Ava Proctor is one player with Red Hawks experience. / Photo courtesy Rugby Oregon
Oregon is one of several states that contests a fall 7s league, and last weekend marked the start of a competition that includes both Gold and Silver divisions. The Renegades, a club team based in West Linn, has squads in both leagues, and its Gold team won the opening leg in Portland, Ore., Saturday.
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Oregon is essentially busy year-round, with fall 7s, spring 10s/15s and summer 7s leagues that are supplemented by state-run high-performance and all-star programs. After 13 years in operation, the Renegades continue to take advantage of those opportunities and rely on the leadership of coach Ben Dubin. He’s joined by coach Leslie Johnson in the fall, and in the spring, ORSU’s Elise White and Candace Mahoney-Watson pick up the clipboard.
The Renegades have a diverse player pool this year, ranging from members who’ve been playing since fifth grade to high school juniors playing the sport for the first time. Six players have Red Hawks experience, including Gracie Cao, Caitlin Dougherty and Ava Proctor, who represented Rugby Oregon’s JV team during the June Great Northwest Challenge, a Regional Cup Tournament. Nine members have two-plus years of experience and another six are newcomers.
“I am fortunate to have multiple players who have attended the Rugby Oregon Leadership Academy, which allows me to step back at times and let them take ownership of the team,” Dubin explained. “I am excited to watch our brand new players develop this season. They all are enthusiastic learners and their skills sets are coming together quickly.”
The six-week 7s league kicked off last Saturday, and 14 teams across the Gold and Silver divisions competed. The Renegades are one of five programs that field sides in both divisions, and its Gold team started the season against perennial power Grant. The decision could have gone either way, according to Dubin, but it went 21-14 in favor of the Renegades. The team followed with a 35-0 win over second-year team Bravehearts and finished with a 24-12 victory over Newberg, a team back on the rise.
Dubin credited the players’ familiarity with each other as well as next-level experience in propelling a 3-0 day.
“While there were some highlight-worthy long runs, almost all our points came from great team play and teammates setting each other up successfully,” Dubin explained. “On defense the players trusted each other to make tackles so the rest of the team could focus on setting up to defend the next phase. Overall the team played a level they expect out of themselves. Even if there were moments that weren’t going how they wanted, the team was able to pick each other up and refocus at the task at hand.”
Dubin expects tight competition throughout the Gold Division this year and has a hefty lineup for round two this Saturday. The Renegades will face Linn Benton, which finished 2-0-1 last Saturday and tied Grant 19-19; Grant (1-1-1), which will be looking for revenge; and the always-competitive Valley Panthers (1-2).
For more information on the 7s series and results, visit www.RugbyOregon.com, which is one of the best state rugby organization websites out there.
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