Rugby season starts for Halton Hawks

Chris Davis and Toni Lucas, with input from Randy Whitehead

The Matthew Halton Senior and Junior Girls Rugby teams hosted the Lethbridge Coyotes at Sproule Field on the evening of April 19.

The game was briefly interrupted by the appearance of a different sort of dummy runner* than usual, in the form of a male streaker of the male teen variety, certainly an unusual event for the onlookers.  Rumour has it the individual was identified and faces disciplinary action.

Senior Game
In their second game of the season, Halton's Senior Hawks defeated the Coyotes by a score of 47 to 0.   Hawks Coach Randy Whitehead reported "It was a good second game for us, and for missing a number of players still on a school trip the game was good.  Emma Lowry had 3 tries (5 points each), Alyssa Barbero scored 2 tries, and Jayden Kennedy, Megan Albert, Justine Jorgensen, Dakota Van Loon Each had 1 try, with Catherine DeCock kicking the lone convert for 2 points.

The Hawks Seniors team is now in its third season, and approximately 10 athletes on team have been there from its inception.

Senior Hawks vs Lethbridge Coyotes
C. Davis photo

Junior Game
Coach Randy Whitehead said the "Junior game was a nice back and forth game, ending in a 12 - 12 tie.  Megan Albert and Rebecca Lowry scored a try each with Dakota Van Loon kicking a convert.

The Senior team is now 1 and 1 to start the season, and their next game will be on Wednesday April, 25 in Fort Macleod.  The Juniors are 2 and 0 and will be participating in a JV Festival this weekend in Medicine Hat.

Hawks rugby teams
C. Davis photo

There are 5 Captains/Assistant Captains on the Senior and Junior teams:  Emma Lowry, Amanda Higginbotham, Jorden Plummer, Veronica Oczkowski, and Megan Albert.

Rugby Mom Sandy Breckenridge has two girls playing the sport this year, Madison Breckenridge for the Junior team and Scharmayne David for the Senior team.  She was kind enough to explain some of the intricacies of the sport.  "There are hookers, props, and wings, and what you think of as a touchdown in football is called a try," Sandy explained.  "Rugby is organized chaos," she laughed while cheering on the local team.  "I am just excited to be able to be here.  I work on call for the hospital, so I don't always make it to games."

Madison Breckenridge was waiting on sidelines for her turn to compete as a member of the Junior game.  She played the position of wing last year, and has moved to being a hooker.  "It's a lot of fun," she said.  "I was bored when I wasn't playing."

Rugby has paid off for at least one Hawks alumni.  Logan Kennedy was awarded a rugby scholarship and is currently at the University of Lethbridge, playing with the Pronghorns.

Pincher Creek boys do play rugby, but do so out of Fort Macleod.

* In Rugby, a "Dummy Runner" pretends to run for a pass, which instead goes to another player.  Thanks, Wikipedia.  

Hawks' Megan Albert surrounded by Coyotes
C. Davis photo