East Coast

💥Xavier (NY) over Gonzaga (DC)
Gonzaga struck first, but Xavier left DC with the win.
Here are the deets, courtesy of Mike LiVigni.

🏟️ PA Final set
Doylestown and Gregory the Great each punched their ticket to the state final.
Read about their semifinal matches here.

🏆Charlotte Tigers win NC title over Clayton
The Tigers are rightfully in the top tier at nationals. Not just because of this win—but because their entire season has been noteworthy.
In the NC state final, they scored less than two minutes into the game and never really let the game get close. Clayton is not a bad side—we saw them live in DC earlier this season—but the Tigers are quietly playing some of the best rugby on the East Coast (and not getting enough love for it). They have studs all over the back line, but it was the forward pack’s defense that stood out to us in this match. Whenever it looked like Clayton might break through, the Tigers rejected them. It was a dominant performance from the squad overall, and we can’t wait to see them battle at nationals.

🤯Charlotte Cardinals dominate St. Ignatius
It started off close at first, but St. Ignatius made too many mistakes to overcome the Cardinals’ onslaught.
This match had rolling subs—so the cast of characters changed many times as players rotated or changed positions. One thing that didn’t change was the Cardinals’ attack, which never let off the throttle.
St. Ignatius challenged them several times throughout the game, but nearly all their opportunities were wiped out by knock-ons and other self-inflicted issues. The Cardinals looked typically strong, especially with their work around the ruck and when they had the ball in hand. They have great chemistry. But we’ve spoken about them at length already. Suffice it to say they’ll be the team to beat at nationals in their bracket.

📣Rye rolls Pelham on Senior Night
Behind two first-half tries from senior fullback Archer Fenton—both converted by his brother Jagger—Rye beat Pelham 29–3 under the lights. Second-half scores from Owen Saya, Hunter Gillies, and Ben Stigliano sealed it, but it was the defense that stood out—Pelham was held scoreless after a 5th-minute penalty. Rye finishes the regular season 6–1, with ranked wins over Jesuit NOLA, Staples, Greenwich, and Pelham. They’ll host Xavier this Friday in a Tier I State Quarterfinal.

🌧️Trumbull beats Greenwich in a rainy battle.
Locked 3–3 at halftime, this soggy, physical battle opened up in the second half as both sides saw yellow cards. Each team scored three tries, but Trumbull’s accuracy on conversions made the difference—they hit all three, while Greenwich missed two. “It was a tough battle in the rain,” said Jamie Everett, Greenwich’s head coach. “Hopefully we’ll see them again at States.”

West Coast

💥 Mustangs clinch the SoCal title.
It was brutal. It was rivalry stuff. Read about it here.

🔥SFGG claims NorCal Title
Granite Bay fought valiantly, but SFGG had the firepower to seal the deal. The final score was 32-21.
Sadly, we won’t see either team at nationals—the brackets would look quite different if they attended.

💪Eastside and Liberty make the WA final
Eastside defeated Camas 32-20 in what was described as a “bone-jarring” and “pulsating semifinal.”
On the other side, Liberty built a large lead over the Rainier Highlanders, and held on for a 43-30 win.
Now Liberty and Eastside will clash in the state final.
The last time these two played it was a 41-20 victory for Eastside. But we know state finals are a different beast—both teams are gonna bring it.

👊Cavemen win Utah at the death.
The rematch did not disappoint. LCA and Cavemen traded blows for 70 minutes and ended regulation tied at 31 apiece. With the game on the line in overtime, Cavemen fullback Zaeden Selu snatched a bobbled ball and hit the afterburners to the try zone—securing the D1 state title.

LCA hearts were broken, but guess what? Both squads are headed to nationals next week. So there’s a chance we could see them square off again—if they both make the final. And if that happens, every recruiter in the country should turn their gaze to Utah, where high school rugby is absolutely crushing it.

🏆NorCal Gold Division Champ Crowned
Lamorinda gave San Mateo everything they could handle in a back-and-forth NorCal Gold Division Final, but the Wolverines pulled it out late, 36–30.
Lamorinda came out swinging with early tries from Kekoa Mayo-McKnight, Sharky Tamale, and OC Lehner, and stayed in it behind Tamale’s second score and two clutch penalty kicks from Elliot Lewis. But San Mateo’s star center Kingston Keaiana struck twice after the break, and fullback None Vakalahi sealed it with a late try and game-winning turnover. Lamo heads to Best of the West next to face East HS and American Fork. The Wolverines head to nationals next week for a rematch with the Charlotte Cardinals in the opening round of the tourney.

👉Santa Monica Claims D2 title in SoCal
Santa Monica capped an awesome season by defeating the Mustangs’ second side 41-27 in the championship game. According to our records, Santa Monica went undefeated in D2 this season (5-0)—impressive stuff. SoCal has talented squads at all levels.

MidWest

🏆 St. Martin’s clinches the three-peat in style.
St. Thomas Aquinas beat St. Martin’s five weeks ago. The St. Martin’s Kingfishers put that in the rearview emphatically. Here’s the rest of the story.

👊SLUH takes the MO crown.
Despite the ridiculous surrounding the Missouri state final, the same two teams originally set to face off still met in the title match. SLUH took the cup with a 26-14 victory, but the St. Louis Jets impressed nonetheless. Making the state final as a 2nd year program is quite a feat.

💪Medina still dominating Ohio D2
Another week, another big win for Medina. This one was a 102-0 rout over Brunswick. That’s good for a 7-1 record and only one close score on their resumé—a 17-12 victory over Westshore.

South

🏆Okapi still owns Florida
Key Biscayne put up first points with good ball movement to the outside. But after that, Okapi went on a 20 point scoring spree. They did it from multiple platforms—a kick and chase grounded, the forwards pounding it in from close range, and several accurate penalty kicks.
When we spoke to coach Juan Orfila back in March, he noted that his boys learned a lot from losing to Key Biscayne earlier in the season. Well, that experience certainly lit a fire under the Wanderers, as they went undefeated for the rest of the season and clinched the state title in the process. Congrats to Okapi!

🏆Raptor Rugby wins TN
There’s an intense rivalry between these two. This year belonged to the Raptors. Read the whole thing here.

🏟️Nationals Brackets🏉

The stage is set. The brackets are filled.

Next week, in Elkhart Indiana, 24 teams will duke it out.

And three champions will be crowned.

Here are the brackets👇