Okotoks’ Big Sky Rugby Union heavyweights are off to the senior boys provincials and they were almost joined by a scrappy and highly organized underdog from Big Rock country.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights booked their ticket to the provincials, June 8-9 at the Ellersie Rugby Club in Edmonton, at the expense of the Foothills Composite Falcons with a 45-8 triumph in the Tier I South Central Zone championship, May 30 at the Calgary Rugby Union (CRU).
“It’s going to be nerve-wracking to be honest because we’re going against some good teams,” said Knights head coach Joe Buck on the prospects of provincial glory.
“We’re going into provincials now so who knows. It’s a tough competition, it’s a tournament. We’ve done everything we can, we’re going to prepare this week and hope for the best. That’s really all we can do.”
The Knights are ranked third in the province as they head into the tournament, a figure based on last year’s rankings. Buck said Calgary’s representative should be one of the teams to beat in Edmonton.
The Knights could be without some key personnel for the provincials as Ryan Hassler, who’s missed the season with injury and, James Read out with a Charlie horse, are question marks for provincials.
“If we get Ryan (Hassler) back it will add something for us. James Read is kind of doubtful, he’s got a Charlie horse,” Buck said. “With rugby when you’ve got those injuries the name of the game is having a squad deep enough to make those adjustments.”
Buck was encouraged by the convincing victory over Foothills and said his team can use it as a platform for success.
“I was surprised how well the team played actually,” Buck said. “Foothills for the first portion of the first half got going and then a few things changed, the continuity of the
forwards and the backs were there and we won.”
Falcons head coach Steve Wager said his club was guilty of some costly mistakes against their cross-town rivals.
“We have to be a little more prepared for HTA,” said Wager. “Against a team like that you have to make your tackles or they’re going to make you pay.
“I definitely found as the game went on that we did improve. “The last 15 or 20 minutes we started playing a lot better, we adjusted better to their style.”
One strength for the Falcons was their kicking game, led by Grade 11 back Thomas Kurth who converted on a long penalty-kick in the first half and booted the ball up field for a late consolation try for teammate Matt Carr.
“That worked out well because that was one of our downfalls in the very first game,” Wager said of the Falcons’ kicking. “(HTA) did make some good kicks which cost us some points in the first game so we did make adjustments for that and it worked out well.”
Spartans run out of time
The Strathcona Tweedsmuir School (STS) Spartans were agonizingly close to a provincial berth, but their comeback attempt was halted by the whistle as the Banff Bears came away victorious with a 31-29 nail biter at the CRU.
After the Bears built a healthy first half lead, the Spartans’ Ben Pluck was able to wrestle some momentum away from the Tier II powerhouses.
“We managed to get a penalty and I managed to sneak over for a quick cut try because we were just really getting down and getting behind,” Pluck said.
The Bears were staked to a 26-8 lead at halftime.
“It was pretty rough. I’ve never been as tired as I was heading into half, but going into the huddle at halftime we talked about what we had to do and a couple individuals really stood out,” Pluck said. “And we nearly won. It was heartbreaking.”
The Spartans got back in the final via their legs as STS’s excellence in kicking and in open play was on full display in the late stages.
“The weakness I saw was they didn’t have a great work rate off the ball with chasing kicks,” Pluck said.
The Spartans’ fly-half sought to exploit the Bears’ deficiencies, leading to a pair of trys for fleet-footed winger Will Whitehead.
“He’s one of the fastest players in the entire league so I have confidence that if I kick the ball down field he’ll get there first,” Pluck said.
“He managed to score off one and scored a great individual try later in the game.”
Pluck, a Grade 12 student, said he was proud of his team’s effort in his last game at the high school level.
“I’ve been playing at STS for four years so it was really a big deal, but I was just really proud of everybody standing up,” he said.
“It says a lot about a team to come back from four trys and to get within two points.”
As of June 4, the Spartans still have an outside shot at a wild card spot for the Tier II provincials.
Elsewhere, the Oilfields Drillers had a rough ride in their Tier II provincial consolation final. Oilfields lost 52-14 to the Highwood Mustangs at the South Central Zones, May 30 at the CRU.
