ELKHART, Ind. — Trailing 7–5 at halftime of the Boys High School Rugby National Championship final on May 25, the San Diego Mustangs U18s showed no signs of panic.
“We felt good about it even though we were down,” said head coach Matty Sandoval. “We felt like we had the better team. I think the players felt confident. Certainly the coaches did as well.”
Facing the reigning champion Charlotte (N.C.) Cardinals — the team that had knocked them out in last year’s semifinals — the Mustangs exuded quiet confidence. They had dominated possession and territory in the first half, and Sandoval’s message at the break was simple: stay the course.
Not to mention Spencer Huntley at scrum half — a luxury for any team down early.
Huntley, a 6-foot, 200-pound standout from Cathedral Catholic High School, has been a key player on the U.S. under-20s team since his junior year of high school. The shaggy blonde-haired senior’s size, fitness, and rugby IQ make him an unusually dominant presence at the scrum-half position, which is typically reserved for smaller players.
Huntley is heading to Hartpury University in London this fall, with expectations that he’ll sign a developmental deal with a Premiership team in the UK.
“We have the great fortune of having, I think, the best high school player of the last 20 years,” Sandoval said of Huntley.
Huntley scored the Mustangs’ final 14 points, powering their second-half surge to victory.
Mateo Bresenden, a lock from Westview High School and a University of Utah commit, was named co-MVP of the final. Known as one of the best jumpers in the country, Bresenden was especially dominant in the quarterfinals against Woodlands of Houston, Texas.
Torrey Pines High School senior James Curtis, who is headed to the University of California, Berkeley, played center and contributed several tries and strong defense. Will Barrett, a Torrey Pines senior headed to the University of Arizona, played eight-man and combined effectively with Bresenden to score multiple times throughout the tournament.
“We call it an overload — a two-on-one, sometimes even three-on-two. Mateo and Will run that better than any fours I’ve seen. They both score a lot because they work so well together,” said Sandoval, in his 18th year coaching the Mustangs and doubling as Torrey Pines’ head coach for the last 15 years.
The Mustangs faced a tough path to the final. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Woodlands from Houston, Texas. Then in the semifinals, they beat the number three seed in the country, the Cavemen from American River, Utah, 36-19.
Sandoval described the tournament as “a very, very heavy tournament.”
“You play three games in three days. Just imagine the top 24 high school football teams in the country having to play a game every day for three days. That’s nuts— it frankly is nuts,” Sandoval said. “It’s probably the heaviest load. They don’t do it in college, the pro leagues don’t do it, the internationals don’t do it. They have a week between every game.”
The Boys High School Rugby National Championship is an annual tournament that brings together 24 of the best high school and U18 club teams.
The Mustangs played in the U18 Tier I bracket, featuring players ages 16 to 18 from 14 San Diego-area high schools, including Torrey Pines, Cathedral Catholic, Rancho Bernardo, Eastlake, Francis Parker, Westview, La Jolla High, La Costa Canyon, Helix High and Santa Fe Christian.
Forty-five players made the trip with the Mustangs.
“Rugby is growing in San Diego, with about 35 teams competing locally and a push to make it a CIF sport within the next two years,” Sandoval said. “The 2031 Rugby World Cup, coming to the U.S., adds excitement as players like Spencer Huntley could represent the country. Last year, five Mustangs made the U.S. junior team that played in Scotland, including Spencer, who started at scrum half as an 11th grader — an unprecedented achievement.”
With players ranging from second grade through high school, the Mustangs are a close-knit rugby community.
“When we returned from Elkhart, there were more than a hundred Mustang kids, boys and girls, along with their families, greeting us at the airport with signs and balloons,” Sandoval said. “Our U18 players know they’re representing not just their team, but the entire rugby community and all of San Diego. That pride drives them every time they step on the field.”
