The Sturgeon Sprits were cast in bronze for the second year in a row in provincial high school men’s rugby.
The two-time defending metro Edmonton premier champions overpowered the Strathcona Lords 33-7 in Saturday’s playoff at Ellerslie Rugby Park for their ninth victory in 10 games.
“We’re very proud of our season. We upheld Sturgeon’s reputation. It’s awesome,” said Derek Majeau, captain of the No. 4-ranked Spirits in the Tier I (4A schools) tournament.
Friday the Spirits edged the Henry Wise Wood Warriors of Calgary on kicks after a scoreless 40-minute affair and lost 24-12 to the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams.
“We were initially going for gold but we played a little rough yesterday,” Majeau said. “Today we came back with an awesome game and pulled off a bronze.”
The Spirits advanced into the semifinals by out-kicking the No. 5-ranked Warriors 4-2 from the 22-metre line. Brady Hansen, Riley Sheehan, Chris Jansen and Nick Daniele split the uprights in the five-man rotation and the last player, Cole Sheehan, didn’t have to attempt his kick.
“It was a very defensive game,” Majeau said. “Last year the same thing happened. The first game went to kicks [4-2 against the Holy Trinity Academy Knights of Okotoks after a 10-10 stalemate]. Actually this year was pretty much the same all-around as last year with the bronze medal.”
In the next game the No. 1-ranked Rams jumped out to a seven-point lead at halftime. Kord Smyth and Adam Oates were credited with tries and Riley Sheehan kicked a conversion in the Spirits’ first loss of the season.
“They made less mistakes and out-rucked us a lot. They were more ready and we weren’t prepared,” Majeau said. “It was a hard loss but it happens, so we came back harder today.”
The Rams went on to lose the gold-medal game 39-5 against the Knights, ranked sixth out of eight teams. The Knights reached the final with a 15-0 win over the No. 2-ranked Lords.
Majeau, 18, set the tone for victory in the bronze final with a couple of penetrating runs before a pick and go by Oates in front of the try line opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
The Spirits continued to press the Lords and in the 22nd minute Kyle Soetaert dragged a tackler over the try line.
The first half ended with Matt Bouliane busting through the posts for the team’s third try
After a try by Oates early in the second half, the Lords averted a shutout with a converted try.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Soetaert scored off a penalty play and Riley Sheehan converted his fourth try against the Edmonton public league champions, winners of nine in a row before the semifinal loss to the Knights.
“It was a hard fought battle,” Majeau said. “We were prepared this time. We had our heads in it. We had a lot less penalties and just gave it our all.”
Last year the Spirits dropped a 5-0 decision to the Lords in the semifinals.
“We were smaller but stronger as a team this year. We worked better, cooperated better and we used each other better,” said Majeau, a Grade 12 standoff.
SCRUM BALLS: The Lady Spirits finished fifth at provincials by defeating the No. 3-ranked W.P. Wagner Warriors 12-10 in Saturday’s consolation final. A staunch defensive stand late in the back-and-forth affair by the Spirits preserved the win.
The metro Edmonton premier conference finalists, ranked fourth in the Tier I draw, lost the tournament opener 24-19 to the No. 5-ranked Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs of Calgary.
In the next game the Spirits blanked the No. 8-ranked Foothills Falcons of Okotoks 26-0.
Fifth place was the lowest finish at provincials by the Spirits after silver in 2011 and back-to-back bronze medals.
In the metro playoffs the Spirits lost the premier final 26-22 to the Bev Facey Falcons on the last play of the game. It was the first loss for the Spirits, winners of the last three premier titles.
Facey finished seventh overall as provincial co-hosts.
