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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 3, 2009 · 26 OT juniors take different road to Halton championship By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR It's not often that Oakville Trafalgar High School finds itself as an underdog in a rugby game. However, that's what the Red Devils were -- on paper, at least -- when they squared off with the undefeated Georgetown Rebels in Friday's Halton junior boys' Division 1 final in Burlington. But OT, which struggled to a 2-2 mark in the regular season (including a loss to Georgetown), was up to the challenge. The Red Devils scored the first two tries of the game and never trailed on their way to a 2417 win, earning a spot in the upcoming Barbarian Cup junior provincial championships. Playing on the wide field at Sherwood Forest Park, the Red Devils utilized their speed advantage to score two of their four tries. Will Jeffery and Matt Gottschling both reached the in-goal area on long runs when they got into open space and made would-be tacklers miss. "We can't go toe to toe with a lot of the schools because we're physically not that big," said OT coach David Schaffler. "We tend to put our better athletes on the outside so we can get them into space and let them run. That's one of the reasons we do well in Halton. The experience level is not there with a lot of the teams -- they can put together a game plan that uses their big guys -- but nine times out of 10 (a big field) is to our advantage." Kyle Munoz and Patrick Doyle also scored tries for the Devils, who led 12-5 at half. Gottschling accounted for OT's other points with a pair of converts, atoning for costly misses during the regular season. "The two games we lost, we lost by two points in each game, and I missed kicks," said the 16-year-old Grade 10 student. "I didn't think we played that well in the games we lost. We were on and off all season. The games we won, we blew them out for the most part. Here, we managed to pull it together and win." OT avenged both its regular-season losses in the playoffs, downing the Abbey Park Eagles in the semifinals and Georgetown in the championship. "I knew it was correctable," Schaffler said of the mistakes that cost OT in the regular season, "but I didn't know if the kids would be willing to correct it. That was more the issue. This group has been pretty hit and miss." He hopes his team will continue to improve as it prepares for the provincials, a tournament in which the Devils finished third last year. "If the guys are focused and paying attention, we should be okay," said Schaffler. "If they revert back to the way they were early in the season, it's not going to last. That's just being realistic." The juniors' victory capped off an OT sweep of the Halton Division 1 rugby titles. OT's senior boys' and girls' teams also won CHANTAL AYOTTE / OAKVILLE BEAVER regional championships last week and are currently competing in Ontario Federation of FAMILIAR POSE: Oakville Trafalgar's Mike Santangeli, C.J. Depatie and Will Jeffrey (pictured left School Athletic Associations AAA/AAAA tour- to right) hold up the Halton championship trophy after defeating Georgetown 24-17 in Friday's junior boys' Division 1 rugby final. naments. More Halton finals coverage tomorrow Halton champions were scheduled to be decided yesterday (Tuesday) in girls' slowpitch, girls' softball, and girls' and boys' soccer. The 10 championship games were all slated to be played at Milton's Lions Sports Field yesterday afternoon. Soccer finals involving local teams included girls' AAAA (Oakville Trafalgar vs. Notre Dame), girls' AAA (Loyola vs. Nelson), girls' A/AA (Aquinas vs. Lester B. Pearson) and junior boys (Holy Trinity vs. Notre Dame). The girls' softball final was an allOakville affair between Holy Trinity and T.A. Blakelock. See Thursday's edition of The Oakville Beaver for coverage of those games. Buzz improves OLA playoff positioning The Oakville Buzz can finally breathe a bit easier about its playoff positioning in the Ontario Lacrosse Association's West Conference. Oakville won two of its three games this past week to improve to 8-5 on the season and move into a tie with St. Catharines for fifth in the conference, four points clear of ninth-place Guelph. The top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs. The Buzz defeated Welland 6-5 Thursday and Hamilton 10-8 Friday before its four-game winning streak was snapped Sunday with a 5-2 loss to the South West Division-leading and defending Canadian champion Six Nations Rebels. Spencer Gallant and Mike Dawson scored in the loss to Six Nations. Braden Gallant, Connor Gamble, Taylor Rivers and Dawson scored twice each against Hamilton, with Bryan Campbell and Mark White netting singles. White (two), Alex Kruse, Brad Galante, Braden Gallant and Spencer Gallant found the net Thursday for Oakville. Cam Watts earned the two victories in goal, while Dave Diruscio took the loss Sunday. The Buzz is scheduled to play a pair of home games this weekend. Welland will visit Glen Abbey Recreation Centre Friday for an 8 p.m. start, and Wallaceburg will be in town Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest. Over 60,000 Satisfied Customers THE BIGGEST SALE EVER Lee's clutch double helps A's snap skid $500 OFF 905-849-4998 www.aireone.com 1-888-827-2665 # Best Price # Best Service # Same Day Installation Available # Eligible for O.P.A. & Governement Rebate Buy From Largest Lennox Dealer in Ontario & Save $$$. A+ Rating 9 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER *See dealer for details Gord Robertson pitched into the eighth inning and Kevin Lee hit a key two-out double in the seventh, helping the Oakville A's end a three-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the St. Catharines Monday at Oakville Park. Lee's bases-clearing double increased Oakville's lead from 10 to 4-0. Andrew Kotulak also came up big with the bat for the A's, collecting three hits and driving in three. Julian Richards earned the save in his first action in nearly a year, making his return from injury. Mike Modestino and Phil Stirling combined to go 3-for-5 in the DH spot. The victory was much needed after Oakville dropped both ends of a doubleheader Saturday in Erindale. The Cardinals claimed the opener, 3-2, and blanked Oakville 4-0 in the nightcap. Matt Bekar and Karl Wulf drove in Oakville's runs Saturday. Matt Chisamore took the loss in relief of Alex Hawley in the first game, while Marc Walton was saddled with the loss in the second game. Oakville's next league action is scheduled for Monday at Oakville Park, when it will play host to Milton. The A's then travel to Dundas the following evening.