Sports
June 05, 2008 07:28 PM
By: Mike Hayakawa
A lot of people might question the sanity of holding practices at 7 a.m. two times a week.
But there’s logic behind the schedule for the Brother Andre Catholic High School Cardinals girls’ rugby team.
It’s the price it paid to capture a York Region high school tier one championship.
For the second straight year and seventh time since 1996-97, the Cardinals accomplished that feat with a 22-0 win over Newmarket’s Dr. J.M. Dennison Secondary School Huskies in Thursday’s championship final at Fletcher’s Field in northwest Markham.
With the victory, the Cardinals advanced to the provincials AAAA playdowns that began yesterday and finish tomorrow in Ottawa. The Cardinals, unfortunately, drew the top seed Ashbury College (Ottawa) in their first game.
“The girls bought into those early morning practices,” head coach Dave Turner said. “They were willing to work hard.”
Buoyed by tries from Chantel Burgess and Kristy Titanic and a convert from Samantha Harman, the Cardinals took a 12-0 halftime lead against Denison.
Melissa Coutts and Kim Ngai added tries to round out the scoring for the Cardinals, who finished the regular season in first place with a 6-0 record.
The Cardinals defeated Markham District High School 29-7 in their semifinal match earlier in the day while Denison clipped Huron Heights 7-5.
While crediting the players’ commitment to excellence, Turner also noted the work of co-coach Brian Chatland.
“He brings a wealth of rugby knowledge,” Turner said, noting Chatland has officiated rugby matches at the national and international level. “We were really fortunate to have him with us.”
Turner thought the key to the team’s York success was the play of forwards and backs along with a good kicking game. That game was helpful in the first half when the Cardinals played with a strong wind to their backs.
“Our backs are fast and work well together and our forwards, led by Chantel (Burgess), were consistently moving ahead. And we also introduced more of a kicking game, too. It allowed us to utilize our speed,” he said.
Turner had an inkling prior to the start of this season his club could advance to the provincials for the second straight year.
That came, at least in part, from having the experience of 10 senior-aged players, including seven from last year’s York championship roster. They include Burgess, Kristen Henderson, Ngai, Heather Smythe, Darlene Gunovski, Coutts and Kate Irwin.
In boys’ action, the Markham District High Marauders seniors advanced to the provincial AAAA championships after defeating Aurora’s G.W. Williams Secondary 27-10 in their semifinal game.
In the final, the Marauders fell 40-0 to the defending York champion Stouffville District Secondary School Spartans.
The Spartans are going after a provincial AA championship, leaving the way open for Markham in the AAAA division. Those playdowns began yesterday in Oshawa, Whitby and Ajax and wrap up tomorrow.
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