Skip to content

‘It’s too bad we didn’t break history’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwBYAfaCHao LETHBRIDGE – The Banff Bears’ bid for a piece of local history fell short in the final rugby match of the season, but neither players nor coaches are hanging their heads after the team’s impressive run.
Bears Girls Rugby Celebration
The Banff Bears girls’ rugby team celebrates its second consecutive zones victory at the Calgary Rugby Union in Calgary on May 30. The Bears finished fourth at provincials on June 8 in Lethbridge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwBYAfaCHao

LETHBRIDGE – The Banff Bears’ bid for a piece of local history fell short in the final rugby match of the season, but neither players nor coaches are hanging their heads after the team’s impressive run.

A provincial medal was on the line for the girls of Banff rugby last weekend in Lethbridge – something the high school team hasn’t held before – but the elusive award will have to wait at least one more year for the Bears.

The Bears lost 27-0 in the Tier 3 bronze medal match against an experienced Rimbey Spartans on Saturday (June 8) at Lethbridge Sports Park. It’s the fourth time in five seasons that they’ve competed for a provincial medal and subsequently missed the podium.

After the hard fought match ended, the Bears couldn’t have given any more on the pitch than what they did, said Grade 12 back Grace Pigott, adding it was “too bad we didn’t break history.”

“We left our hearts out there, we put everything on the line and played what we played,” Pigott said.
A week earlier, the Bears’ confidence soared through the roof after they stomped all over archrival the Springbank Phoenix, 43-15, to become back-to-back zone champions – a school first. The feat was sweet and only made the Bears hungrier to devour more competition.

“We had a mindset to make school history this year and we wanted to get it again by getting our best provincial placing,” said Bears’ Ellie Connell.

The Bears had previously won fourth at provincials in 2015, 2016 and 2017, which has been the team’s best result.

The Bears’ hot streak continued from zones as they edged out the Sexsmith Sabres, 26-19, in their first game at provincials on Friday (June 7). Krista Scurfield scored three tries and Cat Dang had one.

Later that day in the semifinals, the Bears tasted defeat at the hands of the WR Meyers Rebels, 34-12, in what was Banff’s first loss of the season. Scurfield and Naida Duffet scored tries during defeat.

The Bears had won six consecutive matches prior, including zones and provincials action.

The loss placed the Bears in Saturday’s bronze medal match, where they met an experienced Spartans squad with tons of speed in the backs. The Bears lost 27-0 against the Spartans to end their season.

“They were all keen to go for the medal,” said Bears’ coach Maya Capel. “They knew it was going to be tough, they knew they were going to have to work for it and I don’t think the score really reflected the game.”

The Spartans implemented its wicked speed and opened up the scoring in the opening minutes and never looked back at the straggling Bears.

At half, Banff was in a 12-0 hole, which would have been snickered at in the regular season on the strength of its potent offence led by Scurfield, Dang and Cassidy Born.

But the Spartans defence clamped down on Scurfield, making her into a primary defender tasked with chasing down the speedy Spartans backs. Born, who was a big part of the team’s offence, suffered an ankle injury at zones and was still stiff at provincials. Despite playing through, she was a non-factor on the scoreboard since going down.

“I wasn’t able to get as many tries, so I focused on defence and tackling,” Born said. “We wanted to try our best and even though we lost, I think it was our best game all season.”

The Bears’ heart never quivered, but no matter how many times they were on the verge of breaking the goose egg, the Spartans dug deep and scrapped to a defensive stop or a forced a costly turnover to subdued momentum for the stifled Bears squad.

“Going into it, we knew it was going to be hard,” Pigott said. “They [the Spartans] were very strong offensively and defensively, which really put a stop on our play.”

The push to make local history for a second time in the season was lost, but the Bears held their heads high. Born said the team showed loads or heart and passion in the bronze medal match.

“I didn’t see one person not put everything out there,” she said. “We tried our hardest and we didn’t give up at any time.”

At school on Monday, Pigott proudly wore an ASAA 2019 rugby provincial sweater as she walked around the halls for fellow classmates to see.

“I gotta flex on the school that I did it,” Pigott said, who was one of the Canmore Collegiate High School imports to play for the Banff high school team.

Though Grade 12 players such as Born and Pigott will not be on the high school team next season, returning players such as Connell are still looking to make history while wearing the Bears uniform.

“Hopefully we’ll be bringing home a third zones championship in a row,” Connell said.


Jordan Small

About the Author: Jordan Small

An award-winning reporter, Jordan Small has covered sports, the arts, and news in the Bow Valley since 2014. Originally from Barrie, Ont., Jordan has lived in Alberta since 2013.
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks