Ravenwood's Jared Facer laterals to Jacob Morris as Nic Nosal, Cole Felix, and Connor Williams run in support in the Battle of the Woods two years ago. No forward passing or blocking is allowed in rugby.

By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page
It doesn’t matter what kind of football it is (or sport for that matter), it’s always a big rivalry when Brentwood and Ravenwood meet on the field of play – and that’s no different in high school rugby.

Both programs, which began under the Brentwood Rugby Club umbrella and split off in 2006, are among the strongest in the state in both boys and girls rugby. The Brentwood Brumbies boys teams have won six state titles in their 10 previous seasons, and the RHS girls captured both the spring 15s and summer-fall 7s state cups last year.

Ravenwood's Jacob Morris is tackled by a Brentwood Brumbie as Jared Facer looks on during the Battle of the Woods two years ago.

“The Battle of the Woods every year is one of the best moments we have,” said Ravenwood coach Richard Boone, who helped co-found the Brentwood club with Brumbies co-coach Mike Haverstick in 2001. “Before that big match at the end of the season, all seniors from both teams line up in the middle of the field and are recognized for who they are and where they're going to school or whatever they're doing post-high school.

“It's kind of more of a community feel -- then they proceed to knock each other around the pitch. And then they break bread afterward, because a lot of them ending up playing together in college.”

This year’s games are scheduled for Friday, April 8, at Crockett Park with the girls playing at 6:50 p.m. and the boys at 7:50 p.m., although the two schools have already met this season. Ravenwood is fielding two A boys sides this spring, with its Red squad of newer upperclassmen players “learning on the quick” and younger experienced players taking on Brentwood last week.

The Brumbies won that match with the Ravenwood Red, 29-7. Brentwood also won the B or junior varsity game, 10-5.

For the Brentwood A team, Donald Carpenter and Alex Golf both had two tries (touching the ball down in the try or end zone, good for 5 points), and Brock Hart added another. Ingo Breitschneider kicked two conversions (worth 2 points each), which are placed in line with wherever the touchdown occurred – and must be moved back farther on kicks with sharp angles.

 “There was a big crowd on hand and there was a lot of good rugby,” Brumbies co-coach Mike Gower said.

Rugby has rough image but safer than seems

Rugby is the most fun he’s ever had in sports and pushes a player’s endurance, Boone said. Every player can touch the ball, which often makes football linemen happy, Gower said.

Like lacrosse, swimming and hockey, the sport is not sanctioned by the TSSAA and is thus a club sport for Tennessee high schools. Rugby, unlike most high school sports, has a national playoff and Brentwood went to nationals in 2006 and was ranked fifth.

A scrum (or scrummage, which is where the term line of scrimmage comes from in football) is a restart of the game. The ball is put in the center of eight guys pushing each other to gain possession. A team's "hooker" tries to hook the ball back to his team with his foot.

“I have basically tracked our growth very similarly to lacrosse,” Gower said. “They have been a little bit more organized at younger age groups. But now we have middle schools that have teams and that are competing.

“Rugby was added to the 2016 Olympics so that has definitely sparked interest, and you're seeing more telecasts on ABC and ESPN, so exposure is growing. Our largest avenue is in the college ranks -- it's very popular in the college club ranks.”

The college level has been cleaning up its reputation as a party sport, the coaches said, and rugby also has had a reputation as a violent sport. However, a recent study showed that rugby causes no more traumatic injuries than other contact sports including football, hockey, soccer, lacrosse and wrestling, Gower said.

Boone, who has only broken a finger in 30 years of playing rugby, said he’s seen just one ACL tear among hundreds of boys and girls rugby players he’s coached. But his daughter and son’s soccer teams have had several.

Coaches do have to teach safety especially about tackling someone to ground (you can only tackle between shoulders and knees, and must wrap up) and how to be taken to ground if you’re the ball carrier. This can prevent such injuries as broken collarbones and elbows when hitting the ground, Boone said.

“After a game, you're going to be a little bit bruised, have scratches, you're going to feel the fact you played in the game,” Boone said about the physical nature of the game.

Rugby draws players from all kinds of sports backgrounds, even some without any athletic experience.

“There's some sports that translate really well,” Gower said. “I'd rather have a wrestler than any other sport because the way their conditioning is, the way they know the tackling takedowns, those are the kids we like to get the most. But, as far as any other sport, it doesn't really matter -- we have band kids that come out and never have played a sport.”

The Brumbies coach said football players often have to be retrained because they want to lead with their heads. They also often want to block for their teammates – but blocking is not allowed in rugby.

“When you have a helmet on and pads you are very reckless, but in rugby it's more like I'm just going to take you to the ground,” Gower said. “I'm not trying to put that kill shot on you. We have to try to re-learn that.

“Kids pick it up really quickly. Soccer players translate well because you kick, track kids translate well because you run, baseball kids cause there's hand-eye coordination. Everybody can compete.”

