The latest chapter of the Okotoks high school rugby rivalry will pack a heavy punch.
A berth in the provincial championships should add to the already fierce rivalry between the Foothills Falcons and Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) Knights when they tango in the South Central Zone Tier I final on May 30.
“It’s the final, whoever wins goes on to provincials so there’s a lot on the line,” said Knights head coach Joe Buck. “Foothills really want to put up the banner and we don’t want them to have it. It’s going to be a good competitive game and done in the right spirit.”
The Knights, the defending Tier 1 provincial champion, battled back from a halftime 14-7 deficit to defeat the Bow Valley Bobcats 27-14 in a competitive South Central Zone semifinal on May 22 in Calgary.
Ben Brown, Jazz Singh, Nick Villarreal, Miles Pawlivsky and Cristian Sprague each found the try zone for the Knights.
“The boys really wanted to win this game because they want to have another game with Foothills,” Buck said. “It will be a good, good game.”
Buck said he expects to see a battle of attrition when the Okotoks schools meet again.
“Ultimately it’s won at the collision so it’s whoever comes out on top on those collisions over the course of the game,” he said. “I spoke to our physio and said make sure you’re there because it’s going to be a game.”
Foothills advanced to the zone final in comfortable fashion. The Falcons cruised to a 49-12 rout of the Strathmore Spartans in the other Tier 1 semifinal on May 22.
Cody Thompson, Robbie McLean and Anthony Cortviendt each tallied two trys with Yusuf Gok, Jamie Irving and Logan Agagnier also passing the try zone for Foothills.
“It was a convincing win, but we had some brain lapses,” said Falcons head coach Steve Wager. “We got overconfident once we got up and then we had to get back to our game plan. But full credit to Strathmore, they never gave up.”
The Falcons picked up their first win in six years over their cross-town rivals when they defeated the Knights 29-19 on May 2. However, both squads insist they are different clubs since the early season meeting.
“I think it’s going to be a lot closer game than it was because that was both kind of our first game of the season between us,” Wager said. “They have some wins under their belt and we have some wins under our belt.”
Falcons’ flanker Amren Curtis said bragging rights will be on the line as members of both teams share considerable playing history with the Foothills Junior Lions and at Alberta Summer Games.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Curtis, a Grade 10 student. “Their inside-centre Cristian Sprague, he’s a really big threat to us crashing it into our backline. If we shut him down then I think we’ll have the game.”
Foothills (4-0) went undefeated in the Big Sky Rugby Union. HTA finished 3-2, but closed out the Senior boys circuit with consecutive victories.
“I think this is going to be a much better game,” said Knights’ back Ben Brown. “We’ve had a bit more time to practice. Our last game against the Comp we had a slow start, but this upcoming game we’re going to really show what we can do right off the bat.”
Central to the Knights’ prospects of a victory will be their ability to close the gaps on the Falcons, who boast a size and age advantage on HTA — a team void of any Grade 12 players.
“We have to get up on them fast. We can’t let them get any speed,” Brown said. “They’re big guys and we have to make sure that we hit them hard and fast.”
The South Central Zone final goes May 30, 3:30 p.m. at the Calgary Rugby Union.
