Denver East rugby remains undefeated and earns number one playoff seed with win over Wolverines

Wolverines Blue at Denver East High School
Photo by Frank Berta

Denver East closed their regular season 7-0 Wednesday evening by holding off a Wolverines Blue side determined to end East’s 2010-undefeated season.

The Wolverines answered East’s first two trys (unconverted) with a try in the 25th minute to cut the lead to 10-7. A third East try (unconverted) led to a 15-7 half time lead. In the second half, the Wolverines kept up the pressure adding 14 points and closed to within one as time expired.

The 22-21 victory ensures the defending 2009 High School State Champions will hold the number one seed going into the  State Championship Tournament in May. East’s number one seed, however may not be such an advantage. 

In most playoffs, the number one seed typically faces weaker opponents in the first round (i.e., the number eight seed). That is the case this season, but due to division realignment in 2010, there is a twist.

When Colorado Youth Rugby (CYR) realigned its four divisions (North, South East, and West) into Division I and Division II for the 2010, CYR used the combined records from the previous five seasons to assign teams to their respective divisions.

To keep parity within divisions from year-to-year, the playoffs begin with two Promotion/Relegation matches at the conclusion of each regular season. The number one ranked Division II team faces the eighth ranked Division I team, and the number two-ranked Division II team plays the seventh ranked Division I team.

The winners of the two Promotion/Relegation Playoffs advance into the Division I Playoffs as the Division I’s seventh and eight seed and compete in Division I the following season. The two teams losing the Promotion/Relegation games are eliminated from the Division I playoffs but compete in the Division II State Championship Tournament and play as Division II team the following season.

Here is the rub for Denver East. Since the Glendale Raptors had only a three-year history with the CYR at the time of the realignment, Glendale’s final tally of wins did not qualify the Raptors for Division I despite a history of strong play.

It is likely that Glendale, 7-0 in Division II league play this season, will emerge from its Promotion/Relegation Playoff next Wednesday as the number eight seed in the Division I playoff.

Under this unusual scenario, Colorado’s two undefeated high school rugby teams, Denver East and the Glendale Raptors, would meet in the Quarterfinals of the State Tournament.

Colorado Youth Rugby

More about high school rugby in Colorado

High school rugby is played in two thirty-minute halves with a ten-minute halftime. A try is similar to football's touchdown and is worth five points. A successful conversion (similar to football's extra point) adds two additional points. Penalty kicks and drop goals are scored at three points each.

Rugby at the high school level in Colorado is made possible through the efforts of Colorado Youth Rugby (CYR).CYR offers programs for both boys and girls, ages 5-16,