Submitted photos – The Jacks celebrate their regional championship victory last month.

By Ray Hamill — The Cal Poly Humboldt men’s rugby team will play in a national semifinal on Friday, as the Jacks inch closer to a first-ever national championship in the sport.

Humboldt qualified for the NCR Small Schools final four in Houston after winning the West Regional championships in Salt Lake City last month.

They will kick off the final four against Endicott at 10 a.m. Pacific time on Friday and the game will be streamed live for any local fans who want to check out the action.

Click here for the link on YouTube …

After going 3-0 in a short regular season, the Cal Poly men won back-to-back games at the regional tournament, defeating Colorado School of Mines 32-7 in their opening game and then beating Western Oregon 51-17 in the championship game.

It is the first trip to the NCR final four for the program.

However, the Humboldt club team did qualify for a Division-II national championship back in 2005, narrowly falling to Northern Colorado in a thrilling championship showdown at Stanford.

Endicott College is an NCAA Division-III school in Massachusetts.

The championship game will take place on Sunday at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

Wayne State and Catholic will play in the other semifinal on Friday.

If the Jacks lose their semifinal, they will play in a third-place game on Sunday at 7 a.m.