It's championship time for the Fort Saskatchewan Junior Rebels lacrosse club.
According to Dave McGarva, Rebels general manager, the team is young, and the season has been up and down, but nonetheless successful for the group. The Jr. Rebels finished the regular season third in the North division with a 10-win, 10-loss record.
Injury issues have plagued the team all season, but they are looking forward to the first playoff game on Thursday night (July 21), especially as all players will go into this game healthy.
"Exciting is the one word I could pick. You know, we were the underdogs in the semi-finals, and we managed to give it to St. Albert pretty good and held our own, and we took care of that, and we're the underdogs going into the final," he said.
"The part that's impressed me the most from the whole season has been their effort; these guys are 'go' all the time, we play a fast game, and they're sure doing it."
Whether losing badly or playing well, the Rebels' team always shows the same intensity, McGarva added. He says they're focusing on one game at a time, particularly as the underdogs going into their tournament. They will face a tough first-round opponent in the Edmonton Warriors, who have been dominant all year.
"We're going to go give them everything they can handle."
The championships will be a best-of-three tournament. Game one will take place Thursday at 8:45 p.m. in Ardrossan. Game two will be played at home at the JRC Saturday at 7 p.m. If the tournament goes into game three, that will occur Sunday in Ardrossan.
If the Rebels win the North championship, they will move on to the provincial championships in Okotoks this year. The winner of provincials will then move on to the Founders Cup for the national title.
McGarva continued to say that the community support this season has been incredible, and they are fortunate to have the community step up and show up to games.
"Those double-headers have been great days with things for the kids and entertainment and the beer gardens and making more of an event of it. We've had really good feedback from the people who attended."
He also thanked this year's sponsors, who have been "tremendous" coming out of COVID, including Smith Insurance and Noyen Construction.