A Brentwood player carries the ball last season against Riverdale. Rugby players try advance the ball by running, lateraling backward to a teammate to carry it, or kicking it. Once brought to ground, they may not touch the ball until back on their feet -- and an opposing player may poach (steal) the ball.

BHS-RHS outlooks for 2011

High school rugby programs statewide also primarily have a no-cut policy, adding more teams and games if necessary – Brentwood has previously also had three boys teams with A, B and C sides. Ravenwood even has home-school players since it’s a club sport.

The Brumbies program includes teams at Brentwood Middle, and Woodland Middle has a rugby program feeding into Ravenwood.

The Ravenwood program was started the same year that Brentwood went to nationals. Boone moved over to RHS because that’s where his kids would go to high school, and for one year he coached at both schools.

“Once we separated it became a great thing really for both programs because instead of having 60 kids playing, now we have 160 kids,” Boone said.

Here’s a quick look at the Brentwood and Ravenwood rugby programs this spring:

Brentwood boys: Brentwood, fifth in the state last year in DI, already had matches against Franklin and nearby rival Father Ryan, and played in the Nash Bash at Vanderbilt on March 12 along with RHS.

Besides the April 8 game with the Ravenwood Black, the Brumbies visit Coffee County on Friday, April 15. 

“Father Ryan won their tier state championship last year, and they were our first game and we barely lost to them by a try, which is like a touchdown,” Gower said. “If we're losing to the defending champions by one score, then we're in the mix.”

Goff, a senior co-captain who started at defensive end on the BHS district championship football team, has made the All-Stars in rugby every year since he was a sophomore. His two older brothers also played for the Brumbies, and the oldest, Benji, is now a captain for the University of Tennessee rugby club – often ranked among the top 25 best college sides in the nation.

Ravenwood boys: The Ravenwood Rugby Club boys team moved up to DI last season and was State Cup finalist. The Raptors made the DII State Cup finals their first season in 2006 and won it all in 2007 and ’08. 

Ravenwood returns scrumhalf Connor Williams and flyhalf Jared Facer who, along with new comer John Layne are making a great 8, 9, 10 combination, Boone said.

The Raptors club lost two dominant loose forwards, Erik Shaw and Nick Nosal, to graduation. Mike Koenig and Taylor Minor, among others, have stepped up their level of play looking to help put Ravenwood in the top tier again this season.

Adam Byrd, an anchor in the front row, has been lost temporarily to a football knee injury. But Austin Dozier has played well in his place and will make it tough for Byrd to prove he’s back in form to return to the lineup, Boone said.

Two other players who graduated are Matt Jordan and Todd Dickerson, but Hunter Dickerson, Ronnie Wright and Evan Summerville have stepped up, Boone added.

Scrum half Henry Alexander led the Red team against Brentwood.

The Ravenwood boys teams are in action Thursday, March 31, at Crockett Park with the Red team facing Father Ryan at 5:40 p.m. and the Black playing Franklin at 8 p.m. The Black team finishes up April 8 against Brentwood, then challenges defending champ Ryan at 6:20 p.m. April 15 at Crockett.

Tournament MVP Kerri Knox, a Ravenwood senior in 2010, pulls away from a Karns defender in the semifinals last season.

Ravenwood girls: The Lady Raptors have won State Cup twice (2007, 2010), were Tennessee and South Region finalists in 2007 and ’08, and went unbeaten but didn’t participate in state in their first season in 2006. They also won the 7s inaugural state event last year, playing with seven players instead of 15 on the same size field (this version is what the ’16 Olympics will play).

“It's a shorter game, it's very exciting and very spectator-friendly,” Boone said.

Senior backs Juli Hindman and Judy Lomax score a lot of points for the RHS girls, but the club lost league leading scorer Kerri Knox from last year’s state championship team.  Up and comers Caitlin Boone, Diane Pamplona, and Ashley Smith have picked up their pace and are adding quality tries and conversions, Boone said.

Anna Darbashi, Mary Rogers, and Ebony Freeman carry the Ravenwood forwards (or pack – the lineman-type positions) with their style of play both running and tackling.

The Lady Raptors play Blackman at 6:40 p.m. Monday, March 28, at Crockett Park, and have matches April 1 and 5 at Sycamore and Siegel, respectively. The April 8 battle with RHS is the regular-season finale.  

Brentwood girls: The Lady Brumbies have some returning players and a pool of energetic newcomers, coach Terri Sells said. Back Kelsey Neely has 61 points, scoring nine tries and kicking eight conversions.  

Halfback Hailee Sells has 14 points (2 tries, 2 conversions) and back Caitlin Pinkard 10 points (2 tries).

“Veteran players in key positions will be vital to the success of the team this year and major contributions from the new players will be needed to achieve the goals for the team,” Sells said.

The Lady Brumbies return to action at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, March 31, vs. Blackman, then take on Ravenwood before closing the regular season at Coffee County on April 15.

Ravenwood's girls rugby team celebrates last year's first 7s state championship, a faster, exciting version of the sport to be played in the 2016 Olympics.