It’s been a banner year for a group of Bow Valley Rugby Club players teaming up with the Calgary Saracens.
The U16 girls Sizzlies soundly defeated St. Albert in the final to claim provincial championship honours.
Ty Hawes, who helped coach the team in the absence of head coach Kate Kimbrell—who was attending the Women’s World Rugby Championship in England—says St. Albert scored first, but the Sizzlies soon took control.
“It was a really close game at half, just a couple of points difference, and then our girls walked away with it in the second half with some great performances by some of the Grizz girls,” said Hawes.
That includes Mataya Hoskin, who was named MVP of the championship game.
“Defensively, they dug in and were like, ‘You’re not getting past us today.’ It was really something to see.”
The win caps a season in which the Sizzlies’ only loss came against the Foothills Lions/Chestermere Vikings in a close 38-31 regular-season finale. The Sizzlies had the most wins but finished one point behind the Lions.
Roughly half of the roster came from the Bow Valley club.
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It was the second provincial championship involving players from Bow Valley.
In mid-August, the Calgary Rams and Bow Valley Grizzlies’ combined women’s rugby team, Rizz, capped a flawless season by winning the Alberta Women's Premier League provincial championship against the Edmonton Lepachan Tigers, 58-17.
Babas in semifinal this weekend
In other BVRC news, the men’s Division 3 Babas/Foothills Lions face the Calgary Knights in semifinal action at the Calgary Rugby Fields on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m.
The Babas finished third in the regular season with a 4-5 record. The Knights came second with an 8-1 record.