SPOKANE — Last Saturday, the boys’ high school rugby Cascade Cup Championship was held in Spokane, and for the second consecutive season, the Wenatchee Schoolhouse rugby team won the cup.
Wenatchee won after an undefeated season that held opponents, over a five-week stint, to one try a game on average.
“That’s pretty unheard of in high school rugby. Especially with us being a young team,” said Wenatchee head coach Kelly Campbell. “This is probably the best defensive team we’ve had.
Wenatchee and Moscow (Idaho) met in the championship match on a hot and humid 95-degree day after besting the six other members of the Cascade Rugby Union League but it almost didn’t go Wenatchee’s way.
Moscow, immediately after time began, scored a try to take the lead. Wenatchee’s defense adjusted, holding them scoreless the rest of the half which allowed their offense to break loose and score 24 points, taking the lead, 24-7. They used a new offense the team put together only three weeks previously.
“Our boys played a great first half after Moscow scored early. They did an amazing job with the new offense,” Campbell said. “They let down with the big lead in the second, but then they locked down on defense.”
Moscow chipped away at the deficit until it was a 3-point game.
“They came storming back,” Campbell said. “It was a really good game.”
With less than a minute left, Wenatchee stole the ball and held possession. With only seconds left and no time to score, they kicked the ball out of bounds to seal their championship, 29-26.
Senior Colby King, the captain and club’s all-time leading scorer, added two more tries to his total. Senior Peter Nourse, Jacobi Mercado and Daxton Dickson each scored a try apiece. A total of five tries and two conversions gave Wenatchee their winning score.
To make the final match Wenatchee, two weeks earlier, beat a talented Spokane club with two Division I athletes on the roster. They did it by a wide margin, 50-7.
The team had eight seniors, two juniors and the rest of the 25-man roster was made up of sophomores and freshmen.
“With the heat,” Campbell said. “It took all 25 players to get it done.”
The high school girls’ rugby clubs held their own cup in Tukwila at the same Starfire Field where the Seattle Seawolves play, a professional rugby union team. Wenatchee went 0-2 at the tournament, but overall, it was a good experience for them.
“Rainier was a tough test. They’re very experienced,” Campbell said. “It was probably our best game. The girls looked amazing despite the score.”
Wenatchee lost 25-7 to the difficult Rainier team. Shalame Mercado was responsible for Wenatchee’s only try and Sharlene Campbell dropkicked a 2-point conversion. Their second game was a 20-0 route by Ellensburg. Wenatchee had only three Seniors on their roster.
No final cup was offered for the U12 and U14 teams as the focus is more on development than anything but plenty of games were held for them over the weekend. Wenatchee’s U12 team went 2-2 and their U14 team went 2-1. That same U14 team didn’t lose a game for three weeks straight during the regular season.
Rand Stevens: (509) 664-7157
World sports writer
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