Men’s Division I:

It was a tough day in the office for the West Houston Lions, as they suffered a hefty loss to the Austin Blacks, 92-0. Standing out from the rest of the team were number eight Hayden Johnson who scored five tries and fullback Adam Armstrong who scored 27 points, 22 of which came off his boot.

Women’s Division I:

Scores were closer in the Women’s first division, with the Austin Valkyries taking down the Dallas Harlequins, 21-12, to win their second game in as many weeks against the Quins. The Valkyries opened up a 14-point lead after only 18 minutes, but the Harlequins fought back and with 30 minutes remaining, they trailed 14-12. A try in the 70th minute put the icing on the cake for the Valkyries and they held on for the win.

Men’s Division II:  

The lone game in Men’s Division II came from the Lone Star State. Austin Huns D2 put in an impressive shift to walk away with the 34-10 win over Fort Worth Rugby. From the first whistle until the last, it was all seemingly one way traffic for the hosts. They opened up a 17 point lead in as many minutes, before a scoring drought ensued to close the half. Fort Worth looked like they may have found a way back into the contest, early after the second half begun. However, any chance of a comeback was snuffed out when the Huns crossed shortly after to reestablish their prior 17 point lead. The Huns then continued to pile the scoring on, with Fort Worth crossing once more before the final whistle blew to add some garnish to the scoreline.

Women’s Division II:

Bay Area Rugby were on the wrong end of a lopsided scoreboard after Saturday’s encounter with the San Antonio Riveters, losing 73-10. Tori Armstrong and Christine Krieger were both outstanding in the winning effort. Armstrong contributing four tries, while Krieger added 38 points including four tries and nine conversions. In the other, much anticipated, game the Austin Valkyries D2 squad followed their D1 squad’s suit beating the Little Rock Stormers, 25-5. It was shaping up to be a close affair, with both teams scoring tries in the opening ten minutes, to set the stage for a 5-5 tie in the score. However, the second half went entirely the way of the Valkyries as they scored 20 unanswered.

Men’s Division III:

Plenty of action took place across the third division. Austin Blacks D3 continued their strong start to the year with an impressive outing against the McAllen Knights, taking them down 50-15. The other game out of the central pool saw Corpus Christi hang in the waning moments to see off a resurgent Alamo City squad and win 20-19.

In the North, conversions were the difference between Alliance and Grand Prairie as Alliance won, 14-12. Shreveport and Denton weren’t as evenly matched, as Shreveport landed a 17-point win, 41-24.

The story was similar in the South, with Galveston Rugby securing a 43-0 win over the Houston Arrows. Kingwood Crusaders and Bay Area Rugby were locked in a tough tussle, but the Crusaders ultimately prevailed, 35-29.

Men’s Division IV:

Alliance’s D4 squad followed their D3 squad’s suit and convincingly took down Grand Prairie Mavericks D4, 47-5. Houston Athletic D4 were too strong for San Marcos Greys D4 and sent them back with a 24-point loss, 38-14. The final game of the weekend saw Galveston Rugby D4 unable to take the West Houston Lions D4, as they were outclassed to a 39-24 scoreline.

Women’s Division II:

In Florida, Fort Miami hosted the Jacksonville Sinners Saturday.  The game belonged to Fort Miami, as the club blanked Jacksonville with the final score 74-0.  Fort Miami’s top try scorers include Lindsey Koren (three), Rakayyah Peters (two), Tatum Walker (tries) Karla Cote (one try and one penalty try)., Brie Cokos (one), Kristi Schneep (one), and Karen Liu (one).

Also, in a much closer matchup Saturday, the Orlando Griffins successfully defended their home turf, defeating the Tampa Bay Krewe 27-20.  The Krewe had led 15-0 at halftime, but the Griffins dominated the second half. 

Men’s Division II 

Carolinas/Georgia
In the Carolinas/Georgia, the Greenville Griffins hosted Charlotte Rugby.  For the second Saturday in a row, the Greenville game resulted in a tie score, 22-22, this time against Charlotte.  Matt Myers, Alexander Wohlers, Lawson Ballard each secured one try for Greenville. For Charlotte, Matthew Aronowitz, Nicholas Penning, and Osvaldo Sombo each earned a try. 

Florida
Three games took place Saturday across the Sunshine State.

