(From the Stanstead College yearbook)
Senior Boys
This was an excellent year for Senior Boys Rugby. We had 26 boys try out for the team and we kept every one of them. It is the biggest team we have had in all my years at the College. It's pretty cool that rugby is alive and well at such a small school, and its thanks to boys like you. Every one of you.
We started our season early by heading to Rothesay, NB and :playing in Rugbyfest where we finished a respectable fourth place in our division. We then won our league thanks to a few things: a clutch kick by Huckins in the last minute of our first game against BCS and a huge team effort in the cold, bitter rain on turf at Bishop's University against Seminaire de Sherbrooke. Man, those wins felt good, didn't they? We placed second at the GMAA 7s tourney out of 12 teams, which was the top finish we could hope for (no one was going to beat the Loyola team), thanks to three insane comebacks in the second half and another last-minute kick by LG this time (who went on to break his arm in the final, so he paid his dues). We then placed second out of 12 teams again in the Sherbrooke 7s tourney where we could have clinched the championship but fell a little short, maybe due to fatigue from playing in Montreal the day before.
The highlight of the season for me was playing under the lights down in the USA at Essex. Losing 15-0 at the half, making some halftime adjustments to the game plan and coming back to win 24-15. What? Twenty-four unanswered points? How crazy awesome was that? We were a team then. We talked during the season about steel sharpening steel and you guys were men of steel that day.
We lost in the championship final to BCS but they honestly outplayed us and deserved to win. No shame in that. We have the league banner forever. They have the cup for one year until we win it back next year. Yep. I said it. Now it's up to you returning boys to make it happen. Thanks for a great year, everyone. Oh yeah, almost forgot... a super special thanks to... spirknation baby!
Junior Boys
This spring saw the junior boys rugby team start the season with a great deal of hope and promise. It was clear that a good deal of talent and skill lay within these 17 young players. The opening jamborees proved to be a mixed bag with repeated easy wins against MVR but close losses against BCS or Richmond. A trip to the GMAA 7s tournament in Montreal proved to be a turning point. Although they returned with only a 2-2 record, the exposure to higher level competition proved invaluable and the team pulled off victories against MVR and Richmond in the final jamboree of the season. Alas, this was too late to win the banner but saw the team peaking just in time for the playoffs at Stanstead. The semi-final saw a dramatic come-from-behind win against BCS, and the final saw an even more dramatic come-from-behind, double-overtime, sudden-death win with a try by Keiran Gallant, assisted by Matt Johnson. A great end to a solid season by a team that, in the end, refused to lose.
(From the Stanstead College website, June 1st)
Athlete of the week: Keiran Gallant
Keiran has grown in stature and maturity throughout the junior rugby season. The Grade 9 student from Covehead, PEI has increasingly taken a leadership role on the team, and has set a great example in effort and intelligence for his teammates to follow. His determination and refusal to give up was demonstrated for all to see as he inspired the team to two come-from-behind victories and scored the winning try deep into double overtime of the ETIAC playoff final last Monday. Congratulations, Keiran!