USA Men’s Eagles vs Australia XV
🗓️ October 24
📍Nashville, TN
🎥 Paramount

USA Women Eagles vs Italy
🗓️ October 24
📍Nashville, TN
🎥 Paramount

Ohio

Dating back to 2021, nobody had beaten St. Ignatius in fall sevens. West Pitt wasn’t interested in continuing that narrative, and handed the Wildcats their first loss this past weekend, 21-19.

That was good enough to give West Pitt the #2 seed (North division) heading into the state tournament this weekend.

St. Xavier enters as the #1 seed in the South, and they’ll face West Pitt on Sunday. That should be a good one.

St. Edward has Walnut Hills to get through if they want to have a shot at St. Ignatius later in the day.

But West Pitt just showed that it’s no guarantee we’ll see Ignatius in the final — there are some hungry and talented sevens squads in this bracket. Hang tight.

Pennsylvania

Doylestown is the lone undefeated team left in the boys division. Players like Jackson Rielly and Griffin Glock are taking care of business each week, and there’s only one more weekend of Fall Sevens before we head into the state championship.

Berks County had a solid weekend, and finds themselves at #2 with a record of 11-1. La Salle is squarely in the mix as well, though they struggled to get on the board against Doylestown over the weekend.

Utah

The Northside Red Wolves are champs. In a Tier 1 division that included the Cavemen and Herriman, the Red Wolves were impressive throughout the entire season, and capped it off with a trophy for the locker room.

Remember, these guys are Layton Christian, or LCA. It’s going to take some getting used to — but they are now the Northside Wolves. And they are the fall sevens champs.

Colorado

I’m running out of ways to say this:
Monarch looks unbeatable.

They went 3-0 on the weekend… again. And none of the games were particularly close.

There are still two weeks left to play in Colorado, but it will take something special to knock Monarch off their perch. Here are some highlights from their 40-0 win over East.

Tennessee

Championship weekend incoming.
The Raptors will be there. Christian Brothers will be there. White Station Will be there. Knoxville will be there. And of course, Father Ryan will be there.

We’ll follow up with results after TN crowns a champ.

North Carolina

In the Elite division, The Hough Huskies and South Charlotte are neck-and-neck with 5-1 records.

It’s Final’s Weekend for North Carolina, and the Huskies take the top seed on point differential. South Charlotte is #2 seed, and there’s a chance we could see them clash in the final match of the day at 4:30 pm. Stay tuned.

Some highlights and observations from a top drawer event in San Diego.

Note: The Cal vs Long Beach final was a great game, but we’re focusing on the high school division here.

The Carmichael Hawks finally tasted defeat this fall, at the hands of SoCal’s own Cathedral Catholic boys.

As the tournament got underway Saturday morning, there were already whispers on the sideline about a potential matchup between these two, and the crowd proved correct.

After both sides went undefeated in pool play, the final did not disappoint.

The tries scored in this game came like lightning strikes. Sneeze and you'd miss a red or green jersey flashing into the try zone.

Restart kick — boom! Try scored.

Penalty tap — bang! Try scored.

It went back and forth — each side testing the edge and looking for a small crease to escape through.

It took tremendous defensive discipline — and a little ankle-tap magic — from each team to keep the other in check.

Carmichael seemed to gain the advantage when Gavin McLean made a heads-up decision to kick and chase from a penalty tap. He ran it down and dove over, giving the Hawks a 17-12 lead to close the first half.

But Cathedral kept cool heads when the second frame opened, and they were the next to strike. Deep in their own half, the Dons’ Boyd Stockmeyer broke a couple tackles and hit the afterburners into the try zone.

With the Cathedral lads on top 19-17, and still over 5 minutes left on the clock, the game became a defensive masterclass.

Five minutes in sevens is an eternity, and the tired legs arrived right on cue. Players on both sides were visibly battling exhaustion. It was a question of who could keep their wits about them just long enough to make the other side crack.

And it all came down to the final play.

Zero time left on the clock. Score still 19-17 in the Dons’ favor.

