Union County breaks 100, Life University rolls again, Chicago Lions win the rematch and St. Paul survives by a point as club rugby fills the map.
American club rugby had one of its busiest Saturdays of the fall on October 3, with 200 final scores recorded nationwide by Rugby Fan Central.
That means 200 completed match results — not 200 championship finals — across the American Rugby Premiership and regional competitions from Division 1 through Division 4.
Men’s and women’s clubs were in action across multiple unions and time zones. There were 100-point performances and shutouts, a one-point finish in Minnesota and a 10–10 draw in New York.
The sheer number of matches was the story. But within those 200 results, several performances stood out.
Union County Breaks 100
Union County Mudturtles 107–7 Princeton — Empire Men’s D3 NJ
The biggest number among the October 3 results tracked by Rugby Fan Central came out of New Jersey.
Union County entered the weekend 4–0 and then put 107 points on Princeton, producing a 100-point winning margin.
The result continued an unbeaten start for a club with deep roots in the area. Union County celebrated 50 years of rugby at Unami Park in 2024, while its flag rugby program has grown to more than 200 players across five teams and six towns, serving players ages 4 to 14.
Saturday, though, belonged to the senior men’s side and one of the most eye-catching performances of the entire weekend.
Life University Rolls Again
Life University 55–12 Mystic River — American Rugby Premiership
Life University and Mystic River met for the second time in consecutive weeks.
Life won 40–19 at Mystic River on September 26 before bringing the matchup back to Lupo Family Field on October 3. The second meeting produced an even wider margin, with Life winning 55–12 in Marietta.
Add a 53–5 victory over White Plains earlier in September and Life has scored 148 points while allowing 36 across those three recorded ARP victories.
There is also significant history between these clubs.
Life defeated Mystic River 30–24 in Marietta to win the 2025 American Rugby Premiership championship. Mystic River has been one of the established names in American club rugby, including USA Rugby Division I national championships in 2016 and 2018.
Life’s opening results suggest the defending ARP champions remain one of the teams to beat.
A Very Different Chicago Rematch
Chicago Lions 30–12 Chicago North Shore — Midwest Women’s D1 Western
The first meeting between the Lions and North Shore this fall went down to the wire.
Chicago won 10–7 on September 5.
North Shore responded with victories over Twin Cities and Metropolis before the teams met again Saturday.
The Lions entered the weekend 3–0, with North Shore at 2–1, adding importance to their second meeting in the Midwest Women’s D1 Western race.
This time there was considerably more separation.
Chicago won 30–12, completing a second victory over North Shore this fall and maintaining its strong start to the season.
St. Paul Wins by One
St. Paul Jazz Pigs 27–26 Rochester Rogues — Midwest Men’s D3 Minnesota
Among a Saturday filled with enormous scores, Minnesota produced one of the day’s best finishes.
The St. Paul Jazz Pigs edged the Rochester Rogues 27–26 at Afton Heights Park.
Just one point separated the sides at the final whistle, making it one of the closest results among the 200 final scores recorded by RFC.
Big Scores Across the Midwest
Des Moines 83–0 Milwaukee — Midwest Men’s D2 Western
Des Moines delivered one of Saturday’s biggest Midwest performances, shutting out Milwaukee 83–0.
Rockford Ravens beat Northwest Woodsmen 76–5 in Midwest Men’s D3 CARFU, while Marion Mutants won 74–17 at Iowa City Ducks in D4 Iowa.
Cleveland Rovers defeated the South Pittsburgh Hooligans’ D3 side 64–19 in Midwest Men’s D3 Eastern. In D2 Eastern, the Hooligans’ D2 side lost 79–24 to Buffalo.
Grand Rapids Gazelles beat Chicago Riot 57–5 in D2 Central, and Fox Cities Gargoyles scored 62 in a 62–31 victory over Wisconsin in D3.
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Palmer College came through a much tighter D2 Western contest, beating Green Bay 29–23.
Chicago Blaze also had teams competing at different levels. The D1 Western side won 29–21 at St. Louis Bombers, while the Blaze’s D2 Central side lost 41–31 to Lincoln Park.