First, the Naples Hammerheads blasted the Fort Lauderdale Knights 79-7.   Naples try scorers include Jocelyn Edouard (three), Liam Blake (two), Arnold Mananu (two) Daniel Creel (one), William Huie (one try), Torrence Williamson (one), and Kevin Kermundu (one). 

In Orlando, the Griffins hosted the Tampa Bay Krewe for part one of the “War for I-4.”  Tampa defeated Orlando 33-11.  The rematch will take place in Tampa on February 23.

Miami Rugby routed the hosting Okapi Wanderers 58 to 26. For Miami, Christopher Nelson and William Moreno led the team with two tries each. Ariel Marquez, Luis Lucas, Christopher Nelson, Francisco Montaner William Moreno, Miguel Lindsey, David Rodas, and Ridrigo Salas, all scored one try. 

True South
In the True South North, Nashville Rugby defeated Chattanooga Rugby 43-19.  Try Scorers for Nashville include Andrew Rappe (two), Nathan Ring, Colby Wright (one), Nathan Ring (one), David Elliott (one), and Jacob Hicks (one).

In True South’s South, the Birmingham Vulcans rallied from a 22 to 7 deficit to defeat the Baton Rouge Rugby 34-29. Birmingham’s scorers include Marco Calloway (two tries), Erick Hanson (one), Adam Hicks (one), Matt Buford (one), and Beau Guinta (one try).

Men’s Division III

Carolinas
Two matchups took place in the Carolinas subdivision of USA Rugby South. In the first, the Clayton Bootleggers beat the Charlotte Barbarians 37 to 34. For the Bootleggers, Camron Grim earned two tries, with Austin Lyons, Brian Beauregard and Eric Davis each scoring one try.  The Columbia Olde Grey defeated the Raleigh Vipers 29 to 14. The Bootleggers’ tries were scored by Keaton Mauldin (two), Jacob Smith (one), Marquise Snead (one), and Tyler Gillam.  Scorers for the Vipers included Taylor and Andrew Agans, each with one try,

Florida
The Miami Tridents B Side beat Brevard’s Old Red Eye  29 to 18. Martin Parrens scored all three of Bravard’s tries. The Sarasota Surge beat the Tampa Bay Krewe’s D3 20 to 10.  Surge try scorers include James Burles, Nicanor Pombo De Erezcano, and Sieraaj Allie (one each).   Dominic Raciti and Zach Hatras each scored one try for the Krewe. The St. Petersburg Pelicans defeated the Daytona Beach Coconuts 34 to 7. Pelicans scoring tries include Jordan Czaplicki (two), Scott Garren, Calvin Eells, Patrick Forde, Taylor Dowell, and Michael Schwandt (one).  Charles Buckland scored Daytona’s only try.

True South
In the True South East subdivision, Chattanooga Rugby defeated the Gadsden Pioneers Rugby 37 to 27. Wrapping up Saturday’s games in True South’s South, Battleship Rugby defeated the Okaloosa Islanders  35 to 14.

Men’s Division I:
2019 is shaping up to be another two-horse race in Red River’s Men’s Division I competition, with the Austin Blacks and Dallas Rugby both exerting their dominance over the rest of the league. Saturday saw the Blacks cruise to a 91-3 victory over San Antonio Rugby; where replacement wing, Preston Weigel  managed to score a hat-trick despite being on the field for only 40 minutes.  Dallas landed an equally impressive win over the West Houston Lions, taking them down 71-0. Three players for the Reds, Darrien Pipkins, Chad Joseph and Jake Campey, scored braces on their way to securing the victory. Dallas enjoys a bye, while the Blacks will face the Lions this weekend before the two meet for their first game of the season.

Women’s Division I:

It was a routine outing for the Austin Valkyries against the Dallas Harlequins, as they were able to win their first game of the season 60-0. Sierra Jenkins was a major part of the win crossing the line three times on the day to help secure the win.

Men’s Division II:

The Austin Blacks’ D2 squad made it two from two on the day when they took down Dallas Athletic in emphatic style, 64-8. Leading the efforts for Austin were lock Tim Barton and flyhalf Diego Sotelo. Barton got a hat-trick in the first half and Sotelo was able to do damage with both the boot and ball in hand, scoring 19 points on the day. In the other game that took place, the Dallas Harlequins D2 survived a shootout with Fort Worth Rugby, 61-43. In what was a true team effort six different players crossed the line for the Harlequins; while Andrew Audet did his best to keep fort worth in the fixture with a hat-trick, but it wasn’t enough.