Inside Cathedral’s 22, with the ball in hand, Carmichael darted and dashed and chucked the ball around. Gradually Cathedral’s defense became narrower, and Seti Perona recognized space outside — slinging the ball wide to create a 2-on-1 on the goal line.

But the final pass never came. The Hawks carried into contact, and the ball squirted loose in the tackle.

Right on the doorstep.

Final whistle. Cathedral victorious!

It was a devastating moment for Carmichael, who came so close to sweeping the series.

Hats off to Cathedral Catholic. Composed and electric throughout the tournament, the Dons earned the trophy with their best performance of the series.

Best game of the weekend. Hands down.

Watch the replay 🎥

Seti Perona | Carmichael Hawks

Named MVP of the tournament, Perona was simply the class of the weekend. He was the engine behind the Hawks’ attack, and his defense and communication were unrivaled. Last year, he opened eyes with his free-wheeling playmaker style. This year, he showed a new sense of maturity without losing that gamer element — making extraordinary skills seem almost routine. A true joy to watch his game evolve.

Landon Hawkins | Cathedral Catholic

Now the only Hawkins on the pitch, Landon did his family name proud. He was the heartbeat of the Dons’ attack and kept things organized defensively. He had plenty of highlight moments throughout the tournament, but what stood out to me was his calm under pressure and ability to sense opportunity before it was apparent to anyone else on the field. He had a lot to do with Cathedral’s championship win, even without crossing the try line himself.

James Curtis | Cal Berkeley

On the college side, Curtis just made things happen — over and over again. The scrumhalf was involved in every aspect of Cal’s championship victory. When 15s rolls around, Cal is in good hands following Solomon Williams’ graduation this spring.

Kieran Downs | USD

A 2024 Gonzaga graduate, Downs excels at setting his teammates up for success. His spatial awareness is off the charts, and he can also hit the line with enough pace to break away. In fact, he did exactly that in the Plate Final, cruising into the try zone for the game-winner in extra time. Definitely a playmaker worth tracking over the next couple years.

Bryson Waterhouse | Torrey Pines

Waterhouse elevated the Torrey Pines game with dominant carries and a couple tries to boot. He’s a tough dude to bring down, regularly dragging or smashing through defenders.

Makaio de la Cruz | OMBAC

Thunder and lightning all in one package. Makaio de la Cruz is a master of momentum, and kept defenders guessing all weekend.

Elijah Lolesio-Pua | Long Beach State

The guy was everywhere — making full-extension ankle tackles on the edge, slipping through traffic for solo tries. Lolesio-Pua was super fun to watch and a huge part of Long Beach’s near-upset of Cal in the college final.

Sheesh, I could go on and on. There were so many exciting players to watch over the weekend. These dudes were top of mind though, so they get the ink this time.

There’s something I totally under-appreciated about sevens rugby in the past: it’s a better social experience than 15s. There’s something playful and jovial about the sevens format, and West Coast Sevens captured it perfectly in San Diego.

Players mingled on the sidelines. Coaches and former pros chatted and offered tips to young ruggers between matches. And the newly introduced beer garden offered respite from the blazing sun for parents and fans.

One thing that was particularly special: The college athletes were heavily invested in the high school matches. Many had friends or siblings on the HS squads, and you could see college players from different programs cheering on their younger counterparts.

This competition gets better each year, and I hope it can eventually expand and have a national presence.

Until next time, peace out West Coast Sevens, and well done!

This was during the college championship match at West Coast Sevens.

Cal was heavily favored, but Long Beach flew out of the gates and scored two unanswered tries in the first few minutes.

Cal did, in fact, go on to win the game. But this comment from a player standing behind me was pretty on-point at that moment in the game.

I love being on the sidelines — the chatter is incredible.

Oddball musings, thanks to the cold tub.

🏉 French fries in a breakfast burrito will never make sense to me. C’mon San Diego — gimme some real taters in there.

🏉 To the person who sat next to me for six hours on Alaska Airlines: Farting on an airplane should earn you a night in a jail cell.