Gators Newsletter 

I would like to thank everyone for becoming a part of the Gators Rugby Club.  The club has been around for six years and the growth and support has been awesome.  The main goal for the club is to have fun and learn the game of rugby with great character.  Even though the main goal is to have fun, we are still striving to make it to the Southern California playoffs with both of our U16 and HS teams.  Our HS team could have the opportunity to go to the National High School Tournament if we win the So. Cal. playoffs.  The tournament this year is in Pennsylvania.

I will be keeping the newsletter up to date on the events happening on and off the field.  Some of our HS and U16 games may be in two different locations so this will keep you informed on what happened.  If there is anything that you would like to see in the newsletter please feel free to let me know.

2008 Season

1st Place in Southern California High School South Conference

2nd Place in Southern California High School Division

Final Playoffs vs LA Cougars

SOC  10 vs LA 37

Tyler Alvino - try

Dillon McDonald - try

Back of the Match - Dillon McDonald

Forward of the Match - James French

Semi-Finals Playoffs vs Santa Monica

SOC 24 vs SM 5

Chris Kmec  - try

Robert Mickle - 2 try

Audric Meyer - 2 conversions

Ari Varkel - 1 penalty kick

Back of the Match - Chris Kmec

Forward of the Match - Robert Mickle

vs Cantwell

HS 36 vs Cantwell 0

Brahim Bouiahadj - 2 try

Dillon McDonald - try

Bryan Johnson - try

Tyler Alvino - try

Nate Jensen - try

Robert Mickle - 2 conversions

Audric Meyer  1 conversion

Back of the Match - Brahim Bouiahadj

Forward of the Match - Bryan Johnson

Girls mixed with Cantwell

Jaz - 2 try

Val -  3 try  2 conversions

Elda - try

A.J. - 2 try

U16 7 vs Cantwell 27

Zach Johnson - try

Kareen Bouiahadj - 1 conversion

Back of the Match - Zach Johnson

Forward of the Match - none

vs Long Beach Youth

U16 7 vs LB 41

Oliver Cregg - try

James French - 1 conversion

Back of the Match - Zach Johnson

Forward of the Match - Bryan Johnson

vs La Quinta

HS 26 vs LQ 24

Chris Kmec - try

Audric Meyer - try

Tyler Alvino - try

Brahim Bouiahadj - try

Robert Mickle - 3 conversions

Back of the Match - Tyler Alvino

Forward of the Match - Parker Lee

Extra Period

Colin Zarnegar - try

Jordan Alvino - 2 try

Bryan Johnson - try

Oliver Cregg - try

Jake Kuri - 1 conversion

vs Fullerton

HS 31 vs Fullerton 19

Audric Meyer - try

Jordan Alvino- try

Chris Kmec - try

Tyler Alvino - try

Fareed Karbassyoon - try

Robert Mickle - 3 conversions

Back of the Match - Oliver Cregg

Forward of the Match - Alton Moore

U16 15 vs Fullerton 20

Wyatt Hutton - try

Cole Hutton - try

Bryan Johnson - try

Back of the Match - Tom Wilson

Forward of the Match - Blake Mickle

HS/U16 10 vs Riverside 22

Dillon McDonald - try

Brahim Bouiahadj - try

March  29th vs Fallbrook

A rematch from the games before the National 7's was in store for this weekend.  We were finally getting a home game.

The U16 had a tough time getting started and we were not playing a fluid game of rugby.  Some knock ons and mistackles put us in a disadvantage.    We were able to come up with two trys by Ari Varkel and Bryan Johnson with Ari making both conversions.  But Fallbrook took it to us and scored 4 times to make the final score 14-26 in their favor.

Back of the Match - None

Forward of the Match - Zach Johnson

On the other hand, the HS team was able to take advantage of Fallbrooks mistackles and mishandling errors.  Freed Karbassyoon put in the first try just by pure power.  He went over, around, and through defenders to get in.  Tyler Alvino made a cut that left the defender standing in his boots and made another defender mis to put in the try, yes Robert Mickle made the conversion.  Next to the littlest man on the field Nate Jensen made  a run towards the sideline then decided to cut back and make two defenders mis him so he could put down the try to put us up 15-5.  With Keith Spann running all over the field and finally getting the ball (carrying it like a loaf of bread) he sliced through the defense to put down another try for us, and the conversion made by Robert Mickle.  With the forwards dominating the game at the scrums, rucks, and mauls Dillon McDonald was able to get the ball out and squeeze in for a try.  The icing on the cake was when Freed "always around the ball" Karbassyoon stole the ball right out of the opponents hands off of a penalty to finish the scoring  with the Gators 36 and Fallbrook 5.

