Here's a write-up of the games. We apologize for any inaccuracies.

The Battle of Baltimore was hosted by Baltimore-Chesapeake RFC in Baltimore last Saturday. This mini-tournament featured four local college teams from Baltimore, and 4 high school teams from Baltimore and D.C. There were two rounds in the tournament with the winners of the first round of games playing each other, and then the losers playing each other.

The four college participants were from the Men's College Division 2 in the Potomac Rugby Union: Towson University, UMBC, Loyola University, and Johns Hopkins University. The four high school participants were Loyola HS, Eleanor Roosevelt HS, Poly HS, and West End U19. It should be mentioned that Poly HS is the first in Baltimore City to feature rugby as a sport. They have made remarkable improvement since their inaugural season, and we wish them success in the future.

These games were the first for most of the schools this spring, so they were a bit rusty and this was reflected in the close scores in the first round. In the high school games, Poly edged Roosevelt with quick off-loading and a few late tries by a score of 19-7. The other game featured strong contenders in Loyola and West End. Like the first game, these two team started out slowly, but Loyola emerged victorious pulling ahead 12-7.

The college teams featured a number of PRU playoff participants in Towson, UMBC, and Loyola. Towson and Loyola were both undefeated in fall play leading up to the playoffs (Loyola's lone non-victory was a tie against Navy C). Both clubs would eventually lose to Salisbury in the PRU playoffs, Loyola in the semi-finals, and Towson in the final.

The first game pitted rivals UMBC and Towson. Both teams were physical, trading hard hits and precise kicks into open space to open up play. In the end, Towson was able to persevere and blanked UMBC, 14-0. The other college match pitted up-start JHU against Loyola. JHU was winless last fall, but that certainly didn't stop them from giving Loyola a tough match on Saturday. The Blue Jays put up a strong defense, but Loyola prevailed 10-3.

The fields held up well considering the rain and snow we had received. But the field conditions still created some problems, although it was not evident from the scores during the next round of play. The schools, back in rugby form, created more opportunities through smart decisions, crisp passing, and hard running.

The losers High School bracket featured West End and Roosevelt. Both teams featured some new faces having lost a number of experienced players to graduation. The final score was not indicative of the struggle that ensued, with West End earning the victory 31-0. The winners bracket featured 2 Baltimore High Schools, one public, Poly Engineers, and the other private, Loyola Dons, in a true battle. Loyola got on the score board early with a powerful group of forward play, so it looked liked it could be a long day for Poly, but the Engineers rallied and put up forth a strong effort. Ultimately, Loyola's lone score proved the difference, 5-0.

The losers College bracket was a rematch of last fall's division game between UMBC and Johns Hopkins, a game where UMBC prevailed 43-0. Eager to show their improvement, Hopkins came out strong, but UMBC was more experienced and with a patient, resilient attack proved too much, winning 17-0.

The Championship game had all the fanfare of a heavyweight bout, at least among colleges in Baltimore with winning rugby traditions. Both schools beat their competition in the fall by a combined score of more than 60 points. Towson had the top seed in the PRU playoffs, and Loyola was third. In 2009, these two teams were as evenly matched as possible, with Loyola prevailing 6-3. These schools are separated by less than 5 miles, just a short distance down York Rd, a la tobacco road with Duke & UNC. They frequent the same establishments, they eat at the same restaurants, and they have faced each other at least once a year for the past 25 years. Well, the rivalry is not quite that fierce, but you get the point. As a graduate of Towson University in 2002, this writer faced Loyola 5 times, with the last victory earning a spot, for whichever team won, in the playoffs......Towson won by a very slim margin, and I'm sure if you asked Loyola's past players they would tell you they should have won.

This game had all the trimmings of a real slug-fest; however, at the end of the day, Towson was more physical. The poor field conditions didn't slow their speed and the neither did the shortened halves. Towson was triumphant, 29-0. Despite the lopsided score, there is no doubt that this loss will provide the fuel for the remainder of the season for Loyola and well into the fall, when these two teams are sure to provide another good rugby story.

We'd like to congratulate the Towson University Men's Rugby team and the Loyola High School Rugby team for winning their respective divisions of the first ever Battle Baltimore Rugby Tournament. We would also like to thank all of the participants and spectators for making this tournament a huge success. The ultimate goal of the Battle of Baltimore is to promote rugby amidst a friendly and competitive spirit. Baltimore-Chesapeake looks forward to hosting this tournament for many more years and we welcome all the teams to return.