Sweep success for TOSH squads
Three Oaks win both boys and girls AAA banners
The Three Oaks Senior High (TOSH) domination of the high school rugby banners continues.
The Axemen and Axewomen swept the Prince Edward Island School Athletic Association senior AAA championships Thursday at UPEI. The boys have won backto-back championships and eight of the last 10 years while the girls have claimed the title four straight years.
Girls
Senior standoff Kelsey MacKinnon of Grand River had two penalty kicks in the first half to give the Axewomen a 6-0 lead over the Montague Regional High School Vikings. She scored a try and converted the kick to account for all her team’s points in a 13-0 victory.
“It’s unreal. It feels bittersweet because it’s our last season, but to bring home the banner for the fourth year in a row is pretty crazy,” she said. The early points were key for the Axewomen, who had lost 5-0 to the Vikings about 10 days ago.
“It broke that eggshell because we hadn’t scored on Montague before,” explained head coach Tim Hockin. TOSH threatened early in the second half with two Montague players in the sin bin after receiving yellow cards. After the Vikings had a number of goal-line stands, the Axewomen finally scored a try. But after the officials gathered, the try was waived off for a hands-in-the-ruck infraction.
With the Vikings back to even strength, MacKinnon touched the ball down for the game’s lone try.
Hockin credited his players for staying mentally composed after having the earlier score called back.
“It was pretty tough after fighting tooth and nail to get that try,” he admitted. “For the girls to not let down and go right back at it and score was huge.”
The Vikings refused to give up and had a great chance late, but the Axewomen had a goal-line stand of their own to keep Montague off the scoreboard.
Hockin told his players after the game it was one of the proudest coaching moments he has had during the past seven years with the Axewomen.
He said they battled through injuries all season, including losing the top four offensive players for chunks of the season. MacKinnon had only returned to the lineup for the semifinal game and helped set up three tries.
Hockin said MacKinnon provided a calming influence on her teammate with her presence and composure, but also came up big with some kicks to alleviate Vikings pressure on Thursday.
“She was an absolute gamechanger,” he said.
The game was played under sunny skies after it had rained earlier in the day.
“The rugby gods were shining down on us today,” MacKinnon said. “We’re a fast team that likes to play in dry weather so it was ideal for us.”
Boys
Garrett Reid had a penalty late in the first half and Camren Gavin scored a try early in the second half as the Axemen defeated the Charlottetown Rural Raiders 15-10.
“To see that (penalty kick) go through and then have the whistle knowing you’re up 10-7, it kind of sets up how you can call your game the rest of the way,” head coach James Voye said. “To march out and score a try to go 15-7 . . . was very important.”
The Axemen hadn’t been pushed a lot this season, but the Raiders gave them everything they could handle on Thursday.
“Ryan Lloyd is a good coach, and that team has improved gradually throughout the year,” Voye said. “I am very impressed with how my boys handled the intensity of the game.”
Reid opened the scoring with a try and a convert about 15 minutes in. Rural responded quickly as Noah Daley had a try and Brodie MacMillan got the convert to tie the game 7-7.
Reid said the kick at the end of the half was a good boost for the team going to the second half.
“It got the boys hyped,” he said. “It was a good feeling.” MacMillan added a penalty kick to cut the deficit to five, but that’s as close as the Raiders would get.
Reid, a Grade 12 student, has played for the Axemen for two years and each year has finished the same way, providing memories that he will always have.
“The first year, we went out on top, second year, too, so it’s been pretty good,” he said.