Shawnigan Lake swims to the top
BOYS RUGBY: Vancouver Island crew won 8 out of 10 provincial championship games
If you’re a high school senior boys rugby coach in B.C., the second scariest thing about Shawnigan Lake is that they won the top division again this year.
The scariest thing has to be that the Vancouver Island crew also captured the junior boys B.C. banner for a second straight spring.
Their 36-13 triumph over Robert Bateman for the Grade 9-10 trophy on Friday at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium is further evidence they don’t seem to be slowing down, especially when you consider they also won the 2016 junior boys honours with a 29-3 victory over Carson Graham in the title tilt.
Their seniors will be shooting for a third consecutive Quad-A crown in 2018, thanks to a 47-15 win over St. George’s in Saturday’s championship game at Rotary that marked their second win in that title game in as many years against their Vancouver arch rival.
The powers that be in rugby came up with Quad-A last year, adding the extra division at the top in a bid to reduce early-round blowout games. Going back to win triple-A was the ultimate prize, Shawnigan Lake has played in 10 straight provincial championship games and won eight of them.
“This was a special team for many reasons. It is a very talented group that worked very hard to accomplish their goals,” Shawnigan Lake coach Tim Murdy said in an email interview.
“They have remained very humble and grounded throughout the journey, but what impressed me the most was how much pride they took in playing well — measuring themselves only against themselves by always trying to improve both individually and collectively.
“What I will remember the most was the honest and raw emotion at the final whistle. The tears of joy, relief and pride were hard not to notice. After the semifinal, one of our Grade 12s was in tears with a bruised and cut face. I asked him if he was OK, and he replied that he was fine.
“I then asked him why he was crying, and he replied that it just hit him that was his second-to-last game with the boys. It was a powerful moment to say the least.
“Next year will be another strong team. It will have a different makeup but I am confident that they will play with the same sense of pride.”
Carson Graham won the triple-A Tier I crown this year, beating Yale 31-13 in the championship game. Terry Fox outlasted Penticton 30-20 in triple-A Tier II, while SMUS edged Brentwood 24-14 to capture Double-A Tier I. Glenlyon Norfolk beat L.V. Rogers 17-13 for the Double-A Tier II title.
• Surrey’s Panorama Ridge beat cross-town rival Fleetwood Park 2-1 in penalty kicks Friday at Burnaby Lake in the triple-A girls soccer provincial final.
Panorama Ridge outscored Fleetwood Park 3-1 in the shootout session after the 15-minute overtime period couldn’t produce a winning score.
Panorama Ridge were the Fraser Valley champions. Fleetwood Park were the reigning B.C. champions and had played in three straight provincial championship games going into this tournament, but they had lost several key players from those squads to graduation and had only finished seventh in the Fraser Valley qualifier this year.