👀Xavier (NY) enters the chat, St. Ignatius (OH) starts strong, and we have a couple SoCal champs.🏆

🏆Torrey Pines (CA) 41 — 12 Loyola (CA)

In a battle for the SoCal Title, Torrey Pines outlasted a spirited Loyola squad.

If you looked at that score and thought this was simply a blowout, think again. This game started off close, with a 10-0 score at halftime in favor of Torrey Pines. “Loyola brought everything they had and played tough and hard,“ said Torrey Pines HC Matty Sandoval, indicating that Torrey Pines had to really work for it against the gritty Loyola squad.

Loyola brought the heat to open the second half, testing the Torrey defense with determined running by Cassius Grimes and Company. Torrey Pines survived this onslaught with good defense, turned to their key decision-makers, and pulled away as the second half wore on.

Torrey Pines’ scrummy, James Curtis, was his typical savvy self, making smart decisions around the breakdown, pinning Loyola deep with kicks, and even breaking loose for a long 65-meter try. His brother, Rees Curtis, also did some excellent work in the kicking department throughout the game. Shay Farkash (flanker) was all over the field and put in a score, while winger Gabe Gonzalez finished up the game with a nice try of his own.

This game was a clash of styles. Torrey Pines is a team of rugby technicians, capable of generating opportunities from a variety of platforms. Loyola plays the game with pure heart and grit—and they had found lots of success this season with that hard-hitting mentality. But in this match, Torrey Pines was able to contain their fiery energy and keep the Loyola boys at bay while making decisive plays that put points on the board.

Final Score: 🏆 Torrey Pines 41 — 12 Loyola

Congrats to Torrey Pines, your SoCal Champs!

For Torrey Pines, this victory sets them up for a monster showdown with St. Francis (CA) in the California State Final on March 8, this Saturday.

For Loyola, their season may be over, but they have plenty to be proud of — they are a young program that just played in their first SoCal Final and surprised many people along the way. The highlight of their season was an upset over Orange Lutheran to make the final—a phenomenal game. Coach Marquise Goodwin has a good thing going—the future is bright for this promising team.

🏆John Muir (CA) 41 — 14 Edison (CA)

John Muir won their second consecutive SoCal D2 championship against a strong Edison squad.

Going into this game, word on the street was that Edison’s talented back line could wreak havoc on opposing defenses. So John Muir dialed up a game plan to neutralize Edison’s playmakers with a combination of lightning-quick defense, and a road-grading offense led by their forward pack. In brief, the plan paid off.

In the early moments of this game both teams dealt with jitters, leading to handling errors and missed opportunities. But as the nerves subsided, the Muir boys started stringing together strong attacking phases. Muir prop Spencer Parham powered in a couple tries on the back of thundering forward play, fullback Taylor Ryan hit the turbo boosters for another try, and hooker Victor Espinosa added a try for Muir, bringing the score to 26-0 at halftime in favor of Muir. A lot of credit goes to their defensive play, as they snuffed out any Edison chances before they started. Edison deployed some well placed kicks throughout the first half, but Muir did a good job covering them and not allowing Edison to turn them into scoring opportunities.

Edison’s coach must have given a Braveheart-esque speech at halftime, as his lads came out swinging in the opening minutes. Their talented backs gave Muir plenty of trouble, as expected, and the Edison squad found the try zone for their first score of the game—a lineout, successful maul, and their forward pack punched it in.

Moments later, Muir found themselves down a man due to a high tackle (yellow card), followed by a dangerous tackle that resulted in a red. This forced Muir to play with 14 men for nearly 25 minutes, and opened a window for Edison to get back into the game.

But Muir, impressively, held strong. Their forwards dictated the pace of the game. Their backline suffocated attacking threats. The Seley twins played inspired rugby. And Muir prop Spencer Parham busted through for two more tries, bringing his count to four tries on the day.

As the final moments approached, Edison etched the scoreboard once more, with some solid play from their forward pack. But Muir had the final say with 8-man Damien Aleman’s last minute try— putting an exclamation point on a resounding victory and a well executed game plan.

Final Score: 🏆John Muir 41 — 14 Edison

Congrats to John Muir, SoCal D2 Champs!

Try Scorers:
Edison— Owen Cunningham (1), Nathan Stephens (1)
John Muir— Spencer Parham (4), Taylor Ryan (1), Victor Espinosa (1), Damien Aleman (1)

Coach’s Quote:

Xavier (NY) 34 — 14 Gregory the Great (PA)

After a stunning victory against Gonzaga just a week ago, GGA screeched to a halt against a Xavier squad that’s going to make some noise this season.

The wind was a factor all game, with both teams struggling to clear the ball effectively and complete conversion kicks. Xavier deployed a fast, physical attack, scoring in the opening minute and ending the first half with a 17-7 lead. GGA struggled to keep Xavier playmakers in check, while variety of mishandled balls and missed tackles headlined a disjointed game from GGA.

Xavier, on the other hand, played ferociously on defense and capitalized on GGA’s mistakes—damaging the scoreboard repeatedly. They have some shifty dudes who can make you whiff in space, and their forward pack broke the gain-line with regularity. One standout feature of the Xavier squad was their ability to move the ball quickly from phase to phase, churning forward on the front foot and keeping GGA’s defense scrambling.

At the end of the day, Xavier looked sharp and prepared for their first game of the season, while GGA made too many mistakes to keep up.

