TRENT 21, GEORGIAN 15

MIDHURST, Ont. - After earning the right to host a home playoff game for the first time since rejoining the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association men's rugby first division, the Georgian Grizzlies had a bittersweet ending to their season on Saturday afternoon.

Hosting the East Division's third place finisher and last year's defending silver medalist the Trent Excalibur, Georgian knew it would be a battle at the Barrie Community Sports Complex in Midhurst.

The Grizzlies finished second in the West Division standings with a 4-2 record and felt the excitement from the home crowd early leading to points on the board.

Georgian had a pair of tries from Matt Hinchley (Keswick) and A.J. Luongo (Erin) to put the Grizzlies up 10-0 fifteen minutes into the game, a lead they would carry right into halftime.

In the second half the visitors from Peterborough wore down the Grizzlies and slowly chipped away at the lead.

Trent's Spencer Sheffield (Napanee) led the Excalibur to two second half tries, the second coming with less than 10 minutes remaining in the contest which gave the visitors a 14-10 lead.

Needing to score the Grizzlies took greater risks which led to a third try for Trent which extended the lead to an insurmountable 21-10 with only a few minutes remaining.

The Grizzlies have been a determined group all season and refused to quit, driving the field to score which pulled the game within six points but that was as close as Georgian could get falling 21-15.

Trent will move on to the men's rugby semi-final and play the Algonquin Thunder next Saturday in Ottawa.

While the Grizzlies wrapped up their OCAA season on a bit of a disappointing note, the program under the guidance of head coach John Daggett had many positives this season and with back-to-back playoff appearances Georgian rugby has a bright future.

Source: Georgian College