Congratulations to Bramalea who won the ROPSSAA tier 2 title over Xavier today at the Oakville Rugby Club. I have been in contact with a couple of sources at the game and below is a short summary.
This was a battle between the powerhouse and the upstart. Bramalea went 7-0 in the regular season and won both of their playoff games by large margins. They were the heavy favourite going into the final. Xavier was the new kid on the block; a first year team that, after a slow start, rang off five straight victories, including playoff wins over 6-1 Heart Lake and 6-0 Cawthra to make the finals.
Bramalea scored early as one of their two key players (#10; sorry I don't have names) ran through the entire Xavier teama and scored untouched. Xavier battled back and scored after a nice series of rucks and mauls deep in Bramalea's end. Bramalea then scored two more tries, both by #10 and #12 and they broke it open 21-5. Xavier scored late in the half and kept it barely within reach at 21-12.
Xavier scored early in the second half and suddenly, at 21-17, it was a game again. The two teams battled to a standstill most of the second half though Xavier had more scoring chances. That changed in the last 5 minutes of the game when Bramalea scored off a scrum deep in Xavier territory and then once more at the final whistle to win 31-17.
Afterwards, the convener commented that the game was played at higher level than even the tier 1 final last week. In fact, my sources say that it was a weak year for tier 1 and both of these teams might have made the playoffs if they had played up this season; they were just that good. Especially impressive was the athleticism of both teams.
Congrats to Xavier for surprising everyone in your first season and a special congratulations to Bramalea for a 10-0 run in a championship season. Good luck in tier 1 next year!
--- OTHER BUSINESS ---
Apologies to track and field athletes. I was not aware that the South regional had been moved back to the end of this week. Good luck in St. Catharine's tomorrow and Friday.
Junior Girls Lacrosse; Congrats Lorne park who won both of their playoff games on Tuesday to take the champioship. They defeated Turner-Fenton 9-4 in the morning semi-final before upsetting 1st place Stephen Lewis 3-2 in overtime in the final later in the afternoon. It has been an emotional couple of weeks at Lorne Park and the recent success of their junior teams is comforting.
Junior Soccer: The following teams advanced to their respective finals on Tuesday - St. Joes (Boys Tier 1), Meadowvale and Fenton (Boys Tier 2), and Robert Hall and St. Marcellinus (Girls Tier 2).
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