Nothing like a drop kick to break the ice.
The Foothills Falcons took home the Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Association High School Icebreaker Tournament in the most nailbiting of finishes as Josh Clutterbuck broke a scoreless deadlock with Bishop O’Byrne in the second round of penalty kicks.
“It’s just making solid contact with the ball and not letting the nerves get to you too much,” Clutterbuck said. “It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been in that close of a game before.”
Clutterbuck sent the tilt into the second-round of drop goals as the only one of three Falcons to nail a penalty-kick after Grade 10 aces Thomas Isherwood and McKinley Roberts missed their shots.
“After McKinley missed that first one I knew I had to step up and make a big one,” he added. “I was more focused getting McKinley and Thomas settled down to make sure they weren’t nervous.”
The blanks on the scoreboard were slightly deceiving, the Falcons had several close call opportunities to get on the board in regulation.
“We were very close to scoring,” said Falcons coach Josh Penner. “We had just finished playing against HTA and Bishop O’Byrne had a bit of a break in between their games so they were more fresh.
“We held them at the line a bunch of times. There was one point where they broke through into the try zone, but we held them up and pushed them out.”
The Falcons advanced through to the gold medal game with the most satisfying of wins in a 14-0 shutout over the Holy Trinity Academy Knights. Seniors in winger Trey Kellogg and forward Dan Kovalchuk provided the trys in the first meeting of the season between the cross-town rivals. Isherwood nailed both converts for the Comp.
“That meant a lot to win there. I had never beaten them in my high school career,” said Clutterbuck, a Grade 12 student.
“When we play them later on in the year it will definitely give us a little more confidence because they’re the bigger team when it comes to rugby.”
Foothills was undefeated in the April 23 tournament.
The Comp opened proceedings with consecutive 24-0 shutouts over the Jasper Place Rebels and Strathcona Lords.
Including their one game in the Big Sky Rugby Union, the Falcons are undefeated thus far with a roster built largely of players new to high school rugby.
Athleticism and familiarity from the provincial winning football team have paid almost immediate dividends for the maroon-clad squad.
Penner also credited the senior players on the team with leading the inexperienced crop.
“They’re all natural athletes, they’ve been asking a lot of questions and following instruction in practice and really picking up on the aspects of the game,” Penner said.
“They communicate well on the field. They’re not afraid to get down and dirty.
“Whether it be playing football together, they all know each other and how they work on the field and that really helps a lot.”
Foothills’ next action is April 27 in Cochrane against the Bow Valley Bobcats. The Knights (2) will seek to remain unbeaten in league play when they host the Strathmore Spartans on April 27 at 5 p.m.
The Knights’ 1 team takes on the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans on April 28 at Spartans field at 5 p.m.
