A ninth-place finish is still a possibility for the Vernon Panthers at the B.C. Senior AA Boys Rugby Championships.
The No. 12 ranked Cats bowed 24-12 to the No. 5. Hugh McRoberts Strikers of Richmond in round 1 action Saturday at Parkinson Rec Fields in Kelowna. The remaining games will be played at Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford.
“They were very good passers – crisp, tight spirals – and they had good support; they were always there in the rucks,” said VSS coach Tim Thorpe.
“They had good defence and it was tough to penetrate against them. It was getting frustrating for some of our guys because nothing was working.”
Wade Buller and Brett Lemiski provided tries for the Panthers.
“He got his after some relentless work by our forward pack,” said Thorpe, of Buller’s score. “They stopped us at the five-yard line four or five times before he dove over the line.”
Lemiski earned his after a nice run by Thomas Mills up the sideline. When Mills got taken down, Lemiski scooped up loose ball and scampered in from 30 yards.
Vernon, who are guaranteed a minimum four games, face the No. 13 Ladysmith 49ers in consolation play today. They will be without injured captain Josh Froom and several other players who are staying in Vernon to attend graduation.
“If we stick to our system, we could win a few games on the coast,” said Thorpe.
In AA quarterfinal playoff action today, the No. 1 Collingwood Cavaliers of West Vancouver face No. 8 Mulgrave Titans of West Vancouver; No. 2. Brentwood College Blackhawks of Mill Bay go up against No. 10. Southridge Storm of Surrey; No. 3 Rockridge Ravens of West Vancouver battle No. 6. Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna; and No. 4 Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons of Victoria take on Hugh McRoberts.
Other placing games today have the No. 9 Kelowna Christian Knights vs No. 16 Caledonia Kermodes of Terrace; No. 7 L.V. Rogers Bombers of Nelson vs No. 15 Esquimalt Dockers; and the No. 14 Alpha Aztecs of Burnaby vs No. 11 Windsor Dukes of North Vancouver.
In other AA opening day action, Collingwood stopped Caledonia 53-6; Brentwood College hammered Esquimalt 81-0; Rockridge riddled Alpha 46-19; Glenlyon Norfolk bounced Ladysmith 15-10; OKM downed Windsor 14-5; Southridge grounded L.V. Rogers 28-7; and Mulgrave iced Kelowna Christian 39-12.
In B.C. senior AAA boys playoff action, No. 1 ranked Shawnigan Lake School of Mill Bay crushed the No. 16 West Vancouver Highlanders 69-0; No. 2 Oak Bay Breakers outgunned No. 15 Claremont Spartans 41-5 in an all-Victoria battle; No. 3 Carson Graham Eagles dropped No. 14 Argyle Pipers 52-5 in a North Vancouver tilt; No. 4 St. George’s Saints of Vancouver pummeled the No. 13 Semiahmoo Totems of Surrey 82-5; No. 5 Earl Marriott Mariners of Surrey blanked No. 12 Cowichan Thundebirds of Duncan 54-0; No. 11 Handsworth Royals of North Vancouver upended the No. 6 Robert Bateman Timberwolves of Abbotsford 17-15; No. 7 St. Michaels University Blue Devils of Victoria needed overtime to ground No. 10 G.P. Vanier Towhees of Courtenay 24-19; and the No. 9 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts of Vancouver shaded No. 8 Yale Lions of Abbotsford) 21-19.
AAA quarterfinals go today (2:30 p.m.): Shawnigan vs Lord Byng; Oak Bay vs St. Michaels; Carson Graham vs Handsworth; and St. George’s vs Earl Marriott.
In consolation game action Robert Bateman tangles with Argyle; West Vancouver goes up against Yale; G.P. Vanier takes on Claremont; and Semiahmoo battles Cowichan.
