Wolfinger’s Eagles playing to a high bar
Rugby squad out for a return to No. 1 in Texas rankings
St. Thomas has been one of the standard-bearers for high school rugby in Texas under head coach Jim Wolfinger, with six state championships and four national tournament appearances to the Eagles’ credit.
But the past few seasons have been slightly down for St. Thomas, which placed seventh at state a year ago.
“We’ve been in rebuilding mode, but we’re starting to come around,” Wolfinger said.
A 41-19 rout against Kingwood improved St. Thomas’ record to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in Rugby Texas’ South Division I standings.
Wolfinger noted that the Eagles are striving for more balance, but the athleticism and skill is there to make a run at another state title.
“The big guys are playing well up front, but our backs need to be more consistent,” Wolfinger said.
“When we get a total team effort, we’re tough to beat.”
Senior prop Robert Gonzales sets the tone for St. Thomas with his physical style of play.
“Robert is just a powerful man,” Wolfinger said. “It’s hard to slow him down.”
St. Thomas’ primary strength is its versatility, with players capable of handling multiple positions.
Other veterans include senior hooker George Michael, senior flanker/lock Seamus Sullivan, junior prop/lock Sam Yeboah, junior flanker/inside center Griffin Maat and senior captain Josh Pane, who has been a dominant force at the number 8 spot. Maat and Pane have been the Eagles’ toptwo scorers.
Other key contributors include senior fullback Derek Allen, senior wing Michael Blanchard, junior fly half/scrum half Riley Bishop, junior locks Michael Gentempo and Clay Reidy, senior center Grant Guthrie, sophomore center Nick Pane and sophomore fly half/scrum half Eli Young.
Wolfinger said the next weeks will be pivotal for St. Thomas, which is in the midst of an East Coast road trip highlighted by battles against Georgetown Prep of Bethesda, Maryland, and Delbarton School of Morristown, New Jersey. St. Thomas also will host St. Ignatius High School of Cleveland, Ohio, at 7 p.m. Monday, March28.
“Delbarton and St. Ignatius are the state champs from New Jersey and Ohio and Georgetown Prep is the No. 2 team from Maryland,” Wolfinger said. “We always try to play tough competition from across the country. It forces us to elevate ourgame.”
That should provide extra preparation as St. Thomas returns to division play at home against Katy at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March31.
The Eagles’ objective is to qualify for next month’s state tournament.
“Rug by Texas simplified things this year,” Wolfinger said.
“We’re trying to get to the tournament and reach the Final Four. If we are able to do that, then it’ll be a successful season.” Boys lacrosse on rise
The St. Thomas boys lacrosse team advanced to the Texas High School Lacrosse League Division II playoffs a year ago, a milestone for the up-and-coming program.
New head coach Erinn O’Hara believes it’s a good start for the Eagles, who have much bigger goals, including challenging Langham Creek and Cy Woods for the THSLL Division II Central Varsity division title and advancing to the THSLL State Tournament.
“We’d like to get first place in our division,” O’Hara said. “We want to get back into the playoffs and see if we can go farther and compete for a state championship.”
Last week, St. Thomas crushed rival St. PiusX202, improving to 6-2 overall and a perfect 2-0 in division play.
O’Hara admitted the Eagles were reeling after dropping back-to-back contests to Stratford 18-7 and Magnolia 5-4.
“We started the season 5-0 and probably were overconfident,” O’Hara said. “Hopefully, we learned a lesson or two.”
St. Thomas, though, has received terrific leadership from its co-captains – se- nior midfielder Pete Huggins, senior defender Jonathan McGovern and junior attacker Riley Lam.
“Pete is a star football player. He’s a good scorer and whole team look sup to him,” O’Hara said. “Jonathan is our best on-the-ball defender and Riley has done a great job, too. They’ve kept the team on track.”
Other standouts include sophomore attacker Brad Delia, freshman midfielder Ben Huggins and junior long stick middie Ryan Phillips.
The Eagles will travel to Awty at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March24, in adivision game.