Friars Claim Rugby Championship

The Father Duenas Friars’ faced off against the two-time defending champion George Washington Geckos Saturday, and came away with a 17-7 victory at the GW field.

With the win, the Friars reclaimed the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam’s boys’ high school rugby title after a three-year drought. The victory is the Friar’s seventh rugby championship after winning the first two titles in 2005 and 2006, and then four in a row from 2009 to 2012.

“It was a good game, the boys sucked it up when they were down. We had a bunch of penalties in the first half, but they came back to win,” said Friars forward coach Leonard Calvo. “They made plays when it counted.”

The Friars drew first blood in the low-scoring first half when flanker Kobe Tupaz scored a try to give his team a 5-0 lead. The ensuing conversion try from Josh Lujan went just left of the posts nullifying the extra point.

The defending champs answered back in a classic goal line stand between the Friars and the Geckos. After a bone-crunching, back-and-forth between the two sides, Damon Hocog finally broke and scored on a try to tie the match. Ryan Quitugua calmly booted the conversion between the posts to give the Geckos a 7-5 lead.

With the Friars knocking on the door late in the first half and just yards away from scoring another possible try, the whistle gave both sides a break.

“All the credit to GW, they played tough. Our boys just wanted it more. We came out and won it in the second half,” said Calvo. “(The Geckos) are a good team, well coached and physical kids.”

That second half effort by the Friars started off on a try by Bryton Cepeda to push the Friars ahead. Unfortunately, another conversion attempt by Lujan was unsuccessful giving the Friar’s a slim 10-7 lead.

“Our front row did really well. Jake Benito broke it open with a big play in the end. I’m really proud of the boys – they pulled through,” Calvo said.

With just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, Friar Jake Benito found an opening on the left side of the field and was able to break a few tackles on the way to the Friars’ third try of the match.

Lujan ended the day in style with a successful conversion, giving the Friars’ a 10-point lead and putting the pressure on the Geckos to come back. It wasn’t meant to be for the Geckos as the Friars were able to keep them scoreless for the remainder of the game and secure the title.