Stratford Northwestern hosted its 26th Annual Miller Cup Rugby tournament on Tuesday, May 8th. This is the largest single day rugby tournament in Ontario, with over 35 teams participating in 5 different divisions.
The Girls team opened their tournament with a 26-0 drubbing over Huron Park from Woodstock. The girls scored early and often, standout players included Stacy Somerville, Elisa Beckett and Rachel Burge.
In the girls 2nd game, they lost heartbreaker 8-7 to Beamsville. The Huskies scored first with a converted try making the score 7-0. Beamsville replied with a try making the score 7-5. Late in the game Beamsville kicker scored 3 pts on a penalty
goal to take the lead by 1 point. Devyn Zordrager narrowly missed a penalty goal for the Huskies, and Beamsville held on for the narrow victory.
In the girls 3rd and final game they ran into a strong team from Blenheim, and despite their best effort, fell 31-12. Jen Jacobs played well throughout the tournament.
The Sr. Boys rugby team also got off to a fast start in the tournament with a 17-3 victory over Delhi. Steve Strahan, Zac Goodhew and Riley McLeod scored tries for Northwestern, Daniel Bald added a conversion. In the boys 2nd game they met Huron Park in a hard fought game. Despite controlling both possession and territory for much of the 1st half, the Huskies struggled to execute and were not able to score. Late in the 1st half Huron Park notched a try after a string of Husky penalties.
The boys played hard in the 2nd half, however could not crack the Huron Park defence, eventually falling 12-0. In their final game of the day Northwestern beat H.B. Beal of London 25-0. Clayton Pye led the way with 2 tries and some spectacular play all over the pitch. Daniel Bald, Josh Alexander and Jordan Schade all added tries as well.
The Junior boys also had a successful day, finishing with a 2 & 2 record. In the Huskies first game, they defeated rivals St. Mike's. Standout players included Evan James, Donnie Hammer and Brody Higgs. The Junior's ran into a strong team from
Medway in their 2nd game, and were outmatched in the first half, finding themselves down 20-0, despite a solid effort. Northwestern answered the bell in the 2nd half however, outscoring their opponents 10-5 on 2 tries from fly half Josh Britton.
In their 3rd game the Huskies faced another strong team from Collingwood, and lost a chippy, but close match 5-0. Standout players included Jayson Jacobs, Max Blair and Drew Dotzert.
In their final game of the day, the Junior boys outmatched Sacred Heart, the final score being 20-5. Overall this was a great day for a young junior team that holds a lot of promise.
The Huskies next action is Friday, May 10th as they host F.E. Madill. Sr. boys kickoff at 2pm, Girls kickoff at 3pm, Jr. boys kickoff at 4pm.
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