The Sturgeon Spirits are double trouble at Thursday’s metro Edmonton rugby championships.
The men’s and women’s teams are both 6-0 when they scrum down in the division two finals at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
The lady Spirits (323 PF/75 PA) line up against the Paul Kane Blues at 4:45 p.m. and the Sturgeon men (322 PF/94 PA) battle the St. Francis Xavier Rams at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be huge for school spirit and for our rugby program in general. It’s going to be a big deal to have the whole school behind us,” said Kianna Kozak, a Grade 11 scrumhalf, after the Spirits pounded the Harry Ainlay Titans 58-12 in Monday’s semifinal at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
“Our rugby teams are like a family basically. When we play rugby no one is left out, everyone is a part of something good.”
The Sturgeon men are coming off an impressive 42-17 effort against the Edmonton Christian Lions (4-2) in Monday’s semifinal at Airways Park.
The Rams (6-0, 305 PF/72 PA), a pool B team, knocked off the Bellerose Bulldogs (4-2) in Monday’s semifinal 42-38 at Airways Park.
Sturgeon, a pool A team, survived a scare against the Bulldogs in league play with a late try to win 21-17.
Last year Sturgeon lost the division two final to the Lions 7-5 and at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association championships as the metro Tier 2 rep won the consolation final to finish 8-2-1 overall.
Two years ago, Sturgeon captured its seventh metro banner in team history as the division two champions and at Tier 2 provincials was awarded bronze.
The lady Spirits are chasing after their seventh metro banner and the first since their third in a row as premier conference champions in 2011.
Last year the Spirits placed first at 5-0 in division two/three pool A and in the playoffs lost their semifinal by 22 points to the W.P. Wagner Warriors.
“It means a lot to be in the final. The past few years we’ve been close but we’ve just fallen short of the cities so this year we’re really striving for the banner,” Kozak said. “We’re having a great season. The team really clicks super well.”
The Spirits and Paul Kane will square-off for the second time in 10 days after Sturgeon overwhelmed the Blues 68-12 in the last match before the playoffs.
“They got a really strong running team. They’re also super nice on the field, which means a lot especially in this division,” Kozak said. “Hopefully we play our best but it’s going to be tough for sure.”
Paul Kane (4-1-1, 161 PF/131 PA), second in the six-team division two table, is still smarting from the lopsided loss to the Spirits.
“They beat us pretty bad the last time. I’m not going to lie,” said Amelie Gautier, a Grade 12 outside-centre. “They do have some strong players on that team. They have some fast runners and some really big girls that are good at rucking so we’ve just got to work on our rucking.
“But we’re a lot faster than they are. We have some faster girls and I’m going to say that because I think that is very true but they’re a very strong team and it’s going to be a really good game.”
The Spirits also defeated Paul Kane in the final at a recent tournament in Red Deer.
“Win or lose we’ll have fun no matter what,” Gautier said.
Paul Kane returns to its third metro final in four years and the second in division two since winning the 2014 championship after Monday’s 33-12 semifinal decision against Wagner (2-3-1) at SARFC.
“It was one of our best games all season. In the first quarter they scored in the first minute and that really woke us up to be honest and then we got back on track and we scored a few more tries,” said Gautier, who busted loose for a pair of tries in the first half.
Paul Kane buckled down in front of its try line after leading by 16 points at the break against the team that stymied the Blues in the 19-19 draw during the regular season.
“Our defence in the third quarter was pretty amazing,” said Gautier, 17.
Last year in the division one final, Paul Kane succumbed 65-7 to the Bev Facey Falcons, winners of five consecutive championships.
“We lost some really good players from last year but now some new good players are starting to come up and that’s pretty awesome for the PK girls’ rugby team,” said Gautier, a third-year player on the Blues and member of the 2016 Edmonton Rugby Union U18 championship team at SARFC.
As for the Spirits, the playoff against the Titans (2-4) was a done deal at halftime and the Sturgeon juggernauts in total control at 36-5. It was 19-0 when the Titans reached the try area in the second quarter.
Kozak, 17, opened the scoring with the first of her four tries, including three before halftime.
Before the half ended, Morgan Soetaert turned on the jets for back-to-back tries in the blink of an eye.
Katarina Boras also crossed the try line twice and Geena Kieftenbeld and Shelby Pierce were credited with one apiece as the Spirits performed like a division-one calibre team.
“Our coach gives us this motto and it’s hashtag #befirst. That means be first to the rucks, be first to the tackle and in the first 10 minutes be first to win it,” Kozak said. “Honestly, we just like be the first to get it done.”
