West Coast Sevens - Round one in the books.

Gorgeous California weather. Superb sevens action. Goose-steps aplenty. Delightful live commentary.

Need I say more?

The first round of West Coast Sevens was a joy to watch. Here are our thoughts and brief breakdown.

Cal 1
Champs—Championship Division

The Cal men looked borderline unstoppable on Saturday. Buoyed by an experienced group of playmakers and dominant defense, this crew fairly flattened opponents and took the crown in LA with a 37-0 victory over UCLA in the final.

One thing that stood out was their impressive size and speed. It seemed like they could impose their will around the breakdown and fly free for a score from anywhere on the pitch. Solomon Williams was the spark plug—and deserving MVP on the day, generating opportunities for his teammates and notching a hat trick in the final. His acceleration and spatial awareness were on full display, and opposing teams had trouble containing him.
Their defense was equally sharp—covering every inch of the broad pitch like a missile defense system. A complete day by Cal.

UCLA impressed on their way to the final. Sam Reade was the jitterbug speedster on this roster, but the whole group performed admirably. They dismantled everyone in pool play—and looked outstanding against USD in the last pool-play match (a 36-5 result). The final was lopsided in Cal’s favor, but UCLA has a promising young group—and two more stages of West Coast Sevens to kick their dent in the tournament.

Cathedral Catholic 1
Division Champs—High School Division

Winners of the high school division, Cathedral sliced through the competition with precision. One of the commentators (I believe Will Hooley) noted that they looked like the best sevens squad at the tournament—including the college ranks—and I can’t disagree. Sevens requires a totally different approach than 15s, and Cathedral was a prime example of how to adjust to the format. Slick offloads, patient ball-carrying, disciplined defense—these guys had it all in LA.

There was no final in the high school division—it was a points-based pool—but credit to the OMBAC Wallabies, who came in second place and gave Cathedral fits during their matchup, a 19-10 result.

We definitely missed some, but here are a few players that we recognized from the spring high school season.

Caden Hartley, formerly with the SOC Raptors, shone with UCLA as a freshman. He showed off some clever footwork and his trademark teeth-rattling tackles were on point.

Dylan Trower and Reese Reiter—both Mustangs players this spring—were an impressive one-two combo for Cathedral Catholic’s first team in the high school division. Trower displayed excellent distribution skills and a knack for finding holes in the middle of the field. Reiter was possibly the most natural sevens player on the pitch in any division on Saturday. He was composed, patient, and decisive with the ball in hand. Every time he carried the ball there was an imminent threat of a quick score. Cathedral Catholic’s dominant day was in large part due to these two young men. Good signs for Cathedral and the Mustangs in the spring.

Torrey Pines didn’t dominate the bracket today—but there were moments of outstanding play by their lads—which included the Taich brothers (Andrew and Nicholas), Rees Curtis, and Shay Farkash, among others.

Flynn O'Connell—a HS standout for SFGG (CA)—debuted with Cal’s second side and showed why he was a USA U18 selection this summer. The guy’s a shifty bruiser.

Kingston Hawkins helmed Cathedral Catholic’s second side and stood out for his composed play and leadership. He was flanked by Nick Ocon—another 2025 Mustangs stud.

🏉Riot Take

We were impressed with the little details we observed at this tournament: The entrance arch that teams ran through before games, the instant replays, the professional and entertaining commentary from Will Hooley and Corbs (Alex Corbisiero). It was a sharply run event, and a sign of great things to come for this 3-leg tournament.

📍Next stop: Stanford—October 11th