The Paul Kane Blues kicked off defence of their metro Edmonton division two women’s championship in Tuesday’s resounding win over the Sturgeon Spirits at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
Eight players produced points, led by Sydney De La Mare’s five tries, in the 63-5 blowout.
Dana Koroluk, a Grade 12 winger, opened the scoring off a sequence of three ball swings for a try in the corner.
McKenna Marthiensen, a rookie inside-centre, bolted through the gut for a 45-yard try and Emily DeWitt kicked the first of her four conversions.
De La Mare, a Grade 11 eight-man, rounded out the scoring in the first quarter.
Hannah Clark, another rookie, ripped the ball out of a Sturgeon player’s hands in the Spirits’ try area and touched it down for a score. Clark was awarded the game ball for her performance at flanker.
Backs captain Annie Boyd and Kendall De Witt also scored tries.
In the fourth quarter, Grade 12 prop Maddie Doyle busted loose for a long run before finding Kamrey Buchanan on her open wing and made a textbook draw then pop for a score on a team-first play.
The next pool A match is Tuesday versus the Jasper Place Rebels (0-1) at 6:15 p.m. at SARFC.
Last year, the Blues finished 5-1 in winning their first metro banner since 2008 and the sixth in team history.
Robert Ford paced the attack with two tries as the Paul Kane Blues won their metro Edmonton men’s division two/three pool A season-opener Wednesday in Stony Plain.
Nick Parrotta and Aidan Block crossed the try line once and Scott Kerr kicked one conversion in the 22-5 victory over the Spruce Grove Panthers.
The Paul Kane lineup featured 12 players from last year’s junior team, including five Blues who saw some action with the senior squad.
Paul Kane is competing in the annual Lynn Davies/Strathcona Druids Tournament in Sherwood Park this weekend and the first match was Friday against the Edmonton Christian Lions, a division two/three pool B team, but the score was unavailable at press time.
Paul Kane scrums down Wednesday against the Memorial Marauders (1-0) at 4:45 p.m. at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
Last year, Paul Kane finished 2-2-1 as division one semifinalists.
The Bellerose Bulldogs make their home debut next week after the women’s and men’s teams lost their respective metro Edmonton lift-lifters.
Tuesday in division one the lady Bulldogs tackle the Strathcona Lords (1-0) at 4:45 p.m. at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 22-15 loss to the Bev Facey Falcons in a very tight match in Sherwood Park.
The Bulldogs were unable to convert some scoring opportunities late in the contest against the winners of the last three division one/premier championships.
This year’s roster consists of 15 returning Bulldogs from the 2014 team that suffered only one loss, 33-10 to Facey in the semifinals.
The Bulldogs also lost the 2013 premier final and 2012 city conference final.
The Bellerose men host the Jasper Place Rebels Thursday in division two/three pool A action at 4:45 p.m. at SARFC.
Bellerose started the season with a 28-12 setback to the Memorial Marauders in Stony Plain.
Last year, Bellerose finished 1-3 as division one quarter-finalists.
