South strikes gold at rugby provincials

Three Alberta Schools Athletic Association high school rugby provincial gold medals are coming back to southern Alberta.

The ASAA Tier I, Tier II and and Tier III rugby provincials wrapped up around the province with one local girls team taking a gold medal in each Tier.

In the Tier I championship in Edmonton, the Raymond Comets upgraded last year’s silver medal to gold thanks to a 20-5 win over Edmonton Bev Facey in the championship game Saturday afternoon in Edmonton.

The Comets posted back-to-back shutout wins Friday, blanking Bellerose Composite 27-0 and McNally Composite 40-0 before completing the 3-0 weekend with the win over Bev Facey.

In the Tier II girls ranks, the Winston Churchill Griffins completed a hat trick bid with their third all-Alberta title in as many years thanks to a 24-19 win over Okotoks Foothills Comp in the gold medal game in Strathmore.

For the second time in as many years, a provincial gold medal will come to Taber after the W.R. Myers Rebels girls team repeated as the Tier III champions Saturday afternoon in Black Diamond, topping Rimbey Jr./Sr. High 39-22 to fly this year’s flag.

The Rebels started the weekend with a 69-0 win over Oilfields School Friday morning and earned a berth in the gold medal game thanks to a 33-12 win over Drayton Valley Frank Maddock High in the semifinal Friday afternoon.

As the Griffins went for the three-peat in Saturday’s Tier II gold medal game, not even losing veteran Rachel Greeno was enough to rattle Winston Churchill, who came firing out of the gate for a quick lead and then held off Foothills the rest of the way.

“We had never seen them before and they had never seen us,” said Griffins head coach Toby Boulet. “They were big and strong and bigger than us. We lost one of our better players, Rachel Greeno, right from the start. She got cut for some stitches on her cheekbone. So we had to make some subs. Rachel would have been huge in that game because she’s a big, strong girl.”

The injury brought in Griffins Grade 11 sub Megan Crieg.

“She played about 50 minutes and we brought another sub in for her at the very end,” said Boulet. “She’s a Grade 11 sub that comes in and plays 15 or 20 minutes. They never dropped their heads and felt bad that Rachel was out. They worked really hard.”

That lunch pail work ethic has earned the Griffins their third straight gold medal.

“The girls played fantastic,” said Boulet. “We were up against a very strong team from Foothills in Okotoks. They’re a very good team. Our girls jumped out to a 12-0 lead and off we went from there. We had some pushback from Foothills, but we had lots of resolve and we were good.”

The Griffins started the weekend with a 27-12 win over Strathmore Friday morning before rallying for a come-from-behind 19-15 win over Red Deer Hunting Hills in the semifinal Friday afternoon to earn their spot in the championship game.

“Everybody worked so hard,” said Boulet. “The team we assembled was a good team and they played above themselves in the second half of the season. They played better than they are, which is what you want. In the game against Hunting Hills yesterday they were down and had to come back. They held up two tries at the end of the game on the goal line. Hunting Hills ran to the other side of the field and we held them again. So it was that resolve, we were that close to losing and playing in the bronze medal game.”

On the boys side, the Winston Churchill Bulldogs also contributed to the South Zone medal haul this weekened, bringing home a bronze medal following a 24-14 win over Edmonton Sturgeon Comp Saturday afternoon.

The win represented a crucial rebound following a disappointing 18-10 loss to Calgary Henry Wise Wood — the eventual gold medalists — in the semifinal Friday afternoon.

“The boys played really well today,” said Bulldogs head coach Jon Dick. “They played with a lot of heart and it was actually a close game into the second half. They had to work hard to get the win. They were a little bit down from the loss yesterday and sometimes that’s a tough one to bounce back from and come out ready to play in the bronze medal game, but they did and we got a good win.”

The players had a heart-to-heart talk prior to the bronze medal game Saturday.

“Our captain (Connor Henderson) had a chat with team and they realized how upset they were that they got the loss,” said Dick, whose team started their provincial run with a 43-0 win over St. Joseph Friday morning. “I think they thought all along they had a chance to win that game yesterday. They wanted to come back and finish the season strong with a win.”

The narrowly missed chance for a consecutive gold medal after winning at home last year aside, it was another solid season on the north side.

“We had a good strong season, the players were awesome,” said Dick. “We get lucky every season with a great group of guys who are interested in playing the sport and learning more about the sport and coming to play for their school and it was no different this year, a great group of guys. The graduating players, we’ll be sad to see them go, but they’ve left their mark on Churchill rugby and they can be very proud of that.”

Four other high school teams represented the South Zone last weekend.

In the Tier I playdowns, the LCI Rams and Clippers were also in Edmonton.

The Clippers went 1-2 en route to a sixth place finish.

They began the weekend with a 22-10 loss to Calgary Western Canada, but defeated High River Highwood High 42-5 Friday afternoon.

But in the Consolation game, the Clippers were handed a 30-17 loss by Bellerose Composite to take sixth.

The Rams kicked off their weekend Friday with a close 18-14 loss to McNally Composite and lost another close one in their second game, a 12-7 decision to Foothills Composite.

LCI closed out the weekend Saturday morning with a 22-10 loss to Okotoks Holy Trinity Academy to place eighth.

The Chinook Coyotes girls team was also in Strathmore for the Tier II provincials, taking the Consolation title with a win over St. Mary's.

The Coyotes lost their first game of the weekend 14-5 to Edmonton Sturgeon Comp, but rallied in their next game to down Lloydminster Composite 38-14 to earn a berth in the Consolation game.

In Tier III action in Black Diamond, the Vulcan County Central Hawks were also on hand to represent the south, taking sixth place.

The Hawks were defeated 38-10 by Sexsmith Secondary in the consolation game Saturday morning.

The team started the weekend with a 24-12 loss to Frank Maddock High, but won their second game 41-5 over Oilfields School.