Dixon has a great reason to be proud of its rugby team today.
The Dixon Rugby Club won a national title in Sandy, Utah, today at the U19 single high school level. Dixon players squared off against Penn High School (Indiana) and outscored them 48-11 to take the high school title.
Dixon players beat Snow Canyon from Utah 20-10 yesterday and Xavier from Manhattan yesterday 20-12, winning them an opportunity to play today against Penn High School in the championships.
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“It is very satisfying. The boy’s earned the right to win the championship by working hard and waking up early and running, going on to England and Wales and winning matches there, beating Jesuit during the regular season," Dixon Rugby Club president and Coach Robert Salaber said. "The boys have been playing together for a few years, and we have a nice rugby program in Dixon. This definitely puts us in the annals of history for a small town like this to win a national championship.”
According to Rugbymag.com: "Dixon got on the board first when fullback Anthony Salaber slid into pay dirt. He missed the conversion, leaving Dixon down one. The Northern California champs then pressured a Penn scrum deep in the Indiana team’s end, and Penn flyhalf Jake Garwood knocked on the out pass. Dixon flanker Nick Bonovich astutely dove on the ball for the try, giving the Northern California club the lead 12-6 lead following Salaber’s conversion."
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Click this link for a full account of the game on rugbymag.com
“We worked harder than the other teams," Coach Salaber said. "We weren’t the most impressive looking team out there, because we were up against some pretty impressive looking athletes, but we know how to play rugby. Rugby, at any level, is about basics. Running with the ball, tackling, and passing, and our boys are very good at that.”
Check out these stats from usarugby.org.
Dixon 48
Tries: Salaber (3), Bonovich, Williams (2), Rico (2)
Cons: Salaber (4)
Penn 11
Tries: DeLuca
Pens: Vincent (2)
“Rugby is the quintessential team sport," Coach Salaber said. “My son, Anthony, won MVP of tournament. He scored 53 points out of the 88 points we scored. This definitely puts us on the map. We now have a program that has won a national title, and we’ll probably never have an easy game ever again.”
Dixon Patch congratulates the Dixon Rugby Club on this prestigious title.
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