Juggernaut: Weymouth boys rugby takes aim at 3rd straight Div. 2 state crown

WEYMOUTH – At Friday's Senior Day, one of the members of the Weymouth High boys rugby team was sporting a T-shirt that read: "Championship. Parade. Repeat."

Yeah, that's the idea around here.

The Wildcats, in only their sixth season of existence, have grown into a powerhouse. Weymouth is the two-time defending Division 2 state champ, beating Hanover in the 2022 final to finish 7-1 and pounding Algonquin in the 2023 title match to complete a 9-1 campaign.

The bar has been set awfully high, and the Wildcats seemed ready to scale even greater heights this spring when they kicked off the 2024 season with consecutive wins over the defending Division 1 state champ (Belmont) and last year's Division 1 runner-up (St. John's Prep).

"We opened up great, that's for sure," coach Ryan Casey said.

What came next was a bit of a bummer – a 19-14 loss to Division 1 Milton in which Weymouth blew a double-digit lead. That didn't sit well with the Wildcats, so they were happy to get back on track with Friday's blowout win over Braintree that was highlighted by five tries from newcomer Cam Aieta.

"Braintree played hard," Casey said of the Wamps (2-2), who were coming off back-to-back wins over Lincoln-Sudbury and Brookline. "They have big kids, and they did the right things. We were just locked in after last week, trying to fix all the mistakes we made against Milton."

Confidence oozes from the Wildcats (3-1), even after graduation claimed heart-and-soul flanker Mike Mastrocola and standout 8-man Tyler Ahern. Weymouth sees no reason to relinquish its crown. After all, the Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 1 by a wide margin among the 13 teams in the latest MIAA Division 2 power rankings.

"I think (a three-peat) is definitely possible," senior scrum-half Josh Cullivan said. "If we put everything together, I think it's 100% in our future."

"I think we're on the same track as those two (championship) teams," senior fly-half Will Savage agreed. "I think we're going to be at Curry (College) in June, and we're going to be holding up our third (trophy) in a row."

Weymouth boasts an array of talented players, including some who are brand new to the game.

Take Aieta, for example. A standout running back in football, he had always followed the rugby team as a fan but decided to take the plunge onto the roster this season as a junior after competing in outdoor track last spring. His adjustment appears to have been seamless as he's up to seven tries (the rugby equivalent of touchdowns) on the season.

"We've got some great coaches who have taught me the game," said Aieta, who plays inside center. "Same with all the players as well. I've been doing a lot of film (study). And when I get the ball in my hands, I feel like I'm playing football out there."

Said Cullivan: "Cam's having an incredible year, and he's only going to get better. Once he learns the game more, he's going to be (unstoppable)."

"Rugby is about how good an athlete you are," noted Savage, a star guard on the boys basketball team. "Bringing in these football kids has helped us the last four years. Cam's no different than Mikey (Mastrocola) and all those other kids who came through."

At the other end of the spectrum is Naheem Ridore, a 6-foot-1 junior who's a two-way lineman in football but has been on rugby varsity since he was a freshman, following in the footsteps of his older brothers Rakeem (captain of the inaugural Weymouth squad in 2018) and Jaheem (who had a pair of tries in the 2022 state final). Naheem Ridore said his plan is just to "win rings and keep the Ridore name (going) in rugby."

Ridore made a big early statement against Braintree, snatching the ball out of a scrum and taking off down the right sideline before passing to Cullivan, who scored the try that put Weymouth up 17-0.

"He's fun to watch, that's for sure," Casey said of Ridore. "He's everywhere."

Ridore, who had 11 tries last season, has switched from the second row to 8-man to replace Ahern. Mastrocola's flanker role is being filled by Toni Gonzalez-Dumont (currently out with an ankle injury), Tony Marques and Ronaldo Rabelo. Casey's scouting report on Marques: "He's got a super-high motor and he's a tackle machine."

Savage, who had three tries and six conversion kicks in last year's state final, is back to handle the kicking duties. He was 9-of-16 on kicks against Braintree, although several of the attempts were from sharp angles. Savage scored 184 total points over his sophomore and junior seasons, and Casey says, "His foot can change a game."

Weymouth might not have to change much from here on out in order to celebrate again at the end of this season.

"It was good to get those two (big wins) on the board" to start the season, Savage said. "It was rough that we didn't come out (better) against Milton, but I think we redeemed ourselves today."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth boys rugby reloads on the fly as it chases 3rd straight crown