Aspen Wins a 95-Point Game
Gentlemen of Aspen 64–31 Denver Barbarians — RMRU Men’s D2
Colorado supplied plenty of points of its own.
Gentlemen of Aspen and Denver Barbarians combined for 95 points, with Aspen winning 64–31.
Colorado Springs Grizzlies also had a productive afternoon. The Grizzlies defeated Scalliwags 55–28 in D3 and Colorado Rush 31–12 in D4.
Littleton Scots shut out Queen City Rams 28–0 in D4, while Queen City’s D3 side reversed the club matchup with a 43–17 victory over Littleton.
Pittsburgh Forge Wins Across the Program
Few clubs had as much happening Saturday as Pittsburgh Forge.
The men’s D1 side defeated Indianapolis Impalas 36–10, while Forge’s D3 team beat Greensburg Maulers 64–21.
The women added two victories over Columbus Squirrels sides, winning 28–14 in Midwest Women’s D1 Eastern and 30–17 in Women’s D2 Eastern.
Forge’s D1 women entered the weekend 3–0, having scored 125 points while allowing only 33.
Across the men’s and women’s program, it added up to four Pittsburgh Forge victories on the same Saturday.
South Buffalo Puts Up 80
South Buffalo 80–0 North Buffalo Ninjas — Midwest Women’s D2 Northern
South Buffalo’s women added another huge score to an already high-scoring start to the season, beating North Buffalo Ninjas 80–0.
They entered the weekend 4–0, having scored 234 points and allowed just 41.
Remarkably, Saturday wasn’t even their largest victory over the Ninjas this fall. South Buffalo won their earlier meeting 120–0 on August 29.
Elsewhere in Midwest Women’s D2, Milwaukee Scylla shut out Minneapolis Menagerie 59–0, Fort Wayne defeated Cincinnati Kelts 46–20, Cincinnati Wolfhounds beat Dayton 43–5, Wisconsin won 35–22 at Oconomowoc and Uticuse defeated Buffalo 33–22.
Frederick Scores 85
Frederick 85–0 Stingers — Capital Women D3
The Capital region supplied another of Saturday’s biggest scores.
Frederick defeated the Stingers 85–0, putting them alongside Union County, Des Moines and South Buffalo among the highest-scoring clubs of the weekend.
Around the Country
The big results extended well beyond the Midwest.
In the Carolinas, Charlotte Barbarians shut out Triad 63–0 in Men’s D3.
Empire competition produced several notable results. Morris Lions defeated Central Jersey 69–31, Rockaway beat Queens 55–29, Suffolk Bull Moose defeated Village Lions 35–7, and Lansdowne won 44–19 against Gotham Knights.
NYRC and Long Island could not be separated, finishing 10–10.
In Empire Men’s D4 Upstate West, Kenton Misfits produced another of the day’s biggest results with an 83–0 victory over South Buffalo’s men.
In Eastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Whitemarsh beat Media 39–26, while North Bay recorded a 28–0 victory over South Jersey.
Red River Ruffians defeated Metropolis 57–12 in Midwest Men’s D3 Minnesota, while Louisville shut out Queen City 28–0 and Columbus Castaways defeated Dayton 27–14 in Midwest Men’s D3 Ohio.
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By the Numbers
The Scale of American Club Rugby
The headline number isn’t 107 in New Jersey, 85 in the Capital region or 83 in Iowa.
It’s 200 completed matches on one Saturday.
The Midwest alone had men’s and women’s matches spread across multiple divisions. The same weekend included Empire, Capital, Eastern Pennsylvania, Carolinas, Rocky Mountain and American Rugby Premiership competition.
Behind those scores are thousands of players, along with coaches, referees, administrators, volunteers and supporters keeping club rugby moving every weekend.
It is a part of American rugby that can be easy to miss. There isn’t one stadium, one television window or one league table capable of showing the entire picture.
Instead, it is happening simultaneously on rugby grounds and community fields across the country.
Two hundred final scores. One Saturday.
From a rematch of last year’s ARP final in Georgia to D4 rugby in Colorado and New York, women’s rugby in Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Chicago, and club matches stretching across the country, October 3 showed just how much rugby is being played beyond the professional and international game.
No single result can capture all of that. The scale of the weekend can.
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