The St. Albert Skyhawks are shooting for a winning season in men’s rugby after missing the mark last year.
The Skyhawks ended the 2011 campaign with losses of 15-0 to the Paul Kane Blues in the metro Edmonton city conference final and 26-14 to the Beaumont Bandits in the Edmonton zone Tier II (3A schools) provincial qualifier.
“Losing those games was real tough. It was real hard on our hearts,” said Grade 12 standoff Craig Trischuk.
The Skyhawks have their sights set on a return trip to the city final and a provincial berth.
“This is a big year for us. A lot of us are in Grade 12 and we want to make a big push. We want to go far and bring a banner to our school and pride to our school,” Trischuk said.
Wednesday the Skyhawks won their second game in a row, 43-0 against the John Paul II Patriots of Fort Saskatchewan in the league opener at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
Last week the Skyhawks kicked off the season with a 24-12 exhibition victory against the Archbishop Jordan Scots.
“Those wins are really important for us because we want to carry that momentum into the rest of our games,” Trischuk said. “We want to play hard defensively and make other teams scared so they don’t want to play against us.”
The Skyhawks finished 1-5 overall last year after going 1-6 in 2010. They didn’t field a team in 2009 because of a lack of players.
“We have a lot more potential this year. A lot of guys are returning. We know the game a lot more thoroughly so we know how to play it a lot better. It just helps in the long run because we’re able to support each other that much more better,” Trischuk said.
The Skyhawks rolled up 19 points in the first half Wednesday and led by 29 after three quarters against the inexperienced Patriots.
“It was a well deserved win. We played the ball to the side. We were strong offensively and strong defensively,” Trischuk said. “There were a few penalties that we had early on but we rallied together as a team and eliminated those.”
The first of seven tries by the Skyhawks was scored in the ninth minute.
“That was a huge boost for our team. It gives us confidence right off the bat. It made the other team stand down a little bit,” said Trischuk, 17.
The man of the match against the Patriots scored two tries in the second half.
Fullback Devin Gunputrav also had a big game running and kicking the ball.
Wednesday the Skyhawks play the Leduc Tigers (0-1) at 4:45 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
