A dominating second half by Vernon’s Fulton Maroons led to a 48-7 win over the hometown Princess Margaret Mustangs of Penticton in the final Okanagan Senior Boys AA Rugby League regular season match-up for both teams.
The two rivals play a league semifinal today (Tuesday, May 21) at 4 p.m. at Grahame Park in Vernon. The winner will meet the South Kamloops Titans in the Okanagan championship.
The Maroons scored 29 unanswered points in the second half.
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“This was a very solid effort for us,” said Fulton head coach Mike Scheller. “We have had some injuries and we had to move some guys around to different spots and I was happy with how the boys adjusted. Our defence was much better. Coach Garth Cooke worked the kids hard on team defensive responsibilities this week, and it paid off. We were solid on our defensive responsibilities. Tthe boys tackled well, but we still take too many aggressive penalties.”
Evan Trottier had a fantastic game at scrum half for Fulton, showing lots of vision and made some very smart, attacking runs. Trottier collected four tries and booted four of eight conversions, while Brennan Kennedy added a pair of tries. Cayden Coombs and Reyaan Siddiqui also scored for the Maroons.
“Carson Harrower and Quaid Willett both had great games defensively making a lot of tackles for us,” said Scheller. “Offensively, our backs had a good game moving the ball. Coach Dennis Trottier did a really good job of putting players in new positions this week and we attacked quickly. Dom Peterson, at standoff, played well in a tough position to play. He kicked the ball well. Logan Higgs had to step in at inside centre and gave our backs some toughness. Coombs had some nice runs on wing.”
The Maroons swept the season series from the Mustangs heading into Tuesday’s semifinal.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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