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ATLANTA, Ga. - Men’s All-Stars weekend reached its conclusion on Sunday with the Independents Red reclaiming the coveted Shield for the Northeast by defeating the Midwest Barbarians 17-7 at Silverbacks Park. The Independents avenged a 20-10 loss to the Barbarians in pool play on Saturday with physical play from their forward pack, including a rough and tumble try by Dartmouth’s Gjergji Bacuku, and some pinpoint kicking from St. Bonaventure’s Manulua Taula.
The Barbarians took a 7-3 lead into the half after a score by Wisconsin Eau-Claire’s Luke Pugh. But the Midwesterners failed to register a score in the final 25 minutes of the match and were forced to settle for a second-place finish.
A team from New England has hoisted the Shield three out of the four years of the competition’s existence, their dominant run interrupted only briefly by a talented team from the Great Lakes region at last year’s tournament. The Thunderbirds seemed destined to repeat this year after going undefeated in pool play, but they narrowly escaped a hungry Pac-Coast Grizzlies team 11-10 in the quarterfinals and ultimately fell in the semis after a score by Holy Cross Crusader Jackson Evarts put the Independents ahead in the waning seconds of the match.
Dartmouth’s Jamie Phillips was named the All-Star Finals MVP for the Independents. Phillips led all competitors with five tries over the two-day tournament.
Great Lakes fell to the Southeast Bears 29-24 in the third-place match. Clemson’s Benjamin Thompson scored two tries in the match for the Bears who, as a team, scored an even 100 points total on the weekend.
The Tri-State Foundry were the Rising Stars champions, needing two overtime periods to defeat the Midwest Barbarians’ Rising Stars side 15-10. Prop Miska Young scored the game-winning try for the Foundry. Fly-Half Quinten Pienaar was named the game’s MVP.
Though the bar was set incredibly high, 23 players distinguished themselves, according to a committee of selectors and scouts, by elevating their play across a weekend of high-quality rugby and were named to this year’s All-Tournament team.
The runner-up Midwest Barbarians had four players selected including Pugh and Iowa Central’s Takudzwa Musingwini who was the points leader on the weekend with 48.
Cal Poly Humboldt’s Logan Zampa and Connor Malauulu out of MiraCosta College, two Division III standouts, were selected to represent the Pac-Coast Grizzlies on the list.
Lasha Asanidze - Mid-Atlantic Sharks - Kutztown University
Matthew Beacom - Southeast - University of Tennessee
Jordan Chappell - New England Red - Endicott College
James Coffey - Mid-Atlantic - Christendom College
Liam Concannon - New England White - UMASS Amherst
Cameron Donlon - Great Lakes - University of Louisville
Sohl Gafa - Midwest - Missouri S&T
Bensen Han - Midwest - Carleton College
Pete Hayes - Southeast - Clemson University
Harvey Hogan - Tri State - Siena College
Kevin Kirklin - New England White - Providence College
Connor Malauulu - Pacific Coast - MiraCosta College
Filimone Manu - New England Red - American International College
Jake Morrison - Southeast - University of Alabama
Michael Muleya - Great Lakes - Wheeling University
Takudzwa Musingwini - Midwest - Iowa Central CC
Jamie Phillips - New England Red - Dartmouth College
Luke Pugh - Midwest - Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Asa Rosenmeier - New England White - Brown University
Bautista Saint Bonnet - Great Lakes - Thomas More University
Manulua Taula - New England Red - St. Bonaventure University
Braden Thompson - Tri State - Syracuse University
Logan Zampa - Pacific Coast - Cal Poly Humboldt
