A trip to Edmonton didn’t result in provincial gold last weekend, but the Banff Community High School (BCHS) Bears boys rugby team achieved what it sought.
The Bears lost the Tier 2 bronze medal game on Saturday (June 6) to Sturgeon Composite High School Spirits, 49-10, after splitting a win and loss the day before. They finished fourth overall in the season-ending eight-team tournament at Ellerslie Rugby Park and were awarded the sportsmanship banner for their professional play.
When presented the sportsmanship award, head coach Ian Higginbottom said it just goes to show the kind of character the team has displayed all year.
“I’m so ecstatic, and I’m so proud of these boys. They worked so hard all season,” Higginbottom said. “They always play clean rugby, they always play with everything they have. The refs complimented me on the character of our team after the games.”
The boys had some injuries going into the bronze medal game and ran into big, physical players that were able to outmatch the limping Bears.
“We just didn’t have the depth to pull it off, unfortunately, and rugby is one of those games where size and strength does matter. It’s tough for some of the Grade 12 boys because they poured their hearts and souls into this and unfortunately it’s one of those years we didn’t have the physicality required,” he said.
BCHS won its opening game 22-15 against the West Central High School Rebels of Rocky Mountain House, but ran into a semi-final wall against familiar foe the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School Spartans, who downed the Bears 54-3. The Spartans won this year’s provincials, defeating the Chinook High School Coyotes, 27-5, and had defeated BCHS in the South Central zone finals earlier this month.
In the offseason, the Bears will lose six graduating Grade 12 players who were key components in the rugby program. Higginbottom says despite losing veteran depth, a provincial tournament like this past weekend was good for the younger players to gain valuable experience – such as Grade 9 Griffin Watson-Boenisch, who was on the pitch the entire tournament.
One of the Grade 12 players graduating is Tyler Pecsi, who played his final game for the BCHS rugby boys this past weekend. He had been to provincials with Bears rugby for the past three years and said it was a great experience.
“It was a great way to end high school, to be able to go with all the boys, have fun and play rugby and enjoy the sport while you can,” the 17-year-old inside centre said.