Back of the Match - Audric Meyer

Forward of the Match - Parker Lee

We are on the right path to do something that has never been done in Gator history and that is going to the National Tournament. 

March 22nd & 23rd Fullerton Tournament

Sat. 22nd

U16 Al stars 19 vs U16 Australia 17  

Johnson, French, Moore - combined Try ( 1/3 each)

Audric Meyer - 1 try ( Is he a U16 now?)

HS  0 vs Trenton  5 

HS  31 vs Queen Elizabeth  0 

Fareed Karbassyoon - 1 try

Nate Jensen - 1 try

Chris Kmec - 1 try

Dwayne Caudle - 2 try

Robert Mickle - 3 conversions

HS  5 vs LA Cougars  7

Dwayne Caudle - 1 try

Sun. 23rd

HS  17 vs Yale  0

Bryan Johnson - 1 try

Dwayne Caudle - 2 try

Brahim Bouiahadj - 1 conversion

HS  19 vs Hart  7

Keith Spann - 1 try

Colin Zarnegar - 1 try

Dwayne Caudle - 1 try

Brahim Bouiahadj - 2 conversion

1st Place in the Plate Division

March 20th  vs Highland HS (Utah)

Some of our HS players got the opportunity to play in a game vs the top club in the Nation.  Highland has won the HS National Championship about 15 out of 17 years that they have had it.  It was great to see the level that our club needs to get at so we can compete at their level.  The players that went all shared playing time with other players from other clubs around SO. CAL.  I would like to thank the players that were able to play in the game.

Andrew Myers

Robert Mickle

Keith Spann

Fareed Karbassyoon

Dillon McDonald

Brahim Bouiahadj

Tyler Alvino

Colin Zarnegar

Audric Meyer

Let's work hard and meet them in the National Playoffs.

March 15th vs Back Bay

This is the first year that the Gators have beaten the Back Bay Sharks.  It felt good to finally beat one of our cross town rivals.

The U16 started off the day with a strong first half that held BB to 0 points.  We played most of the half in their end of the field but were unable to come away with any points.  The second half started the same as the first half but this time when we had a 5 meter scrum going in James French did a 8 man pick and took it in for a score.  BB was able to come away with a try and a conversion so with about 5 min left in the game BB was leading 5-7.  We moved the ball down the field and with less than 3 min left we received a penalty and choose to kick.  Ari Varkel lined the kick up and put it in to put us up 8-7.  BB moved the ball all the way to our 22 meter line to finally turn the ball over and we kick the ball our of bounds to end the game with the Gators on the winning side.  Great game guys.

Back of the Match - Ari Varkel

Forward of the Match - Curtis Greer

The HS team came out strong with fire in their belly to beat BB.  The first one to score was Keith Span who was set up by Freed Karbassyoon with a 40 meter run down the sideline, and  Robert Mickle with the conversion.  As we have done all season as soon as a forward scores the backs need to get a score also.  So Brahim Bouiahadj set up the backline for a double fake and he takes it in himself for a 30 meter try, Robert Mickle with the conversion.  Our HS side has been a little short in numbers in our forwards so a couple of forwards have been moving up from the U16 to help out.  One of the forwards that moved up was Bryan Johnson and he took the opportunity to get a score by doing a pick off the back of a ruck that Bra him created about 2 meters from the try line, consistent Mickle makes it again.  Our last try of the day came from a steal out of a maul by Nate Jensen that ran for about 60 meters to score.  At the final whistle Gators 26 and Back Bay 14.  GREAT GREAT WIN!!!!!

Back of the Match - Dillon McDonald

Forward of the Match - Ricky Tax

March 8th vs LA Cougars

With this week being a by week we were able to get a game with the LA Cougars.  They are the team that represented Southern California at the National Tournament last year.  We ended up playing a combined side of LA/Antelope Valley against our U16 and a game against our HS side.

