OBETZ — Dan Hayes sent captain Logan Stentz to accept the runner-up trophy May 31.
Hayes began Warrior Rugby a decade ago, and players of Stentz’s ilk have embodied the spirit of a program that quickly became a dynasty. Warrior Rugby fell 30-17 to Medina in the Single School state championship game at Fortress Obetz.
“Logan’s a great kid. He’s a C-TEC student but was basically done with high school and had been for some time, doing his internship,” Hayes said. “He gets up and starts working on a site for Elford Construction at 4:30 in the morning and then shows up to practice. He goes home, probably goes straight to bed and gets up the next morning to do it again the next day. He is just a workhorse.”
Warrior Rugby has made state championship weekend a permanent date on its calendar each year. Playing in its fifth consecutive title game, the Warriors finished as runner-up for the second time to go with victories in 2021, ‘22 and ‘24.
Warrior Rugby has taken players from all walks of life across Watkins Memorial and have created an unmatched culture.
“Even on these tough days, I can still come back to my brothers, and I love each and every one of them even though we didn’t win,” Stentz said. “It’s one thing to have a job, but I couldn’t leave my brothers.”
Stentz was joined by Sam Crum, Chris Flowers and Degan Herb as senior leaders, doing the dirty work in the trenches, and Hayden Perusse and Nate Neil outside.
“We have always had high-quality kids, maybe needing a little direction but otherwise really good people,” Hayes added.
In a rematch of last year’s title game won 31-17 by the Warriors, Medina has the upper hand this time, using its exceptional skill on the outside to keep the usually explosive Warriors under wraps.
The Warriors cut a 15-0 deficit to 15-12 in the blink of an eye, scoring a try on each side of halftime. Medina, however, answered with two scores before Flowers scored on the Warriors’ final possession.
“Our whole season seemed to have been big power teams with large forwards that tried to just jam it down your throat,” Hayes said. “This team was very small, but very fast and very skilled. It took us too long to figure it out. By the time we did, the score had gotten away from us a little bit.”
Cody West, Landon Frasher, Louden Murray and Keegan Murray will be returning senior starters in 2026. The Warriors also had five talented sophomores in their starting 15 for the title game.
“Even though we lost this year, I have no doubt they can come back and win it next year,” Stentz said. “They have grown a tremendous amount since the start of the season. They have grown the most of any team I have played on in my high school career.”
It was a bittersweet day for Hayes, whose program finished runner-up to Medina, a program that also has ties to legendary Bowling Green coach Roger Mazzarella. The programs’ B sides played in The Battle for Ye Olde Crooked Knee in Mazzarella’s honor earlier this month.
Hayes has created a pipeline to the collegiate ranks, sending more than a dozen players to the next level. Many Warriors in both the boys and girls programs also will again play on club teams across Ohio during the summer and fall.
“The rugby skill is so much better than when we first started our program,” Hayes said. “This is pretty high-quality rugby for high schools. It’s fun to watch and pretty gratifying to be a part of.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Tight bond in victory, defeat keeps Warrior Rugby among elite