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Fantastic Finish

Fantastic Finish

Jason Hasson17 Aug 2014 - 13:34
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Highland's u16 boys saved the best for last. In the final game of the regular season, they played some great rugby to cast aside the Guelph Redcoats.

Pride was on the line in the first meeting at the under 16 level between these local rivals. With the playoffs already out of reach for both clubs, the result did not mean a great deal. But to these two clubs, it evidently still mattered. Highland travelled to Guelph with a large contingent of supporters, making it look more like a home game. The players on the field were equally fired up, taking note of the largest crowd they'd played for all season.

The visitors from Highland were overly anxious to strike first, and the result was some jittery play to open the game. The first five minutes were all Guelph, as they pressed deep inside the Highland zone. The lads from Highland were up to the challenge, rigorously defending the goal line and ultimately turning Guelph away empty handed. The tide slowly turned and Highland took control. At the fifteen minute mark, Mike Potton burst through the Guelph defence and made a slick pass to Liam Foote to score the opening points. Seungtae Lee calmly made the conversion to make the lead 7-0 for the visitors. Both sides continued to feel each other out for the remainder of the first half, and the score remained 7-0 in favour of Highland heading into the break.

After some words of encouragement, the visiting team pulled away shortly after the break. Less than two minutes into the second half, Seungtae Lee stormed through the Guelph defence and pulled away from the pack on his way to the goal. At the last moment, a Redcoat defender caught Lee and brought him down from behind with an illegal high tackle at the 5 metre line. As there was no other defender between Seungtae and the goal, the referee had no choice but to award a penalty try. Lee converted the kick to push the lead to 14-0 for the visitors.

Shortly thereafter, the Guelph side replied with a try of their own. The kick was unsuccessful, but they had broken into the scoring column, cutting the lead to 14-5.

From this point on, the play was carried by the visitors. Some hard runs and gutsy tackles by the Highland players left the Guelph side with no answer. Eventually one of these hard runs by Jake Fletcher penetrated the Guelph defence, as he scored just ahead of the twenty minute mark. The kick for the extra points sailed wide, leaving Highland's lead at 19-5.

Highland pinned the Redcoats deep in their own zone as time wound down, but were unable to capitalize, getting held up in goal after again crossing the line. Another opportunity slipped away as captain Brian Hoey stole the ball after a Guelph scrum, but was unable to mount a successful attack to fully capitalize. However, several minutes later the visitors would strike again when Neal Teri ran directly at and through the Guelph defence to score off a Recoat penalty from 10 meters out. Neal played by far his best game of the season, to the delight of his older brothers in attendance. The conversion attempt sailed wide, but the score was pushed to 24-5 for the visitors. As time wound down, the Highland players pressed for one last score. The Redcoats were visibly relieved as the final whistle sounded to save them from the Highland onslaught.

The victory moved Highland ahead of Wilmot and Hamilton in the standings, to finish seventh on the season. The Highland coaching staff remains optimistic, noting that the team got stronger every week and with the exception of one game, was always in contention. A look at the league standings reveals that Highland's defence was among the best in the league. Despite their seventh place record, statistically the teams defence in terms of points allowed ranked comfortably in the top half. Head coach Jason Hasson believes there is some exceptional talent on this team, destined to challenge for starting roles on the senior men's team as soon as they are eligible to make the transition to the older age group.

In the weeks ahead, the squad will prepare for several seven a side tournaments to close out the year. The boys are eager to adapt their style of play and get a chance to prove they belong at or near the top of the league.

Congratulations on the well earned victory to close out the regular season.

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