The U16 played great defense and stepped up their tackling percentage.  LA/AV came out and put the first try on the board but missed their conversion.  The only try for us was off a great backline play.  We got the ball out of the scrum and spun the ball to the wing who was Cole Hutton.  With Oliver Cregg looping Cole was able to get him the ball down the sideline.  From about 60 meters out he only had one defender to beat and he gave him a stiff arm to go in for the try under the posts.  James French did a drop kick for the conversion.  The game ended up with us down 7-12.  It was a great showing for the U16.

The HS side also had a great defensive game.  LA/AU was able to come up with three trys on mistakes by us.  They did not beat us in the rucks and mauls.  Our fitness showed by us getting the numbers to the break downs faster than the opponent.  Our forwards grinded the ball down the field and Ricky Tax finally put it down for a try, with Robert Mickle making the conversion.  As a team we passed very well this game.  There were two different times that we had 10-12 passes before there was a breakdown.  The backs were not to be out done by the forwards so Tyler Alvino put down a try in the corner.  At the final whistle the opponent was up 12-17.  

GREAT JOB GATORS!!

March 1st vs North County Barbarians  

The NC U16 team and a very good side with size and speed.  Our defense improved a ton from two weeks ago.  We are making better tackles and we are communicating between teammates.  There were some key mistakes that we made that gave them the ability to score.  But the positive things were that we were getting to the breakdowns faster, bridging over the ruck better, tackling, and overall better shape.  We need to cut down on the little mistakes and we will get back in the win column.  We were able to squeeze out one try by Oliver Cregg and the conversion by Ari Varkel.  NC was able to get the best of us with a score of 7-26.  Maybe we will be able to see them in the playoffs and put together a better game.

Back of the Match - Oliver Cregg

Forward of the Match - Sloane McDonald

The HS team had a brilliant game vs NC.  Our defense stepped up and were making some great tackles.  But what came alive for us this game was our offense.  Not that we scored more points than usual but how we scored them.  We put ourselves in position to score by making 10-12 passes between breakdowns to move the ball upfield.  We were staying in bounds instead of getting tackled out of bounds.  Bra him started off the scoring by putting the ball down in the corner and Mickle started off his day by making the conversion.  NC tried to call a "Mark" (like a fair catch in football) but did not do it right so we were able to make the tackle and gain possession of the ball.  Getting the ball out to a rumbling forward who happened to be Brad Handfield to put down our second try.  NC  was able to put in a couple of trys but our defense held them out two other times to denie them points.  Off of receiving a kick Ricky Tax linked up with the backs and gave Brahim a pop pass for a 60 meter run to end in a diving try, Mickle good with the conversion.  The last try for us came when we had NC pinned in their own half about 5 meters out of their try line.  NC had a scrum and the scrumhalf mishandled the ball and Dillon was right there to capitalize on his mistake to take the ball in for a try right at the post, again Mickle with the conversion.  NC got one last try but it was not enough and the game ended with us up 26-17.

Back of the Match -  Brahim Bouiahadj

Forward of the Match -  Ricky Tax, Brad Handfield, Robert Mickle, Parker Lee, Fareed Karbassyoon,

                                          Keith Spann, Andrew Myers, Alton Moore, Bryan Johnson

Feb. 23rd vs Hacienda Heights

The U16 started off the day playing 12 a side.  HH put down the first try to get the game going but in no time at all Oliver Cregg put in a try of his own.  Our defense was doing a great job from keeping them out of the try zone and with a couple of their mistakes Kareem Bouiahadj was able to squeeze in for a score.  At half the score had HH in the lead 10-12.  Having the players that we do we are able to sub in and not lose anything on our level of play.  The second half Zach Johnson had a big run to put down a try in the corner.  With some more mistakes by HH Ari Varklel was able to put in a 40 meter penalty kick.  The game ended with the Gators on top 26-12.

Back of the Match - Zach Johnson

Forward of the Match - James French

Next up were the Girls.  We only had 6 so we had to play 6 a side with one girl being a rookie (her first game).  HH had some fast girls that we were not ready for in the first half so they scored three time and made one conversion.  But the Gators Girls were not out of it yet. In the second half the girls figured out how to stop them and turn the game around with Olivia getting one try and Valaria getting two trys.  The defense of the girls improved in the second half and made some great tackles.  Anna (the rookie) made a great saving tackle that stopped HH from scoring.  Toward the close of the game Olivia had a great break away run that she was able to score on.  With the conversion attempt to the right of the posts about 22 meters out she put it right between the post for the two points.  At the whistle HH came out ahead 22-27. 