Women’s Division II:

The Little Rock Stormers got their second win in as many weeks against Dallas Rugby, this time beating them by 50 points. Leading the way, again, for the Little Rock was Abby Vestal- who scored 20 of the team’s 50 points. Also contributing to the cause were Kristina Hickmon and Zenobia Bowman, who both scored two tries in the contest.

Men’s Division III:

In Division III play, Dallas Rugby D3 more than doubled the score of their opposition as they came away with their encounter against Shreveport with a 36-15 victory. Bentley Alsup was the hat-trick hero with wing Brandon Davis not too far behind, bagging himself a brace. Houston United D3 landed a dominating win over the Woodlands D3 squad, 64-14. Three players scored two tries for HURT D3, Liam Slaven, Baidy Racine and Nathan Cash.

Men’s Division IV:

Fort Worth D4 ran rampant over the Dallas Diablos. John Ely was the pick of the try scorers crossing the line three times in the contest. Grand Prairie Mavericks D4 and the Tyler Hoplites met for the second time this season, and there was a reversal in outcome. The Mavericks D4 were able to establish an early 24 point lead and never looked back, eventually winning 36-14.

Samurai Sportswear Pacific Rugby Premiership:

After a lop-sided home opening loss last week, San Francisco Golden Gate (SFGG) looked to this weekend to not get into a home-field deficit.  Visiting Santa Monica Dolphins would have something to say about that.  SFGG hooker Neill Barret would score a quick try, but then give the Dolphins the opportunity for penalty kicks.  Santa Monica Flyhalf Maxwell Rodman would split the uprights twice to make it a one-point game.  Prior to the half, the Dolphins would add 7 more and gain the lead 7-13.  Rodman would add 3 more at the start of the 2nd half, and SFGG would answer with a converted try.  Both sides would lock in defensively with neither side budging, when SFGG would make it harder for themselves going a man down for the remaining 10 minutes due to a yellow card.  Santa Monica would not be able to capitalize on the man advantage, but stayed physical on defense, to narrowly triumph 16-14.  In an early battle for first place, Life West Gladiators hosted Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC).  OMBAC would quickly go up 10-0 in under five minutes.  Any momentum OMBAC had was quickly stifled by 2 consecutive Gladiator tries.  The two teams would trade scores and the lead before going into half with the home team only retaking the lead as time expired to make it 28-23.  The second half was all Life West, as they kept the energy level up and fought to a 52-23 lead. Both sides would add a converted try in injury time and Life West would gain another bonus point with the 59-30 win to gain the top spot in the standings.  Glendale Merlins travelled to Belmont Shore Rugby in a wet defensive battle.  Belmont Shore held onto the only 3 points of the game until Glendale put up 7 right before the half.  The score would remain 3-7 until Belmont had a late game 15 point surge, gaining victory, 18-7.

Northern California Men’s Division II:

Santa Rosa Rugby hosted Sacramento Capitals and got off to a fairly quick start with a five-pointer at five minutes.  A pair of yellow cards for both teams would slow the play down, but Santa Rosa would be able to add to their lead 15-0 at the half.  Santa Rosa would double their score in the second half, almost keep the capitals off the board until a try by Desi Streater in the final minute to bring the final score to 31-5.  San Francisco Golden Gate D2 (SFGG D2) travelled to Vacaville Old Dogs who are still on the hunt for their first win.  Vacaville would be plagued with a yellow card early on, but SFGG D2 would not be able to capitalize.  SFGG D2  jumped ahead with a pair of tries and both would add more at the end of the half with SFGG in the lead 7-19.  SFGG extended their lead right off the whistle, but allowed the Old Dogs to claw their way back to within 3 points with 17 minutes left in the game.  Vacaville would not be allowed a comeback and SFGG would put the game away with another 7, sealing the victory 21-31.  Olympic Club Rugby hosted Diablo Old Gaels in a home game that was all Olympic Club.  Olympic Club would dominate the first half, keeping Diablo scoreless 19-0.  Diablo would further suffer a yellow card in the second half, which aided Olympic Club to add on points.  Diablo would have the last two tries in the match, but the effort was too little, too late as Olympic Club would easily prevail 33-10.  Bay Area Baracus travelled to Life West Gladiators D2 in search for their first win.  Baracus would get the scoring started early with a penalty kick, but it wouldn’t take long before Life West would answer back with 7.  Baracus scrumhalf would add another 3, to bring the game to a one point deficit, but would find out that you can’t trade penalty kicks for tries as they were down 24-6 at the half.  Both teams would add a try early on in the second half, but the remainder of the game would be a defensive back and forth until Life West found an answer and added 7 to their tally.  Life West’s defense softened a little in the end, allowing 2 Baracus tries.  It wasn’t enough and the Gladiators claimed the win 36-23.

