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27 | Friday June 9, 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .insidehalton.com Kevin Nagel, Oakville Beaver Sports Editor, knagel@burlingtonpost.com Sports "Connected to your Community " first quiet confidence." Against a Saltfleet team that edged OT 7-5 early in the season, the Red Devils built a 17-7 half time lead on tries by Callum Tam, Jake Howden and Johnson. In the second half, the Red Devils wore down their bigger opponents as Engelbrecht, Andrew Easson and Matt Spiller added tries. "It was also a victory for our style of rugby," Wood said. "We play a pretty dynamic game. The onus is on the players to make decisions rather than a more structured sys tem telling them what to do. I think it' s better for their development." W ith seven graduates having moved on to play on the senior national squad over the years, and dozens, including Engelbrecht and Tam, on national youth teams, it' s hard to argue with the results. And now, after a decades-long wait, OT has a third OFSAA championship. "I know it' s cliche to say it was a team effort, but everybody had their best game I've seen them play" Wood said. "We had some injuries in the last game and even if we put some one on who had never played a game at that level, they came through." One of those players injured in the final was Porter, who suffered a broken collarbone. A member of the Oakville Yacht squadron and the Ontario sailing team, Porter was supposed to be going to Rhode Is land for next week' s Brooke Gonza lez Advanced Racing Clinic. But he is not lamenting missing out on the opportunity to learn from top col legiate and Olympic sailing coaches. "It was worth it for the gold," he said. By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Was this how it was going to end? Oakville Trafalgar has long domi nated high school rugby in Halton, winning 45 of the last 4 7 league championships. The Red Devils have also been a staple at the On tario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament, always in the hunt for a provincial title. They had come agonizingly close last year, falling in the championship game. Now, their bid for an OFSAA title was again hanging in the balance. Trailing Nantyr Shores 17-15 in the quarter-finals, OT had the ball in its own end when time expired. The next stoppage of play would bring the game and Oakville Tra falgar' s tournament to an end. For four agonizing minutes, OT kept the play alive, moving the ball down the field. "The composure the guys showed was incredible," said OT assistant coach Jam es Wood. "The style we play can be risky, but they didn't limit themselves. They kept off-loading the ball and tried to make something happen." Finally, Domenic Johnson, who had been playing the sport since he was six years, dished the ball to Jack Porter, who first picked up a rugby ball last year in Grade 9. Porter didn't even know he'd be playing at OFSAA until earlier in the week. He started the season with the senior squad before suffering a concussion. W hen he returned, he joined OT' s junior team and after its season ended, he was asked to join the seniors at OFSAA. He hoped Oakville Trafalgar won its first provincial high school boys rugby title since 1984. Members of the team are Nigel Bannister, Charlie Biggar, Kyle Cestnik, Jack Creigh ton, Andrew DeSouza, Danny Duong, Andrew Easson, Josh Engelbrecht, Matthew Fedsin, Declan Finerty, Evan Hayes, Eric Herauf, Sam Hibbert, Jake Howden, Do menic Johnson, Dane Khachi, Phil Lombard, Mark Montague, Alexei Morrita, Tanner Murray, Ryan Nicholson, Duff Paisley, Jack Porter, Ryan Radovich, Shane Randall, Max Seckler, Matt Spiller, Callum Tam, Tom Tefogolou and Deklan Williamson and coaches David Schaffler, James Wood and Ryan Perera. | photo submitted to get some playing time but never imagined himself in this position. As he took the pass from John son, Porter saw a path to the corner -- clear sailing, you might say. He touched the ball down for a 2 2 -1 7 victory that kept OT' s goldmedal hopes alive. "It was do or die, we had no option but to score," Porter said. "It was very exciting. I was super happy for the whole team. Nobody wanted to go hom e." A day later, Oakville Trafalgar would again refuse to quit. Show ing its conditioning and depth of talent, OT scored 17 unanswered points in the second half and got tries from six players on its way to a 3 4 -7 win over top-ranked Saltfleet. The victory brought OT its first OFSAA boys' title in 33 years. It also marked the first time a school has won both the girls' and boys' cham pionships in the same year. "It was amazing," said Josh Engel- brecht, who had six tries in the tourna ment. "A lot of the boys just collapsed at the end, there were a few tears shed and everybody was hugging. It was definitely one of (the best), if not the best, moments I've ever had." · · · W ood has seen a lot great rugby teams at Oakville Trafalgar. W hen he played for OT, the team went to OFSAA as a favourite and returned with a bronze medal. "W e had expectations to win, but we fell flat and came third," he said. "W e were always close, always competitive, but we had a monkey on our backs." After graduating, W ood had ev ery reason to believe it was only a matter of time until OT broke through. Even after returning to the school as a teacher and coach, the team was still looking for its first gold since its back-to-back championships in 1983 and 1984. Last year, coaching alongside Da- vid Schaffler, he helped OT take the next step. After winning five bronze medals, OT reached its first final since '84, losing 19-5 to Uxbridge. "That stung a lot," Engelbrecht said. "That gave us a lot of motivation." The OT captain showed the way with three tries in a tournament-open ing 41-5 win over D&M Thomson. After OT' s close call, the Red Dev ils got second-half tries from John son and Andrew Carson in a 19-5 semifinal win over Medway. That night, the OT players got a little extra incentive. "W e got a bunch of messages from (former) captains," Engel brecht said. "You're not just play ing for all your teammates, but for everyone that came before us." But the Red Devils didn't let the weight of 33 years slow them down. "Last year, I think everyone was a bit nervous," W ood said. "Our senior players knew what it would take to win. This year they had a w w w .jw a r c h it e c t .c o m HOUSES OUR FIRST PASSION New · Additions · Cottages · Interiors · Landscape