The Coronado Girls’ Rugby team had a rough start against San Marcos High School on Saturday. The first half of the game featured many mental errors and balls dropped, which were taken advantage of by the opposing team. Although Nessa Hudson and Oloa Ta’a carried the team in tackles and runs, respectively, the second half of the game proved to be better for Coronado. Christie Parr had an excellent fifty-yard run after stealing the ball at the two-yard line. Sasha Wong soon took over the play, but then lost the ball after a penalty.
During the latter part of the second half, Hudson and Araceli Flores led the highlight play of the match. Flores, after stealing the ball from San Marcos, threw a quick pass to Hudson, who ran through a large series of tacklers to get to the ten-yard line. She then passed the ball to Flores, who faked a pass and completed the try. “They would lose this match 29-7, but they had found their Blue Heads, a player who is in a cool, controlled state of mind,” said Coach Trujillo. This became important for their second match, against La Costa Canyon. With two tries from Hudson, one from Flores, and one from Ta’a, Coronado prevailed 24-5. “We hope they keep their Blue Heads as they play away this week at Mira Mesa High School.”
Blue Head: the cool, controlled, pattern-seeing state, when you retain your awareness and your decision-making power, when you stay flexible and deliver top performance.
The Boys’ Varsity rugby team played a non-league scrimmage against the Valhalla High School Norsemen. Coach Trujillo commented, “This would be a test match to help the team prepare for playoffs playing a team that resembles what they’ll see from Northern California.” Once again, the Monster Squad, a group of forwards, led the team with their strong scrummaging, as well as hard running by Will Hunt. The Norsemen committed a series of penalties, giving James Cook the opportunity to complete the try. Diego DeOrlow would then make the conversion, and “Coronado was on the board in a match that we weren’t supposed to score in,” said Trujillo.
Although the Norsemen maintained a significant lead, the varsity boys dominated the second half. Coronado’s Scrum-Half, Ben Cahill, executed exceptional passes to the Forwards, as well as strong runs from Colton Cline, Chase Matthews, and Harrison Bartell. The final score was 24-56 in favor the Norsemen.
“We are on solid ground and we expect to win the next match even if it doesn’t count. The varsity boys have arrived, and they are hungry for more rugby,” says Trujillo.
Upcoming Games:
- Saturday, January 20 vs. Patrick Henry High School @ 9:30 AM (Away)
- Saturday, January 20 vs. Mira Mesa High School @ 8:00 AM (Away)
