The Sturgeon Spirits swept the metro Edmonton division two rugby finals Thursday as the men’s and women’s teams finished undefeated in seven matches.
The lady Spirits (357 PF/80 PA) downed the Paul Kane Blues 34-5 and the Sturgeon men (370 PF/120 PA) rolled over the St. Francis Xavier Rams 48-26 at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
The last time the Sturgeon rugby teams won championship banners the same year was 2011 in the premier conference before the merger of the metro and Edmonton public leagues.
The seventh metro banner for the lady Spirits was also the first after their third in a row in 2011 in premier and the Sturgeon men celebrated their eighth championship and the first since 2015 in division two.
The women’s final was closer than the 68-12 romp over Paul Kane in the last match before the playoffs as the Spirits led 12-0 at halftime and 24-5 after three quarters.
Paul Kane (4-2-1, 166 PF/165 PA) was competing in its third metro final in four years and the second in division two since winning the 2014 championship.
In the men’s final, pool A Sturgeon handed the pool B Rams (6-1, 331 PF/120 PA) their first loss of the season.
Up next for the Sturgeon men and women are the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association Tier 2 championships next weekend at the Chestermere and Strathmore high schools.
The St. Albert Crude march into today’s junior B Tier I contest as winners of four in a row in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League.
Ball drop is 4:30 p.m. against the host Marauders (4-3-1) in Okotoks.
The Crude are 4-4 after beating the Sherwood Park Titans 15-9 Tuesday at Akinsdale Arena.
Period scores were 4-3 and 10-7 as the Crude improved to 2-4 at home.
Carter McCorriston racked up three goals and three assists and Brock McIntyre and Keegan Doll also recorded hat-tricks.
Dustin Herman struck twice and captain Rory Sharun, Tyler Dion, Ben Holowaty and Greyson Seibel as scored as the Crude handed the Titans (6-3) their first loss after five consecutive victories.
Holowaty and McCorriston lead the Crude in points with 26 and 23, respectively, and are the top goal scorers with 11 apiece.
The Team Alberta U16 roster features a trio of players with ties to the St. Albert minor football program.
Defensive back Jackson Ganton, receiver Kolby Hurford and quarterback Ewen Vanderheide were selected to the 40-man roster after participating in the recent Bantam Bowl at Foote Field.
The trio were joined on the north team by linebacker Matt Swecera of St. Albert, defensive back Zach Froese of Gibbons and defensive lineman Karl Haasz of Sturgeon County.
The south defeated the north 27-8.
Last year Vanderheide was the co-MVP on the Sherwood Park Rams, winners of the Tier 1 bantam provincial championship, and Ganton and Hurford played for the bantam St. Albert 49ers.
