The Barbarians are about to invade Pittsburg – the Katy Barbarians, that is.
After winning the Western Regional Championship, the Katy Rugby Club Barbarians Under 19 squad will compete for the national championship in Pittsburg later this summer.
Despite muddy field conditions, the Barbarians won the regional championship game against the number one seeded Kansas City Junior Blues by as convincing score of 16-5 to advance to the nationals. Before taking on the Blues, the Barbarians trounced St. Louis’ Kirkland-Howell by 24 – 0.
The weather was so bad in St. Louis for the regional championship that the game had to be moved to an alternate field after the primary venue was flooded out. Even with the new location, the team struggled against 40 mph wind gusts, heavy mud and standing water on the field.
The team is now looking forward to traveling to Pittsburg to compete for the national crown May 30 – 31. The Barbarians go into the championship game seeded number two in the nation.
The team is comprised mostly of students from Katy area high schools and three from Foster High in the Lamar Consolidated School District.
Team members include Andre Adourian, Eric Bartlett, Simon Bedoya, Justin Bode, Curtis Chaffin, Cody Cook, Emmet Cooke, Sean Doherty, Carlos Egacila, Andrew Eubanks, Michael Everill, Rob Felegi and Domenic Floyd.
Also on the team are Josue Giron, Tyler Haney, Ryan Henry, Drake Hodge, Tanner Kouby, Craig Lee, Ryan Marshall, Liam O’Donnell, Tim O’Donnell, Gareth Pritchard, Nicholas Roach, Spencer Roach, Alex Rodriguez, Corbin Selman and Matthew Wakie.
The team is sponsored by Energy Exports and Rick Marshall of Fulshear.
The team is currently seeking donations to help with the expenses of traveling to the national championships. Anyone wanting to donate to the team can do so by going to its website at www.katyrugbyclub.com.
