It’s rare to see two teams leave the pitch with smiles on their faces.
But that’s exactly what happened when the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans closed off a 31-19 triumph over the host Foothills Falcons in senior boys rugby action on May 12 in Okotoks.
“It’s a huge improvement from our team,” said Falcons captain Jon Stephan, a Grade 12 student. “We’ve got only two kids that ever played organized rugby before so to see our team coming out and starting to understand and get gritty and really start to embrace the physicality of the sport is really great.
“It’s a huge improvement from the first couple of games and I’m really proud of the guys.”
The Spartans, who moved to 3-1 with the victory, took a 17-7 lead into the break and added 14 unanswered before the Falcons rallied with a pair of late tries.
“They’ve got some big kids on (Foothills),” said Spencer Prevost, the STS full-back. “So that’s why set the ABC’s where we have three forwards on each side and we blitz up and try to catch them before they get speed and if they get speed it’s up to me and I don’t want that.”
Prevost had his fingerprints all over the match, or bootmarks that is.
The fullback made use of open space in the first half to pull off a short kick and run into the try-zone. In the second-half, the Grade 12 full-back pulled off an audacious deflection kick right into the arms of speedy winger Zayden Rabie for a picture perfect try.
“I was like, ‘If I pick it up I’m going to knock it on,’ so I just kicked it forward where I could and caught it perfectly,” Prevost said. “When the ball is like that you just kind of have to go with it.
“It was hard with the wind in the first half, but we made due with the kicks forward and that kind of stuff. The passing was pretty good, we just made a lot of silly penalties.”
The Falcons clawed back in the second half to reduce the deficit to 12 with the forward pack putting in a shift to make use of the team’s size advantage.
“Our forward pack was incredible, especially our guys coming off the bench,” Stephan added. “They came on when we had a couple of injuries and they gave us just a ton of energy and our forwards really hit them hard, we had a size advantage on this team.
“The constant push from the forwards really kept us in the game from the get-go.”
Stephan tipped his cap to the Spartans as a strong collective who bring work ethic and rugby knowledge to the pitch.
“They have lots of skill, lots of talent, the coaching staff is great and they really helped us to grow,” Stephan said. “They did that by showing us what it’s like to have a really good backline…Those backs are just fast, they ran hard and really gave us a working on the outside.
“It’s really good because it shows us our weaknesses and where we can improve.”
It’s been a steady rise in performances for the Falcons through the opening month of action as Foothills’ inexperienced roster has swiftly found a foothold in the sport.
“It’s really special,” Stephan added. “I’ve played before, but to be able to watch that development firsthand, it’s just so special, especially when you’re trying to lead a team and seeing your coaches happy with the improvement and everybody getting into it and the team spirit just building and that chemistry.”
For Stephan, Falcons scrum-half Armitesh Nair perfectly illustrates the team’s ascendency through the campaign.
“He’s never played a game before and he came out today and really gave them a lot of trouble,” he said. “He pushed hard, gave us a lot of balls, lots of opportunities and read the field really well, organized our forwards to get those great hits.
“He kept getting in, even though he’s a little guy, he never backed down no matter how big the opponent was.”
In the second match of the evening, the Highwood Mustangs outlasted the Falcons 24-22 in senior girls rugby action at the Comp.
This week, the Falcons boys and girls are home to Bow Valley for a double-header on May 17 with the Spartans on the road versus Croxford on May 16.
The South Central Zone playoffs get underway in Tier I, II and III on May 26 with the majority of the finals on May 30 and all matches taking place at the Calgary Rugby Union.
