Preston Thue
Staff Writer
Mira Costa rugby did not only finish the season undefeated but also propelled itself into the championship match against St. John Bosco High School.
Costa took on Bosco at the University of California, Los Angeles on Saturday on the North Athletic field in the California Interscholatic Federation championship game, ending the game with a decisive 46-29 victory.
“Overall, we went into the game and took care of business,” senior lock Justin Johnson said. “I am very happy with my team, and it was a solid win overall.”
The Braves started the game with the kickoff, and from then on Costa kept constant possession of the ball. Immediately after the kick off, junior hooker Callum Lapper scored the first try of the game for Costa, giving the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead. After the try, sophomore wing Kaden Loversky converted the kick. This try was followed by another try from sophomore prop Robert Fiene, which was also the first try of his career.
“We took the ball and drove it right through the Bosco defense to their try line,” Johnson said. “It was awesome that our two opening tries were scored by rookies who scored their first tries of the season.”
In the first half of the game, junior Harrison Dulgarian kicked the ball from 36 meters out, driving the ball past the Braves’ defense and into the Braves’ try zone. Loversky was able to convert it once again, giving the Mustangs a 33-12 lead at the end of the half.
“We came out and played well to start the game,” junior center David Arredondo said. “It was a hard-fought first half, but we played as a team, and we came through.”
At the start of the second half, the Braves were able to gain momentum as they looked to narrow Costa’s lead by using their forwards to get possession of the ball and letting their large, strong backs push past Costa’s defense. By doing this, the Braves scored two tries in a row.
Costa soon regained possession of the field when Loversky kicked a 33-meter penalty kick. Late in the half, Dulgarian passed the ball to Johnson, who was the seventh Mustang on the team to score.
“It was a back-and-forth game,” senior prop Greg Boras said. “We were not crisp in the second half, but we were able to execute when we had to.”
Sophomore number eight Jonah Tavai scored for a second time after running in the ball, and junior fullback Sean Walker, junior wing Kevin Russell and Arredondo all finished the game strong with consistent tackles against Bosco’s big back line.
“I thought the game went really well, Arredondo said. “We came out and executed well offensively.”
Although Costa’s playoff run is over, it will play in a scrimmage game at home against Rangitoto High School from New Zealand on April 29. Rangitoto is coming to California especially for this match-up.
“This season was a complete team effort,” coach Duke Dulgarian said. “All of our boys did a great job not only playing unselfish, but also playing fierce rugby.”
With this major win, the team has come a long way. When the team first began in 2014, it was not an official school sport as it was only acknowledged as a club sport. However, by the end of the 2014 club season, not only did Costa have a record of 11-0 overall, but it also managed to get recognized as an official varsity sport by the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
“Upon starting the team, we didn’t get much recognition,” Dulgarian said. “It wasn’t until the end or our first season that we got named a varsity sport.”
Leave a Reply