After winning its first pair of matches in over two years, the Summit High School boys rugby team went into another weekend of games eager to keep its streak alive.

The Summit Tigers traveled to Fort Collins on Saturday, April 9, to play two matches at Preston Middle School against Brighton-Fort Collins, a combined high school team, and North High School.

Brighton-Fort Collins was the second team Summit beat last weekend. They won that game 29-12.

Last week, Brighton-Fort Collins scored the majority of its points with help from three major players, so going into this matchup, Summit put a plan in place to make sure Brighton-Fort Collins’ most talented players were kept at bay.

Summit’s plan worked tremendously as Brighton-Fort Collins was not able to score in the first half while Summit attacked on offense to produce 19 points.

At halftime, the Tigers had a lot to feel good about, but that does not mean the team was error free. Despite the team’s first half success, Summit, at times, tried to do too much and rushed its offensive rhythm, which resulted in about five turnovers that could have produced additional scores heading into halftime.

“They are scoring easy, they are running them over, they are having a big day but then they just got a little too anxious,” head coach Lance French said. “You’ve got to know tempo, when to slow it down, when to control it and when you are going too quick. They learned a big lesson there.”

Summit was more attentive and patient in the second half, which led to 20 more points for the team in its 39-7 rout of Brighton-Fort Collins.

The second half was highlighted by Caleb Artherholt, who scored his first try in his first match ever played. Artherholt’s try marked the first by a Summit forward all season, which helped him win the title of Man of the Match, an award bestowed upon members of the team by French.

An hour later, the team faced North High School for the first time this season. Much like Summit’s match against Brighton-Fort Collins, the team played tough defense against North High School.

The Tigers had two tries in the first half from Jared Marcer, who displayed his ability to run into open space with ease.

Sam Daly also played well in the first half against North High School. He executed on kicks, registering a total of 29 kicking points between the two matches.

In the second half, the Tigers were very successful in running their new “John Wayne” play, despite the majority of the team not knowing who John Wayne was.

The offense executed on the new play as Summit drove the ball straight through the heart of the North High School defense to several scores.

The Tigers also had three more forwards score by the end of the game in Jake Boyle, John Weldon and Ryan Perkins.

Weldon and Boyle rushed through the North High School defense using strong, stiff arms to reach the Tigers goal line.

The Tigers shutout North High School, 45-0, to combine for a total of 84 points for the weekend. Summit’s pair of wins moves the team to 4-1 on the season as it prepares to face Brighton at Regis University on Saturday, April 16, at 4 p.m.

“The chemistry is unbelievable,” French said. “These guys are taking care of each other and supportive of each other. The team chemistry couldn’t be any better. Our culture is developing. Its in place, and it’s key.”