TERRIFIC TAKEDOWN
Maddie Hobson, right, of Kitchener Collegiate Institute, tackles Alyssa Davis of Waterloo Oxford during a girls rugby game at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School in Cambridge on Tuesday. KCI won 41-0.
CAMBRIDGE — If the opening game of the season is any sort of indication, the KCI Raiders are again the team to beat in Waterloo County girls’ high school rugby play.
The Raiders began their drive for a fourth consecutive WCSSAA championship Tuesday afternoon with a 41-0 win over the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders, on the artificial turf at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School. Makilda Addico led the KCI attack with three tries, as the champions scored early and often in a rematch of last year’s championship final.
Natalie Armatage, Maddie Hobson, Davna McLean and Grace Mickie also scored tries for KCI, and Abbey Stryuk chipped in with six points on three converts. KCI led 31-0 at halftime.
The talented Raiders are a close-knit bunch, said Grade 12 player Carolina Koebel, who added the team’s recent run of success is a drawing card for incoming players who want to be part of the school’s successful program.
“I really like the inclusivity of this team. The senior players do a lot to welcome the younger players; and at the same time the junior players do a lot to get involved and they really pull their weight,” she said.
While boys’ rugby is at an alltime low in terms of popularity at the high school level — only three schools were able to field senior teams this spring — the girls’ game is flourishing, with 12 schools competing. KCI has a massive roster of 47 players and Waterloo-Oxford has 49.
“We’ve done well in recent years and girls want to be part of that, same with Waterloo-Oxford,” said KCI’s Armatage. “It’s a great sport, anyone can play it.”
A Grade 11 student, Armatage is one of the league’s top players. She competed for Ontario last summer with hopes of playing at this year’s Canada Summer Games in Antigonish, N.S.
Teammates Stryuk, Koebel and Hobson have also competed at high levels outside of school, which will definitely be an asset as the Raiders take aim at another title.
Jennifer Armatage has taken over head coaching duties at KCI in place of Amy Bambury, who is on a leave. And longtime Waterloo-Oxford teacher Erma Repei is again calling the shots for the Crusaders, a team that is loaded with young talent that will get better with age and experience.
Despite their success at the WCSSAA level, the Raiders have come up empty at the past three Central Western Ontario tournaments and have only one appearance at OFSAA. That was in 2015 when the Raiders fell to Guelph’s John F. Royals in the CWOSSA final, but were awarded a berth as the second regional rep.
“We’re looking to claim the WCSSAA title again and hopefully get to OFSAA, but it’s one step at a time,” said Natalie Armatage.
“CWOSSA hasn’t been kind to us and we’d like to change that,” added Koebel.
“There are always strong teams from Guelph and Brantford.”
The Bluevale Knights took on the Waterloo Vikings in Tuesday’s other game. KCI, WaterlooOxford, WCI and Bluevale, who make up the fourteam A division, are back in action Thursday.
The other eight schools — Galt, Glenview Park, Jacob Hespeler, Preston, Elmira, Cameron Heights, Eastwood and Huron Heights — open their season next week.