The greatest current high school sports dynasty in B.C., across any sport, continues to lay its cleat prints on all those standing in its path.
The Shawnigan Lake School Stags, winner of eight highest-tier provincial rugby championships in nine years, are undefeated this season as they look to extend their decade of dominance.
The Stags take on the Oak Bay High Barbs, who harbour legitimate title dreams of their own, this evening at 6 p.m. in the Island quad-A championship game at Wallace Field on the University of Victoria campus.
“It can be a heavy burden and weight to be asked to represent and carry forth the success of the past, so we don’t think about that,” said Stags head coach Tim Murdy, in his 12th season of guiding a program that has produced national team players.
“We just try to play up to our abilities each year. You are going to lose at some point. That’s what sport is all about. But if you lose while playing to the best of your ability, you can be proud.”
Shawnigan Lake is certainly not a disadvantaged program, and its catchment area is essentially the world. But there are a lot of private schools in B.C. that don’t achieve this level of success on the fields or gyms of play.
“I am proud of the kids,” said Murdy.
“A lot of people point to the perceived advantages we have. But it’s a different group of kids each year. And these kids work hard, year-in and year-out.”
This season’s breakout Stags player is the imposing tight-head prop Luis Gui Sala de Melo, a potential future Brazilian international.
Oak Bay answers with its best squad in years, a special group that includes Lower Island MVP Nick Carson, fly-half Jack Carson, centre Lachlan Kratz and captain Tom Abercrombie.
Shawnigan Lake won the only meeting between the teams this season in the Premier Series, yet Murdy is wary of the Barbs’ roster depth.
“This is a very talented Oak Bay team,” he said, of the task his undefeated Stags face in tonight’s Island quad-A final.
The contest caps a day of Island high school championship games at Wallace Field, beginning with the triple-A final between the Claremont Spartans and Nanaimo District Senior Secondary at 1:30 p.m.
That is followed by the double-A final between the St. Michaels University School Blue Jags and Brentwood College at 3 p.m. and the junior high final with SMUS taking on Shawnigan Lake at 4:30 p.m.
All eight teams playing at Wallace Field have earned berths into the B.C. high school championships May 30 to June 2 at Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford. Also going to provincials is defending double-A Tier 2 champion Glenlyon Norfolk School. The 10th Island team at provincials will be either the Belmont Bulldogs or G.P. Vanier Towhees of Courtenay, who meet in a triple-A play-in game today at 2:30 p.m. at SMUS.
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