Morning Star Staff
The host South Kamloops Titans stopped the Fulton Maroons 29-17 in the Okanagan Valley Junior Boys Rugby Championships final Wednesday.
Caden Doyle and Ike Olson provided tries for the Maroons, wh0 trailed 19-0 at the half.
Jeff Han booted one penalty and one conversion, while Kyle Karens recorded one convert.
South Kam defeated Fulton in all three meetings this season.
“They have some very good players in some key positions,” said Fulton head coach Mike Scheller. “They also play tough aggressive rugby and they had us on our heels for the entire first half. We compounded their aggression by playing awful in the first half. We were timid and made too many mistakes. It was our worst half of the season.
“However, I am very proud of the way our kids rebounded in the second half. They could have packed it in, but they chose to play like champs. We took over the second half and played great. our kids showed a lot of heart in the attempted comeback.”
Scheller summed up the year as stellar for a young and inexperienced group which showed steady growth.
He gave props to assistant coaches Brad Marsh, Gord Cheyne, Kelly Greene, Ben Olson and Graysen Marsh for excellent support.
“Ryan Rumsey was an unsung hero for us. He was all over the field and performed well in every game. Caden Doyle led us in scoring with some nice runs.
“Ike Olson was a solid player and a great tackler at 10 for us. Satchel McDermid had a solid year at scrum half and was our leader. Locks Christian Harpe and Greg Geistlinger are to be commended for great seasons. Grade 10 backs Kyle Karens and Jeff Han both had excellent seasons as well.”
