The Terry Fox Ravens AAA rugby club had to settle for second place after coming up short in the finals at the Valley 7s Tournament last week.
Fox barreled their way through the round-robin games and the semifinals before falling 21-10 against Earl Marriott secondary in the championship match. Isaac Evans and Jake Laberge scored tries for the Ravens.
However, despite the loss in the finals, head coach Craig Geddes said he has seen consistent improvement from his players.
“The lads continue to improve, but we have a long way to go in terms of individual and team rugby skills,” he said in an email. “It is now imperative that the boys do not take a backward step.”
The club kicked-off the 12-team tournament with a 22-7 victory of Lord Tweedsmuir, with two tries from Laberge, singles from Malcolm Sanchex and Kyle Pickard and a convert from Taylor Poitras.
They followed up the effort with a commanding 42-14 win over Chilliwack, which saw three tries from Evans, two from Laberge and one from Bryan Cortes. Harrison Pride, Devin Passaglia and Laberge also scored converts in the match.
With the wins, the Ravens swaggered into the semifinal round, where they defeated Elgin Park secondary 17-12.
That set the stage for the final showdown against Earl Marriott.
“We need to continue to improve with each outing on our road to the provincial championships,” Geddes said. Last week, Terry Fox took down Carson Graham secondary in a 46-5 rout that saw Rocky Ojaji score three tries for the Ravens.
The club scored four times in the first half and added four more in the second, with Tre Ena-Laqui and Evans also having strong performances.
The team is now getting ready for the Fraser Valley playdowns, which begin on May 10. Depending on how well the club plays, they could punch their ticket to the provincials in Abbotsford at the end of the month.