Players of the Match - Valaria Johannsen

Back of the Match -  Anna

This game was the HS real first test of the season.  HH had some good size and some speed in the backs.  We started off a little slow but Brad Handfield picked us up by picking up the ball from a ruck and putting it down for a try, Mickle with the conversion.  There was a penalty against HH about 5 meters from their try line so Dillon McDonald did a quick tap and squeezed between the defense to put the try by the posts, Mickle with the conversion.  Mistakes by us in our defense let HH put in a couple of trys before halftime. We had some big runs by Colin Zarnegar to put us in position to score.  Off of two different 5 meter scrums Dillon McDonald cut across the field and gave a pop pass to Brahim Bouiahadj to put down two different scores.  Robert Mickle was able to convert one of the conversions.  The Gators came up short on this one when the final whistle blew 24-26.

Back of the Match - Colin Zarnegar

Forward of the Match - Robert Mickle

Our next opponent will be North County.

Feb. 16th vs Eagle Rock

The HS and U16 teamed up to play against Eagle Rock.  We made a few mistakes that the Eagle Rock club took advantage of and put three tries on us.  We also gave them a penalty kick.  It was not a very good game for us but we will be fixing the problems in practice this next week.  The final score was 0-18 in favor of Eagle Rock.

Our next opponent will be Hacienda Heights.

Feb. 9th vs Fallbrook at San Diego 7's

From what I have heard the game with the HS side was well played with us being 3 men down in the first half and 4 men down in the second half.  Fareed decided to get a little too aggressive on a tackle and received a yellow card in the second half.  Only losing 5-10 is a great accomplishment with not having a full side.  We will get them back in league.

U16 had a little bit more trouble.  We will need to pickup the chemistry and create fewer mistakes so that we can redeem ourselves next time we face them.  We will have revenge on the 0-20 lose.  Come to practice ready to work.

Thank you to the captains that were in charge of the weekend.  The administrator running the tournament said that you guys were well prepared for all the questions that he asked and you showed great character on and off the field.

Congrats to all that participated and all that supported.

Feb. 2nd vs San Diego and Back Bay

U16 Lady Gators played against Back Bay to try and redeem themselves from the first time that they met.  The defense improved a lot to hold to Back Bay team to only 5 tries this time.  Back Bay was shocked by the improved defense that the ladies displayed and had their coach yelling and screaming at the girls to get in the right spot.  Olivia gave up a great pass to Valaria to put down the try, no conversions were taken.  Amanda, one of the girls that moved up from the U14, helped assist Olivia in scoring a try.  Not only did Judith come up from the U14's but she received a pass from Kat so she could score a try of her own.  The play of all plays came when Olivia kicked off and received her own kick and preceded to score the try herself.  The game ended with the Gators improving on all parts of the game but coming up short with a score of 20-35.

Back of the Match - Olivia

Forward of the Match - Judith

The U16 Boys played San Diego.  SD came on strong in the first half and scored first.  But it did not take long for Kareem Bouiahadj to come back with a try to tie up the game.  SD capitalized on our mistakes and scored two more times.  We were able to squeeze out one more try by Bryan Johnson and James French made the conversion.The game ended with our first league lost 12-20.  

Back of the Match - Brahm McDonald

Forward of the Match - Bryan Johnson

The HS side had a great showing for the first league game against the San Diego Mustangs.  Our first score came off a great backline set up and getting Colin Zarnegar the ball where he fended off three possible tacklers to go in for the try.  Robert Mickle was able to convert the conversion from about 5 meters from the sideline.  Our kicking game has improved a lot and led us to a try.  Brahim gave a kick within our own half with Tyler Alvino giving chase to cover on defense.  Tyler made the tackle and the opponent had to release and Dillion McDonald was in support to pick and go in for the try.  We were playing inside their half for most of the game and kept putting the pressure on their defense.  Brahim Bouiahadj received the ball from a scrum and gave a fake to the inside center and then to the outside center with the defense biting on both which left no one on Brahim who turned up field and went in for the try.  This year we are getting the ball out to the wing more than in previous years.  By getting it out to the wing we were able to get another score by Brendan Thomas who received the ball on the wing and pinned his ears back and ran in for a try.  Robert Mickle put another conversion through the uprights.  Keith Spann was able to get back to back trys with speed and agility cutting through the SD's backline, with Robert Mickle with a conversion.  Our final score came from a penalty and the man who is always around the ball Fareed Karbassyoon went in for the try from 5 meters out.  Mickle again was good for the conversion.  The game ended with the Gators with their first league win 43-5.