Next up: GGA has one week off to recalibrate before they begin their regular season in Pennsylvania. Xavier hosts St. Edward (OH) this weekend in their second home game to begin the season.

Here’s something cool: Xavier has their own in-house writer, Michael LiVigni, and he did an excellent writeup on the game, including post-game quotes from the players. Instead of chopping up his work to share with you, this is where you can read the whole thing. Enjoy!

Rock Rugby (TX) 50 — 12 Four Points (TX)

Rock Rugby is having an excellent season. They hold a 3-1 record and recently defeated Four Points with a dominant score of 50-12. In this match, five different players contributed to the scoring: Fullback Braden Templeton (2), winger Andrew Strock (2), flanker Beres Owens (1), and outside center Joaquin Maldonado (2). Flyhalf Dylan Richards slotted 6 conversions and added a penalty kick to round out the scoring for Rock.

Here’s something cool: Rock Rugby has comprehensive stats-tracking on their site—showing which players have earned the most MVP accolades, tries, jackals, and assists. As of this writing, senior Lawson Weston holds the most jackals for his team, tallying up 5 on the season. Meanwhile, sophomore Dylan Richards has contributed the most total points so far, clocking in at 69 points this season.

If you’d like to see Rock Rugby in action, here’s a montage of their scores from their last game.

St. Ignatius (OH) 35 — 6 Pendleton (IN)

On a cold and blustery day on Obetz field, St. Ignatius began their 2025 season with solid victory over Pendleton.

A few notes on this game:

• Pendleton served up a steady diet of violent runs and Ignatius responded in kind with hard hits and brutish runs of their own.

• St. Ignatius was heavily penalized—sometimes for committing penalties.

• Mark French, the Ignatius scrumhalf, pulled off some slippery moves around the breakdown throughout the match—notching two tries for his squad. Tommy Passerallo showed off his jets on multiple occasions, ripping down the field for three tries. Meanwhile, the St. Ignatius forward pack did manly things all day.

Pendleton is a bruising and quick team, and they clearly have the talent to bust a game wide open. On this particular day they were held in check by an energetic and physical St. Ignatius squad.

St. Ignatius is a highly athletic squad with speed and rugby smarts all over the roster. Despite the dominant scoreline, these guys looked like they were just scratching the surface of their potential. Once they get everything dialed in they will be a very scary opponent.

Try Scorers: St. Ignatius—Tommy Passerallo (3), Mark French (2), Haney (1), Gabrovsek (1)

Oh, and here’s a beautiful, textbook tackle by Ignatius’ Joe Deinhart 👇

Gonzaga (DC) 50—12 St. Joe’s (PA)

Gonzaga took care of business this week in a dominant showing against St. Joe’s.

Gonzaga found their groove this week, proving that their loss in the season opener was likely an anomaly. They struck early and often against St. Joe’s, finding success with the ball in hand on a windy day (a theme across the Northeast this weekend).

We weren’t there but we heard from a fan who was present that Gonzaga did an excellent job creating opportunities all over the field. They also defended well and didn’t give St. Joe’s time or space to operate.

St. Joe’s struggled to get the same kind of momentum, making mistakes at key moments—mistakes that Gonzaga turned into points more often than not.

Next up: Gonzaga heads to Fort Hunt (VA) this weekend, while St. Joe’s takes off for Italy to test themselves against foes afar.

And here are some Gonzaga highlights from the game.

🏉Carolina RuggerFest

North Carolina enjoyed a beautiful weekend of rugby and a jam-packed schedule at Ruggerfest. Just glancing at the game-sheet, it looks like over 120 games were played in two days, spanning multiple divisions and age groups. Phenomenal!

Division Winners: Charlotte Cardinals & Charlotte Tigers

The Charlotte Cardinals had themselves a weekend. They whooped up on their division with score-lines like 60-0, 61-7, and 48-7. It looks like these guys are picking up where they left off at Nationals last year.

In the other top boys division, the Charlotte Tigers had a similarly dominant weekend, going 3-0 in the tournament with big wins over St. Xavier (OH) 43-14, Key Biscayne (FL) 28-0, and the Richmond Strikers (VA) 25-7.

Both of these NC club teams are favorites to compete for the National championship this year. They did nothing to put those aspirations in doubt this weekend at Ruggerfest. Look out rugby fans, these fellas are cruising and bruising.

St. Edward (OH) had a rough first game against the Cardinals, put together a hard fought 15-14 win against Fort Hunt (VA), and lost a low scoring game to Clayton (NC) 17-5. St. Edward is a very young team this season, and they are in the midst of a program overhaul (which we covered here). We’re excited to see how they compete as their season progresses.

Key Biscayne (FL) won a close 17-7 game against St. Xavier (OH), but fell to the Charlotte Tigers and Richmond Strikers.

Fort Hunt (VA) defeated Clayton (NC) in a low scoring affair (19-14), and lost to the Charlotte Cardinals and St. Edward (OH).

Clayton (NC) lost to Fort Hunt in a tight game, defeated St. Edward, and lost to the Charlotte Cardinals in a lopsided game.

Richmond Strikers (VA) defeated St. Xavier 48-3, beat Key Biscayne 36-7, and fell to the Charlotte Tigers 27-5. A very positive showing.

St. Xavier (OH) lost all three of their matches in the tournament, but a close game against the talented Key Biscayne boys was a high point for them. It’s still early in the season and they’ll get their squad gelling soon.