'Our connection is great': BC High rugby's three Blind brothers have Eagles soaring

BOSTON -- Rugby is the Blind family business. And business is booming.

The BC High varsity squad rallied to beat St. John's Prep, 20-10, on Wednesday to improve to 8-0-1 on the season, and the Blind brothers of Cohasset -- junior twins Braxton and Brennan, and freshman Colton -- were front and center.

Braxton Blind, a scrum-half, and Brennan Blind, who plays inside center, were on varsity last season when the Eagles lost in the Division 1 semifinals. Colton Blind, an outside center, has joined them this spring. The youngest member of the trio had served mostly as a sub through the first eight games, but an injury thrust him into the starting lineup Wednesday against MIAA competition for the first time.

He more than held his own.

"It's awesome," Brennan Blind (the last name rhymes with thinned) said of all three of them being in the lineup together. "Our connection is great. Colton, we're right next to each other on every play. I definitely felt the connection today. I felt it last week when he came in off the bench after we lost our starting outside center. He stepped up this week and made all the tackles. He did all the right things. I'm super proud of him."

Braxton Blind said he could "feel the chemistry out there" among the brothers, and Colton noted, "We can kind of tell what we're (each) going to do next."

That connection has taken years to fine-tune. The Blinds' dad, Matthew, captained the Army rugby team, and his sons took to the game early on.

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"We started at a super young age and just loved it," Brennan said. "It's been my favorite sport for as long as I've been playing it. I want to keep playing for as long as I can, into college, hopefully at West Point as well."

"I love it," Braxton agreed. "I love the contact. I love that (anyone) can run with the ball. It's just back and forth."

The Blind gang already has carved out a niche for themselves in the program's history, which dates back to 1996. The Eagles have had plenty of brother tandems, including twin captains Wyatt and Foster Todaro in 2019. But a triple play is a first. "We've had other brothers who have overlapped (on varsity)," coach Paul Carty noted, "but never three (at the same time)."

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The Blinds aren't the biggest kids on the field, ranging from 5-9 to 5-10. But as Carty pointed out, "All three of them play much bigger than their actual size."

"That's what we've been taught since a young age," Colton said with a smile when told of Carty's description. "That's what our dad prided himself on."

Colton Blind has drawn rave reviews for his tackling, which is a key part of the job description for outside centers. "That's probably one of my strong suits," he acknowledged. "Obviously, playing up on varsity the kids are a lot bigger. But if you keep good form (you can do it)."

"Colton hasn't missed a tackle (so far)," Brennan said. "He makes line breaks, makes really good passes. Just runs the ball hard. He does exactly what an outside center is supposed to do."

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Brennan Blind also is a fine defensive player, and Braxton Blind serves as the quarterback of sorts since the scrum-half is charged with fishing the ball out of both scrums (large set plays) and rucks (changes in phase that occur when a player gets tackled) and distributing it.

"Good decision-making (is essential), and an ability to boss the forwards around a bit and get them in the right spot," Carty said of the scrum-half's job. "And then obviously you need to make a good pass, but quick distribution (is key). We don't want to let defenses get set."

Braxton Blind found the try zone early in the second half to knot the score at 10-10. Mikey Smith, a junior prop from Pembroke, took it from there, scoring the final two trys to push his season total to a team-best 15.

"He elevates players around him," Carty said of Smith, the team captain. "And when he has his chances, he takes them. He knows how to finish those chances, for sure."

Charlie Thomison, of Milton, had the first BC High try before Prep (3-2) stormed back to take a 10-5 lead into halftime. The come-from-behind win was a big boost to the Eagles, who are seeking another Div. 1 state crown to go with the ones they won in 2017, 2018 and 2021. BC High is 5-0 against out-of-state teams and 3-0-1 vs. MIAA squads.

"Our goal was just to stay positive the whole time and that's what we did," Brennan Blind said. "We never had a thought that we were going to lose that game."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Cohasset's Blind brothers trio has made their mark on BC High rugby