Northern California Men’s Division III-A

Silicon Valley Rugby failed to find an answer for the visiting Chico Mighty Oaks and were scoreless in a 0-31 loss, their first of the season.  Olympic Club Rugby D3 hosted San Joaquin-Stanislaus Rugby.  After being down 0-17 late in the first half, Olympic Club would rally from behind twice in the game and ultimately win on a late try by eight-man David Rosario 29-24.  Berkeley Rugby would shut out Google Rugby 17-0, while league leaders Napa Valley maintained their dominance on the road against Fresno Rugby20-49

Northern California Men’s Division III-B

Diablo Olde Gael D3 travelled to San Francisco and cleared out the fog 7-61 behind a five try performance from #13 David Onyike.  Jesters Rugby visited Shasta Highlanders and played to a 12-12 draw, with no points in the second half.

Pacific Rugby Premiership:

In the rematch of last year’s PRP championship match, it was a reversal of fortune for Old Mission Beach, as they staved off Belmont Shore, 33-19. In the first half the two teams were hard to separate, with OMBAC trailing by one at the half. A try within the first minute of the second half, launched OMBAC back into the lead. The early try led to a total of 13 unanswered points, establishing an insurmountable 26-14 lead. A try in the 75th minute saw the lead narrowed to 7 points, but a converted try from OMBAC, in the twilight of the game, helped create a stronger buffer.

The other Pacific South PRP side in action over the weekend was Santa Monica, who bulldozed their way by the Glendale Merlins 44-7. Leading the charge for the Dolphins was their flyhalf, Max Rodman, who contributed 24 points to the team’s total. He already looks like he could be ready to take the PRP by storm in 2019, expect him to feature heavily in teams’ game plans.

Women’s Division I:

The only game in women’s division I play, saw an upset- with the Tempe Ninjas, who went undefeated in the Pacific South last year, lose to Santa Monica. Margret Lee and Nina  Poloukhine were the stand outs for the Dolphins, scoring two tries and fifteen points respectively. After a down year in 2018, it certainly looks as though the Dolphins are back in their fine form from 2017- a worrying thought for teams in their path.

Men’s Division II:

San Fernando Valley Rugby and Oceanside Chiefs played out an exciting match, with the Chiefs prevailing, 46-40. San Fernando took the early lead before 24 unanswered points from the Chiefs saw them take a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. San Fernando got close to taking the lead back, mainly on the back of their outside center, Hawks Liva’s 20 point performance.

Other games saw the San Diego Old Aztecs claim the win over Pasadena Rugby, 53-17. The win was partly through the efforts of their two centers, Connor Mariani and Nick Cavallaro who both scored braces. LA Rugby was on the wrong side of the score line against the Ventura County Outlaws, losing 54-15.

Women’s Division II:

It was a close one between perennial contenders Old Pueblo Lightning and Pasadena Rugby, but ultimately the Lightning’s impressive domination over its competition came to a close when they lost 19-15. This marks the first time Pasadena has won a game against Old Pueblo since 2015. At the heart of the effort was inside center, Sonya Livingston who scored two of the teams three tries.  

Men’s Division III:

Men’s Division III saw plenty of close finishes over the weekend. Las Vegas Irish D3 was able to hold off the pesky Tucson Magpies 30-29; and the Santa Barbra Grunions saw off an Eagle Rock Athletic side that was a thorn in their side all day, 17-10. Huntington Beach Unicorns were able to keep San Diego Old Aztecs D3 from getting their first win of the year by holding on to a 37-32 lead. Despite the close scores there were some blow outs too, Belmont Shore D3 got the biggest win of the weekend with a 71-19 drubbing of the North County Gurkhas. San Luis Obispo also landed a fifty point win of their own, downing the Dolphins 58-7. Kern County were impressive in their 43-12 win over the Back Bay Shark. As were the Scottdale Blues as they tamed the Old Pueblo Lions 38-22.

Men’s Division IV:

Fullerton continued their undefeated run to open the season beating Dead Rabbits Rugby convincingly, 41-19. The other match in Division IV  saw Riverside take back the South Bay Stingrays 56-8.