SoCal
Belmont Shore are the only undefeated team in SoCal after they beat Los Angeles 30-22 on Saturday. It was a big match for both teams as L.A. wanted to make a statement early while Belmont used the match to test out a few PRP players. L.A. would go up first with a try from Robert Smith but then Belmont would answer with two of their own through Ryne Bowden and Chris Layne. L.A. would add a penalty and a try, all through Josh Calistro, to give themselves a 17-12 lead at halftime. Unfortunately for them the second half belonged to Belmont Shore as two tries and a penalty from Pound along with another try from Bowden would cancel out a late try from Jordan Tavai.
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OMBAC used their DI side to run out a few of their PRP players and it resulted in a 42-34 win over rivals Old Aztecs. Like the LA-Belmont Shore game this match was tight until late. The Old Aztecs got going early through Brook Gilmore and then went further ahead when OMBAC received a yellow card and they netted a penalty. However, even before OMBAC was back to 15 men Eoin Joyce scored and was followed by Jamie Purcell and Zach Pangelinan. Sean Lindersmith would make it 21-17 but then tries from Joyce, Orin Catrett, and Martin Knoetze cancelled out tries from Gilmore (twice) and Jacobus Breytenbach.
In the battle of the two promoted sides Pasadena came away with a 34-31 win thanks to a late penalty from Russell Pitts. Nico Young and Jeremiah Flood got the scoring started for Pasadena as they led 17-0. Tries from Oceanside's Noah Tarrant and Pole Ropati make it 17-14. Pasadena then went ahead with tries from Peter Koch and Anthony Mendoza. Oceanside would score two late tries before Pitts's penalty. Downtown played Santa Monica in the other match in SoCal.
NorCal
The East Palo Alto Razorbacks kept their lead at the top of the table with a 27-19 win over Santa Rosa. The Razorbacks took a very early lead and then jumped out to 19-0 before Santa Rosa would score twice in a row to make it 19-12. The Razorbacks added a penalty but Santa Rosa responded to make it 22-19 with just minutes left. However, a final try from the Razorbacks would seal the match.
The East Palo Alto Bulldogs are right on the heels of the Razorbacks thanks to their 30-18 win over the San Jose Seahawks. The match was even throughout with the score 20-18 in favor of the Bulldogs at roughly the 50th minute mark. It look two late tries, one from Kiola Mahoni and another through Pakofe Niua, to put the game away. Lastly in NorCal, Fresno beat the Sacramento Lions 26-17. It was a big win for Fresno while the Lions seem to be struggling after last year's playoff success.
Red River
It's kind of rough to say that it was a make or break weekend for New Orleans only two weeks into the season but it felt like that as the team played the Dallas Reds and Griffins on back to back days. First up on Saturday was the Reds, their rivals from last year and a team that feels like they should be number one in the conference. They certainly played like it as they stomped NOLA 39-3. Chad Joseph (twice), Jon Moore (twice), Gerad Crosswy, and Michael Kenealy (twice) all had tries. On Sunday NOLA was able to rebound with a 29-15 win over the Griffins. Still, in the end the loss to the Reds hurts and now puts pressure on NOLA to win their home fixture against the Reds on March 28th.
The Austin Blacks kept their record perfect with a 28-18 win over rivals the Austin Huns. They are up there with NOLA but have a game in hand. The Blacks were in control for most of the first half with Riekert Hattingh and Pat Sullivan scoring tries. Sullivan also added a couple of penalty kicks. As you would expect with rivals the match was heated at times with the Blacks being shown three yellow cards. Those cards eventually proved costly as tries from Anthony Simone and a couple of penalties would draw them close at 20-13. Once the Blacks were at full strength they added a few more scores to complete the win. Also in the conference, the Dallas Harlequins beat HARC 50-7.