Back of the Match - Tyler Alvino

Forward of the Match - Fareed Karbassyoon

Jan. 19th & 20th San Luis Obispo Tournament

THANK YOU to all the players, parents, and coaches for making the SLO trip a very successful one.  That was the first road trip for the Gators and everything turned out positive.  The only negative thing that happened was the guy behind the desk at the motel.  But after his blood pressure cooled down he was alright and got us all into our rooms.  

As a coach on a road trip you are always worried about the player's character after the games are over.  I want to commend all the players for their great character in the restaurant and at the motel.  Taking 30 players on our first road trip just shows how much you as players and parents support the program.  I hope our success this year will get us to take another road trip to the High School National Tournament.  

The HS tam started out by playing a team from the East Bay area (LAMO) who have a history of about 40 years and brought about 100 players.  We played great defense throughout the game to only allow them to score twice.  We were able to come up with a try by Drew Myers and the conversion was made by Audric Meyer.  At the close of the game LAMO came out on top 14-7.  The great experience playing against a well established club will help us in our league play.

Our next opponent was the Mutineers from Fullerton.  They are a new club trying to break into the league.  We started out strong by putting on two scores by Dwayne Caudle.  They had a couple of hard runners that we were having trouble stopping so they came up with a try but no conversion.  Before time would run out Brendan Thomas put down a try and Audric Meyer was able to get the conversion to end the game in our favor 17-5.

Our third HS game was against the home town host, San Luis Obisop.  They seemed to have a lot to say on the field but were not able to produce any points.  The backs were able to put together some good runs and good passing to get Brahim Bouiahadj into the try zone twice.  The conversions were not good but we will be working on them.  Of with the balanced attack offense that we have the forwards were able to also score with Robert Mickle putting down a try and Audric Meyer sticking the conversion between the posts.  The final score ended up being 17-0 for the Gators.

The U16's first game on Sat. was against San Luis Obispo.  We were able to get on the board first with Ari Varkel making a penalty kick for three points.  But SLO was not going to go down easy by putting in a try of their own but missing the conversion.  Our first game we were short a couple of players so we borrowed two players from LAMO to help us out.  Ethan from LAMO was able to slip through the backline to put down a try and Ari Varkel again was able to split the uprights for the conversion.  The game ended with the Gators on top 10-5.

LAMO was the next opponent for the U16's.  They had a strong running attack to put us on the defense a lot.  We were able to get down on their half of the field but not able to punch it in.  The score ended up with us on the short end 0-26.

By the end of the day everyone was tired but be we had one more game to play.  We put out a mixture of HS/U16 to play against the Diablos from the Bay area.  They have many years of traditions and a strong youth program so some of their players have already had 6-7 years of playing rugby.  We were able to squeeze two tries out by Dwayne Caudle and Daniel Young.  Audric Meyer made one of the two conversions to end the game 12-29 in favor of the Diablos.

What a Saturday.  Everyone was cold and hungry by the time we ended the day.  Getting to the motel and checking in just in time for the parents and the players to take over the all you can eat buffet across the street.  What a feast to be had by all.  By the time everyone got back to the rooms and fell asleep we were back up eating at Denny's on Sunday.

On Sunday we got the luxury of playing LAMO again with both teams.  The HS side had to play 11 a side with all the injuries that we had but we were still able to touch down two tries, one by Dylan White and the other by Brendan Thomas with Audric Meyer converting one of the two.  The game ended with LAMO on top 12-31.

We had to borrow one player from LAMO for the U16's game and he was the lone score for us.  The game ended 5-47.

It was a great experience to travel and just hang out with the parents and players.  Thanks to everyone that helped support the players in giving them the opportunity to travel with the club.

Scoring Summary

Player	Trys	Conversions	Penalty	Total Points
Audric Meyer	1	5		15
Dwayne Caudle	3			15
Brendan Thomas	2			10
Brahim Bouiahadj	2			10
Robert Mickle	1			5
Dylan White	1			5
Ari Varkel		1	1	5
Daniel Young	1			5