The Paul Kane Blues are tuning up to make sweet music on the playoff pitch this year in men's rugby.
The 2011 city conference winners kicked off their quest for a premier title Wednesday and despite a 32-5 loss to the Sturgeon Spirits, last year's premier champions, the Blues remain optimistic.
"We actually do have a genuine shot at winning a premier banner this year, which would be something excellent," said Grade 12 co-captain Trent Bennett.
Last year the Blues finished third at 1-2 in pool C in the north and in the playoffs shut out the Archbishop Jordan Scots and St. Albert Skyhawks for the first city crown in Paul Kane history and their seventh men's rugby championship in the metro Edmonton league.
Bennett, 17, is among 15 players who scrummed down with the senior or junior teams last year and one of five returning Blues from the championship winning line-up.
"We have some strong veterans and a good core of Grade 11s starting. We also have some Grade 10s cycling in. We have some [Team] Alberta players in Grade 10 who are absolute studs," he said.
The six-foot-two eight-man scored Paul Kane's only try against Sturgeon to make it 22-5 in the fourth quarter.
"My team scored that try. I just put it in."
The pool B league opener was Paul Kane's first match of the season. Sturgeon, last year's premier champions and Tier I (4A schools) provincial bronze medallists, was coming off a second-place finish at the annual Lynn Davies high school tournament last weekend in Sherwood Park.
"I'm extremely proud of the way our team held its own against a team that came in much more prepared," Bennett said. "I know it was a 32-5 game, but it was a lot closer than that. We only had a few mistakes. We just need to work on maintaining our ball, which is simple and clean passing, and taking the rucks on our own terms. We also have to assert ourselves and be a little more dominating in the tackles."
Spirits high in rugby
A strong second half by Sturgeon turned a close contest into a runaway victory.
"We saw them getting a little tired and we just kept pushing hard and it worked out for us," said Sturgeon fullback Kyle Sheehan.
A staunch defence tightened up whenever the Blues threatened to score.
"We never let them get too far down in our zone. We had one breaking point where they got past us for that try but other than that our defence was really solid," said Sheehan.
The third-year Spirit scored one of the team's six tries and split the uprights once with a difficult conversion.
"It really was a good game. Both teams battled real hard the whole time," Sheehan said.
Sturgeon was more polished than Paul Kane after making its season debut in last weekend's tournament. In the final Sturgeon lost to the Central Memorial Rams of Calgary.
"It was a good warm-up going into our first league game," Sheehan said. "It looks like we should be a very strong team this year. We did lose a lot of key players but a lot of new guys have come in and really stepped up."
Last year Sturgeon celebrated its highest finish at provincials after winning its second premier championship in three years.
"We want to redeem ourselves. We weren't fortunate enough to make it to the final game so hopefully this year we can make it to the final," said Sheehan, 18.
In league play Wednesday, Paul Kane and the Bellerose Bulldogs (1-0) renew their rivalry in St. Albert and Sturgeon plays the St. Francis Xavier Rams (0-1) at the Pirates Rugby Club. Kickoff times are 4:45 p.m.
