The Bellerose Bulldogs ruled the pitch at the inaugural Gareth Jones St. Albert High School Rugby Tournament.
The Bulldogs swept the St. Albert Skyhawks and Paul Kane Blues for the men's and women's championship trophies Saturday.
"It's pretty sick for us winning St. Albert," said Robert Blunden, co-captain of the metro Edmonton premier men's team. "It's the first time in history anyone has ever won it, so it's good stuff."
In the main event the Bellerose men knocked off a resilient Paul Kane squad 17-7 in front of a deck full of fans at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
"It's always awesome playing on the first pitch and having the whole crowd watch you, especially when your peers come out from school. It's just a good atmosphere, and winning is even better," Blunden said.
The lady Bulldogs overpowered the Skyhawks 45-5 and Paul Kane 20-5 for their biggest triumph since winning the first women's rugby championship in school history two years ago.
"It's pretty clear we're all fairly happy how we did today," said co-captain Katelyn Moorhouse. "We're also really excited too with what is going to come next for us this season."
Last year the lady Bulldogs finished fifth out of six teams in premier at 2-2 after going 3-3 overall in 2010.
"What we did today means we're going to be a lot more confident in our upcoming games," Moorhouse said. "Last year was like a building year but this year it's been so good so far."
The third-year Bulldog led the charge against the Skyhawks with three tries and five conversions.
"We were pretty aggressive going into the rucks and winning them and moving the ball out as quick as we could," she said.
The Grade 12 scrumhalf also reached the try area once against Paul Kane.
"It was about the same game as SACHS. We were really aggressive and we functioned real well as a team."
Paul Kane, a premier team, beat the Skyhawks 21-5 in the tournament opener.
In the city conference the Skyhawks and Bulldogs are grouped in pool B. Last week the Bulldogs prevailed 20-17 against the Fort Saskatchewan Sting and the Skyhawks lost 46-17 to the St. Francis Xavier Rams in the first game by a female rugby team at St. Albert Catholic High School since 2005.
The rematch between the Bulldogs and Skyhawks was staged Tuesday in league play, but the score was unavailable at press time.
Moorhouse, 19, said the Bulldogs have high expectations this year.
"We want to win, that is anyone's goal, and just to be happy. And winning is part of being happy."
Dawgs roar
The Bellerose men ended the Jones tournament with 17 unanswered points against Paul Kane after giving up a converted try in the second minute.
"That got us worried, but we just kept pressuring them and kept our rucks going strong," Blunden said. "We just had to stay physical with them. It was a forwards' game for sure, and very competitive."
Blunden, 17, converted two tries by Jack Hanna and kicked a penalty late in the game after missing two kicks in the first half.
Hanna bullied his way across the try line in the eighth minute and scored the game-winning try three minutes into the second half. The rugged Grade 10 forward was selected the team's man of the match.
"Jack is a monster. He's a good guy to have around. He is definitely scary. He runs hard, lowers his shoulders and knocks anyone out of the way," said Blunden.
The Grade 12 standout kicked off the tournament with three tries, a difficult 39-metre penalty kick and four conversions in a 36-5 victory over the Skyhawks in a physical affair. The Skyhawks, a city conference team, were coming off a 15-11 win over Paul Kane.
"It was a good warm up. We came out real hard and put them away," said Blunden, a versatile centre, scrumhalf and hooker.
The Bulldogs and Paul Kane battle again today at 4:45 p.m. in a premier tilt in St. Albert.
Last week the Bulldogs thumped St. Francs Xavier 34-5 to start the season.
"Their offence was good but we shut them down. We stuck it to them. We ran hard. We did everything perfect. The new guys stepped up when they had to. It was just a good time," said Blunden, a mainstay of the Team Alberta and St. Albert junior programs.
The Bellerose men also have lofty goals after falling short in the premier playoffs last year. Their only loss in five matches was 29-19 to St. Francis Xavier in the semifinals.
"We had more athletes last year and more experienced people, but SFX was just an unreal team then and we had a bad game against them," said Blunden, a member of the 2010 Bellerose city conference championship team. "This year everyone is young and they're still building on their rugby skills but we have really good potential."
SCRUM BALLS: Trent Bennett (Paul Kane), Ashley Barchuk (lady Blues), Nikkie Los (lady Bulldogs), Tarren Luck (Skyhawks) and Christina Roth (lady Skyhawks) were recognized in the post-game trophy presentations for their performances in the tournament.
