeast, and they all say “these Chaminade guys are looking really promising.” We’d have to agree. In their recent match against Xavier—one of the best teams in the nation—the score at halftime was 15-0 before Xavier pulled away in the second half. Chaminade also just beat a talented Fairfield Pegasi team 38-12—an impressive result for a young program. We’ll be watching them closely.

• Wichita (KS). We mentioned them several weeks ago as a team to watch, and they’ve done nothing but validate the hype. Just this week, the Wichita squad tied St. Thomas Aquinas (KS) 12-12. And that’s no small feat. Aquinas has owned Kansas rugby for years, with over a dozen state titles to their name—and they’d just beaten their rivals at St. Martin’s. But Wichita found a way to keep the game extremely tight and keep Aquinas from pulling off a victory.
  Our takeaway: Kansas feels like it’s getting more competitive, and Wichita is a huge part of the equation.

🤔Two State Playoffs…and a dose of controversy.

Texas and Utah are both in playoff season. And each state has people talking…about the seeding.

In Texas:
The Woodlands and The Barbarians meet in the semifinal this Saturday, but many believe it feels more like a title match.
On the other side of the bracket, Spartans and Boks face off. Both have had solid seasons, no doubt—but the Barbarians and Woodlands each beat the Spartans by significant margins.
The Boks haven’t faced either top team yet, but they did fall to Lake Travis earlier in the year.
It’s a strong group of semifinalists, but you can understand why some folks are questioning the balance.
(Hey, don’t shoot the messenger—it’s just what we’re hearing) 😉

In Utah:
The top three teams in the state—Cavemen, Herriman, and Layton Christian—all ended up in the same half of the bracket.
On the other side is East High. A proud, historically strong program, sure—but they’ve had a bit of a down year.
Herriman’s already out after losing to Cavemen.
That leaves two of the top three teams set to eliminate each other before the final...
Need I say more?

📸A few pics that crossed our desk this week👇