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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 77 | Friday, August 29, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Rugby Ontario manager of operations and administration David Patterson presents Oakville Crusaders under-16 Arrows captain Andrew WIlson with the Rugby Ontario Junior Cup Sunday in Markham. The Arrows defeated the Belleville Bulldogs 20-0 in the U16 provincial final, one day after another Oakville squad -- the U14 Lancers -- won their division with a 52-5 victory over the Oshawa Vikings. | photo courtesy of Rugby Ontario A crescent's role: Small Oakville street produces two national road hockey finalists by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Cru youth teams win provincial rugby gold Oakville Crusaders teams claimed two official provincial rugby titles and an unofficial one last weekend in Markham. The Crusaders' under-16 Arrows and U14 Lancers boys' squads both easily won their Rugby Ontario Junior Cup finals at Fletcher's Fields, while the under-15 girls dominated the competition they faced in the event's festival division. The Arrows and Lancers qualified for the Junior Cup by winning Toronto Rugby Union Premiership Division regional championships earlier this year. U16 Arrows Oakville claimed the U16 provincial crown with a 20-0 blanking of the Belleville Bulldogs Sunday. After clinging to a 3-0 lead at halftime, the Arrows broke open the game with 17 unanswered points in the second half. Josh Ince and Tate Ruse scored tries for Oakville, with Andrew Wilson booting two penalty kicks and two converts. That victory came after a 29-8 rout of the defending provincial champion Brantford Harlequins in the semifinal. Arrows head coach Graham Bridges highlighted Mark Plotycia, Ryan Davies, Connor Fitzgerald, Ince and Wilson as players who shone in the Junior Cup tournament, but stressed the team relied on more than its starting 15. Rounding out the Arrows squad are Stephen Lockhart, Rohan Goswami, Michael Cameron, Austin Valentini, Shane Blinco, Alex Butt, Robbie McNaughton, Phillip Lombard, Max Reid, Cole Smith, Kevin Parera, Brendan Scrivo, Josh Petitjean, Finlay Flemington, Quinn Hopkins, Avery Oitomen, Dylan Giles, Tate Ruse, Bryan Baxter, Alistair Howes and Lucas Smith. The Arrows are part of the Crusaders' 15/16 boys division, which also includes the Toronto Rugby Union Championship Division title-winning Pikes. The Pikes defeated the Oshawa Vikings 41-5 in the TRU final, getting tries from Rowan Ecclestone (two), Will Dodds, Domenic Johnson, Cameron Haslam, Josh Englebrecht and Callum Tam. Other contributors to the Pikes, who finished second to another Crusaders team -- the Swords -- during regular-season play, were Jordan Savage, Ben Whelan, Adyan Sharda, Matt Spiller, Darren Kocken, Ryan Trotman, Ethan Yhip, Duncan Thompson, Nathan Jutronich, Will Cheesewright, Griffin Smith, Callaghan Wade, Jiwan Deol, Daniel Cirone, Luke Grandy, Ruaridh McIntyre, Alexei Morita and Will Yeates. Simon Fitzgerald, Seamus Twohig, David Thompson, Pierre McLean, Bill Corless, Keith Ekron and Bridges oversee the Crusaders' U15/16 boys' program. U14 Lancers The Lancers also started their Junior Cup final slowly before taking control. Oakville and the Oshawa Vikings were scoreless at the 15-minute mark, but the Lancers built a 21-5 lead by halftime and went on to prevail 52-5 Saturday. It was the second straight year the Lancers beat Oshawa in the Ontario final. Jack Shaw led the way with three tries, two of them coming in the opening half. E.J. Rerri added two scores and Spencer Canavan, Andrew Easson and Tiago Santos notched singles. "It was a great team performance as tackling and loose play were outstanding from the entire team," head coach John Easson wrote on the Crusaders' website. Easson also credited excellent kicking by Luke Engelbrecht and penetrating runs by forwards Caleb Delaney, Parker Furness and Declan Finerty as keys to the win. Other members of the team are Brandon Bennell, Morgan see No on p.78 A small street in southeast Oakville produced the core for two national finalist road hockey teams this summer. The Hardy Heroes, a team primarily consisting of university-aged men who grew up playing ball hockey together on Hardy Crescent, was runner-up in the elite male division at the Playon! Redwood Cup 4-on-4 national championship tournament Sunday in Kingston. Not to be outdone, the group's younger brothers and friends -- appropriately titled the Jr. Hardy Heroes -- also earned silver, theirs coming in the Grinders (male under-19) division. The elder Hardy squad had previously competed at the Redwood Cup in 2011 (Victoria) and 2012 (Niagara Falls), never advancing past the quarterfinals. Those times, however, the team was forced to play without goaltender Chris Festarini, who was busy tending net for Ontario Hockey League squads. This year, the Redwood Cup was moved up in the calendar from September to August, allowing Festarini to play and instantly raising the team's expectations. "I remember talking to the guys (earlier in the year) and they said `We'll go have a good time and experience it.' But when I said I was able to come, they said, `This is it, this is our year'," said Festarini, who played the bulk of his 199 career OHL games for the Niagara IceDogs. "It was a different mentality for the whole team." Backstopped by Festarini, who earned tournament MVP honours, the Hardy Heroes won seven of their first eight games before succumbing to defending champion Montreal Red Lite -- a squad that once included Vancouver Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows -- in the final, 7-2. The Red Lite pocketed $25,000 for the tournament win, something Festarini said is routine for the Montreal club. "They play in indoor leagues and pro leagues all the time," said the 21-year-old, who will play Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey for the Laurier Golden Hawks this season. "We have a camaraderie between the guys that see Teams on p.78