Junior Scott Derbes fights his way through a flock of Eagle defenders. Photos courtesy of Eric Derbes ’83 and Michael Ellis ’88.

A shorthanded Blue Jay Rugby team ran into two-time defending state champion Archbishop Shaw at Pan American on Saturday, March 21.

A warm spring day turned into a hot summer day for the Jays as they quickly fell behind, 14-0. After settling in, Jesuit methodically worked their way down the pitch to put freshman Gabe Massey in position to punch through for a try to make the score 14-5. However, Shaw took advantage of some sloppy play on the part of the Blue Jays to stretch their lead to 19-5. By the half, Shaw’s use of speed and sharp ball handling pushed their lead to 26-5.

The Jays scored quickly to start the second half. Sophomore Case Ellis alertly grabbed a Gabe Massey pooch kick away from a couple of Shaw Eagles and sped away to score a try to close the gap to 26-10. The conversions on both of Jesuit’s trys were no good. Shaw was able to answer with one of their own to widen their lead.

The Blue Jays closed out the scoring when junior Scott Derbes grabbed a loose ball from the Eagles and passed it to Gabe Massey. Massey fought through some Shaw defenders and raced his way to another try. Derbes’ conversion was good to make the score 33-17.

The Blue Jay Rugby will enjoy a much needed rest and recovery time before returning to the pitch in a few weeks. In the meantime, catch up on the 2014-2015 Rugby season.