The Fulton Maroons dispatched the LV Rogers Bombers of Nelson 36-10 in a provincial crossover exhibition senior AA boys rugby game Friday in Penticton.
Caden Doyle rang up a pair of tries for the Maroons, while Ike Olson, Hunter Krieger, Ryan Rumsey and Evan Trottier added singles. Trottier was 3-for-6 on conversions.
“I was really happy with the effort put forth by our kids,” said Fulton head coach Mike Scheller. “It has obviously been a long winter and with spring break, we did not have much practice time, but our guys came out an played hard. We had the physical mismatch over LV Rogers and we tackled well.
“We did a good job of maintaining our own possession, and we held the ball for most of the contest. A great way to start the season. Sean Jasminez was a tackling machine for us. He really stuffed their attack. I liked Logan Higgs at lock. He was a physical presence for us all game. Cole Hunter made his debut at standoff, and I was really happy with the way he controlled our attack.”
Scheller says high school rugby is greatly declining in the number of schools playing traditional 15s rugby. Some schools have chosen to play sevens rugby only.
The Okanagan 15s league is a hybrid of AAA and AA teams. AAA: Kelowna Owls, Pen Hi Lakers, Salmon Arm Golds and Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna. AA: Fulton and Princess Margaret Mustangs of Penticton.
Fulton visited Okanagan Mission for a Tuesday league game and face Western High School Cardinals of Calgary in a friendly Saturday, 11:15 a.m. in Enderby (AL Fortune Secondary).
The Maroons host Pen Hi next Tuesday, 4 p.m., at Grahame Park.
The Okanagan playoffs for AAA schools will go May 15 with the AA championship final scheduled for the next day at the home of the first-place team.
The provincials go May 30-June 2 in Abbotsford.
