The Eganville Leader - Wednesday, November 9, 2022
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Opeongo’s rugby teams are champions and B finalists Douglas -- After two years without high school rugby, the Opeongo High School (OHS) varsity girl’s team returned to the pitch with great success. Opeongo was one of three schools in the county, including Fellowes High School of Pembroke and Arnprior District High School, to enter two teams in a new rugby 7s league that culminated with Opeongo hosting the A and B-team championships last Thursday. In the A-final, Opeongo’s A-team defeated the Fellowes A-team by a 1512 score in a game that saw Opeongo score a late try to seal the win. Coach Tim Demmons said the Fellowes team showed significant improvement since their last match and put up a much greater challenge in this final game. “The score went back and forth several times, with Opeongo scoring a try in the last minute of play to win the game 15-12,” he said. Opeongo’s tries were scored by Aliyah Leahyand Alaina Matheson who earned two, including the winning try. In the B finals, the Opeongo B
team’s opponents were Fellowes once again, with the visitors coming out on the right end of the score. “Despite some excellent individual performances, we couldn’t shut down their strong offence and Fellowes ended up winning 17-10,” remarked Coach Sara Edmison. Opeongo tries were scored by Megan Johnson and Marlo Van Lindenberg. Opened Season With Tournament Opeongo hosted the first ever rugby 7s tournament in Renfrew County on October 23 with all six teams competing. Opeongo’s A team ended the day in first place with a perfect 5-0 record, scoring a total of 111 points, with only five points scored against them. “It was a whole team effort led by Grace Howard’s smart running, passing and kicking, Morgan Sweeney and Jorja Roesner breaking tackle after tackle, Sam Hyatt, Meredith Enright and Juliette Stewart’s rucking, and Alaina Matheson and Layne Jessup’s speed on the wing,” Coach Demmons said. “Spe-
cial mention, however, should go to Aliyah Leahy, who’s unstoppable speed and great timing allowed her to slice and dice the defence, scoring an unheard of 55 points over the course of the day.” Opeongo’s B team ended the day with a very respectable two wins and three losses to finish at the top of the B pool. “They played some solid rugby with excellent leadership from Violet Pinkerton and Megan Johnson, a few huge tries by Solana McPhee, and lots of gritty tackling by Kallie Lacombe, Marlo Van Lindenberg and Adrianna Van Lindenberg,” Coach Edmison noted. “Lily Cahill, Lily Harrison and Lyndsay Barr contributed to the team effort through some great rucking and gutsy play.” Coaches Demmons and Edmison thasked the players for an awesome, fun and successful season of 7s rugby. Their skills improved greatly over the course of the season thanks to their commitment, drive and newfound love of the game, they added. They are already looking forward to next season.
Looking for an opening Opeongo High School guard May Mundt looks for a passing lane as she is guarded by a Bishop Smith opponent in basketball action last Thursday. Both the junior and senior girls’ teams saw their season come an end.
Opeongo boys volleyball vying for berth at EOSSAA Douglas – The Opeongo High School junior and senior boys’ volleyball teams came one step closer to securing spots at the Eastern Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (EOSSAA) championships with big wins in league play in a mini tournament they hosted Thursday that included teams from
Fellowes High School (FHS) and Bishop Smith Catholic High School (BSC) in Pembroke, Valour Community School (VCS) in Petawawa and Arnprior District High School (ADHS). Advancing to EOSSA is always a great accomplishment but doing it this year would be especially
Opeongo’s Rory Schruder and Bishop’s Addison Robillard battled for the jump ball to start last week’s semi-final play-off at Opeongo that Bishop won 42-34.
significant, especially for the junior Wildcats, as the EOSSA championship is being hosted at Opeongo on November 16. The juniors split their games last Thursday, losing to Bishop 3-1 in the morning, but rebounded with a straight set 3-0 win over Valour in the afternoon. The seniors won their morning match 3-1 against Fellowes, then defeated ADHS 3-1 that afternoon. The juniors advance to St. Joe’s Catholic School in Renfrew (Nov. 10), to meet the host St. Joe’s team in the semi-final, with the winner advancing to play the victor in the ADHS versus Bishop game, also being held at St. Joe’s The seniors travel to Mckenzie Community School in Deep River, where they meet St. Joe’s in the semi-final with the winner advancing to meet the victor from the ADHS, versus Mckenzie semi-final. Girls Basketball Season Over The junior and senior girl’s playoff run came to an end last Thursday, with both teams coming up short in their respective semi-final games. The juniors fell 42-32 to Bishop Smith Catholic School in a game played at Opeongo. The Wildcats matched Bishop in the second and third quarters with six and eight points, respectively, but were outscored 14-10 in the first quarter and 14-8 in the final quarter. Alaina Matheson led the Opeongo offence with 13 points. The seniors were on the wrong end of the 44-34 score to St. Joe’s Catholic High in a game played in Renfrew. The juniors finished with a 5-2 record, as did RCI, but RCI got second place as they had defeated OHS in league play by a 40-32 score. The seniors had finished the season tied in third place with McKenzie Community School of Deep River, with identical 5-3 records; however, OHS defeated Mckenzie 43-25 in league play to finish third. The team had gone into the semis, having posted a big 59-25 win over RCI to clinch their spot in the semi-finals. Meghan Enright and Keysha Two-Axe led the offense with 12 and 11 points respectively. Tatum Loader and Lauren Lorbetskie each sank two beautiful threepoint shots and ended the night contributing a combined total of 18 points. Annabelle Dunn was on fire and attacked the basket consistently sending her to the foul line four times. Ava Zadow and Maddie Van Ralte played a solid game under the net, each drawing an offensive charge and shutting down their opponent’s open layups.
Grace Howard of the Opeongo A-team gained lots of yards for the Wildcats in her rushes against Fellowes on Thursday. Opeongo won the game 15-12.
Solana McPhee of the Opeongo B team had a strong game both offensively and defensively. Here, she heads up the pitch with teammates Marlo Van Lindenberg and Megan Johnson, trailing and Lily Cahill to her left.
Coughlin places 8th at OFSAA Uxbridge -- Opeongo High School’s Quinn Coughlin wrapped up her 2022 cross-country season on Saturday with a very impressive top-10 finish at the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) championship here. The lone Opeongo athlete in the field of 251 runners, Quinn finished the course in eighth place, a remarkable accomplishment in a field that large. Coach Dennis Brash said the course included part of a ski hill, so the terrain was challenging with
numerous hills over the 2.4 km loop, which had to be repeated to complete the final distance of almost 5 km. He added the weather was great and was not a factor in the progress of the runners. “Quinn had a terrific sprint start to emerge out of a crowd of 251 runners and join the front pack of 10 leaders,” he explained. “She kept a strong pace to stay with the lead group for the first loop and managed to move ahead of two others in the group to finish with in 8th place overall.
“Not being one to give in, she gave everything she had, collapsing after crossing the finish line with a time of 19:14.42, running an impressive average of 3:51 per km,” he added. Brash said not only is Quinn to be commended for her effort, but also for the positive spirit she displayed in congratulating other competitors after finishing the race. This competition marks the end of the high school cross country season but Quinn is continuing with other meets with the Ottawa Lions.