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Belmont Shore won the second Southern California qualifier
Saturday in Long Beach, Calif. beating the Old Aztecs 31-10 in the
final.
Belmont got out to an impressive start, leading the Old Aztecs 31-0 before
San Diego scored their first try. Shore actually lost Ed Pitts to a yellow
card in the first half and managed to both keep the Old Aztecs off the
board and score during the power play.
“It’s very simple -- defense wins championships, and we’re very, very proud
of the guys,“ said Belmont coach James Walker. “We do nothing but defense
at practice sometimes, and the drills we do really, really paid off.”
U20 hooker Mike Te’o stepped in at scrumhalf in the final for the injured
Iopu Sanonu and scored twice.
Belmont’s other three tries were dotted down by Jack Tracy, Ollie Craig and
Ed McKenna.
McKenna was pointed out by Old Aztecs coach Matt Hawkins as Belmont’s
standout in the final, and Walker agreed, while adding Pitts into the man
of the match race.
“Eddie McKenna was sensational. It’s more than just what he does himself on
the pitch, it’s the level of energy he brings to the team. He’s just a
dynamo. He was fantastic, absolutely,” said Walker.
“And Ed Pitts is our new captain, and he’s just such a calming and
steadying influence. It’s a close call between those two.”
The Old Aztecs, which boast four former Belmont Shore National Champs on
their roster, are still working on cohesion, especially on offense.
“We just took the ball into contact too much. We didn’t let the ball do the
work, and in doing that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to conserve
the ball and they had some guys that were really good at getting over the
ball nice and early and poaching it,” said Hawkins, who played a few
minutes on the day but not in the final.
“They played a good game, and we just didn’t do what we needed to do. It
was good that we made two finals, so we’re getting there. There’s just a
couple of things we need to work on and we’ll be alright.”
For Belmont, the win was gratifying not only because it puts another trophy
in the case, but does so with a largely new lineup after the team lost the
bulk of its National Championship roster to defections for various reasons.
Of the 12 who suited up for Belmont on Treasure Island for Nationals last
August, at least eight CIPPed and played with another club this
summer.
“We’re a very proud team. We know we’ve lost a lot of talented players, but
we’ve also got a lot of young guys. We feel like we have to prove ourselves
again. We feel like we’ve lost a bit of respect, and it’s great,” said
Walker.
“The boys know that every year everything starts fresh and the National
Championships are over. Today was all about earning that respect and
becoming a team people don’t take lightly.”