Just when the Fulton Maroons were aiming for a B.C. Tier II Senior AA rugby title in Abbotsford, tournament officials elevated them to Tier I AA.
The Maroons went 1-2 in the provincials to finish sixth, the best-ever showing for Fulton. Coach Mike Scheller was disappointed with the late ranking change.
“Four of the eight schools in Tier I AA were either private schools or rugby academies,” said Scheller, assisted by Gord Cheyne. “This was a great accomplishment for our kids. We competed in Tier II in 2017 and we really felt we had a chance to win the Tier II title in 2018. We beat eventual Tier II champs LV Rogers (Bombers) of Nelson by 36 earlier in the year.
“That being said, our kids went into a very tough tournament and acquitted themselves very well. We finished as the second-best AA public school in the province behind GW Graham (Grizzlies of Chilliwack), who finished fourth. I had the honour to coach a lot of these kids in football and rugby for eight seasons in Junior and Senior competition. They are simply an awesome group of kids who were a ton of fun to coach. They showed up every day ready to work and strove to get better. I will definitely miss them.”
In an era when athletes and some schools try to specialize in one or two sports, Fulton still tries to produce multi-sport athletes and run a number of teams. This group of graduates finished top-eight in the province in football and basketball and sixth in rugby. They also won the provincial crown in Tier II sevens rugby.
Fulton tamed the Charles Tupper Tigers of Vancouver 29-18 before falling 22-10 to the Rockridge Ravens of West Vancouver in their final games.
Ty Cheyne and Caden Doyle each counted two tries against the Tigers with Hunter Krieger earning one. Evan Trottier went 2-for-5 on conversions versus the scrappy Tigers.
“Tupper is a small team full of tenacity,” said Scheller. “They do not quit and play their guts out. We had to play a full 60 minutes. Discipline was a problem for us as we received three yellow cards in the second half and played short the entire half. Our kids were resilient and deserved the win.”
Ryan Rumsey and Cheyne supplied tries versus Rockridge with Fulton leading 12-10 at the break. Trottier booted one convert.
“Rockridge is a rugby academy who spent most of the year ranked fourth in the province,” said Scheller. “They are a dominant rugby power in B.C. I was proud of how our kids played this game. We played smart. disciplined rugby. It was one of our cleanest performances of the year and that was our goal coming into this match. The game was very close all game and we held the lead for most of it.”
Ike Olson was named to the Commissioners XV for Fulton, basically the provincial all-star team.
“He simply had an excellent season and was our best player throughout the year,” said Scheller. “He has a very bright future in rugby.”