Westlake To Represent Texas In High School Sweet 16

Westlake Coach Al Niece

When the players from Austin Westlake take the field in Salt Lake City at noon on Friday against Xavier High School of New York, they hope to have the element of surprise with them.
“We hope they overlook us,” Westlake Coach Al Niece said in a recent phone interview. “We hope they think we sort of ‘back-doored’ our way into the Sweet 16.”
It could look that way on paper.  The team beat traditional powerhouse St. Thomas of Houston in the semi-finals of the Texas Rugby Union Championships. The Chaparrals lost a close game to Dallas Jesuit to finish third in the state.
“We did not get an invite to Westerns originally,” Niece said. “But the Missouri representative could not make it, so we were invited to replace them. Sure enough, we drew Jesuit in the first round and beat them.”
Westlake went on to win the West, and now they carry the Texas banner to the Sweet 16 in Salt Lake.
“We are a fast team,” Niece says when describing the Chaparrals’ strengths. “Also, out boys tackle well. Six of defensive starters on the football team are rugby players.”

Westlake is no stranger to playoffs or championships. Throughout its history, the high school has produced playoff and state-championship teams in all sports. The football team lost the Texas championship in 2009 in overtime on a disputed touchdown catch. This is the same program that produced Drew Brees.
So Niece is not exaggerating when he says his players expect to win. And it helps when the football coaches support the rugby efforts.
“The football coaches have been tremendous,” he said. “As we progress through the West, they have let the players miss football for our games.
“They are right in the middle of heavy-duty spring football, and sometimes our kids come to rugby after two hours of football practice. We’ve gotten pretty fit recently.”
Westlake is lead by a strong senior class, including flyhalf Marcum Sayers, fullback James Robinson and No. 8 Evan Vonzermullen.
“Evan is a big kid who came to us as a soccer player,” Niece says. “We did not know how his tackling would be. He is one of our best defenders. He took to the game like a duck to water, and even made the U-17 national team as an alternate – in his first season.”
Junior scrumhalf Connor McNally is also pivotal to the Chaparrals’ game.
“We have great seniors and juniors,” Niece said. “They have really, really stepped up. We are really fast on the wing, which opens up the game. I am old school, an old forward, so this is different.”
Niece, who coached with the Austin Area High School Club for several years before taking on Westlake in 2009, said the team could not succeed without the support of the parents and assistant coaches.
“Clint Sayers, Jim Robinson, Jamie McNally, I call them the three wise men,” Niece says with a laugh. “They handle all the administrative stuff. Without them, you would have a full-time, paid administrator to handle all the paperwork and such.”
Niece does not see the program faltering through the ebbs and flows that other rugby teams (at all levels) experience. The Chaparrals fielded a full junior varsity squad in 2010, and played JV games every weekend, he said.
“We expect to have a freshman team next year, as the interest at all levels is huge,” Niece said. “My assistant coach, Jason Spodick, is a middle school coach here, and all his kids want to play. The interest from the parents has been great, too. We just keep growing.”
Niece said he is struck by two things in the program: A) parents whose kids are graduating want to stay involved, and B) many of his players are set to continue their rugby careers in college.
“Of 19 seniors, 12 of them have solid plans for rugby in college,” he said. “Denver University is getting two, SMU is getting three. SMU came out and watched us play in the Westerns in Fort Worth. Those three guys will help SMU a lot. I mean, for a program to get three very-experienced players in one shot is huge.”
Other colleges reaping benefits from Westlake’s success will be Georgia, Texas State and Texas Tech, Niece said.
Niece says having solid organization is key to making a high school program work. He says parents won’t keep their kids in an unorganized environment with no structure or oversight.
“But all that exists for one reason, letting the kids play rugby,” he said. “In the end, it is all about just enjoying playing rugby. It’s not about reaching the highest level in age-grade, it’s about fun. And rugby is fun.”
Niece has watched film of Xavier (see High School bracket here), whose only loss came to powerful Gonzaga High School. Xavier is similar to Westlake in that they like to spin it wide quickly.
“We are going to play our game, and we hope to score more points than them,” he chuckled. “Rugby is physical, but I think we might be a little more physical. We’ll see.”
Westlake leaves on Thursday for Salt Lake. The Chaparrals take on Xavier at 1 p.m. Central on Friday.

You can watch live streaming of the games.