They got off to a rough start, losing to Oakville-Trafalgar on the first day. But they came out strong on the second day and managed to take the next two matches against St. Peter’s and Marshall MacLuhan high schools. The Patriots won the consolation final against what their coach Josh Connor called a “big, tough team” in Napanee with a 13-0 shutout, their second in the series. Connor admitted his team didn’t come out in very good form in that first game, but he’s proud of how they redeemed themselves.

“We rallied the second day with a win, and we built off that,” he said. “We never gave up, that’s something I think (the players) learned that from this past season. There were games where that happened and they came out negatively but they learned in games where they kept fighting that they can get through as a team and come up with the win.”

Connor sees the victory as a sign of things to come for Orchard Park rugby.

“This is a very big stepping stone for the future of this program here at the school,” he said. “We haven’t been to OFSAA in well over a decade, and we now have a good crop of Grade 11 and 12 students who will be staying here for next year, even though we’ll be losing a few key starters. As for the overall picture we should have a good team for the next couple of years at least.”

He called this year’s team the best he’s coached in at least three years. Player Zach Gray said the fact that everyone had a good time was a main reason for the Patriots’ success.

“We had fun playing as a team, it didn’t matter whether we were at a practice or in an actual game,” he said. “We played for each other as well as the school and that made a difference.”

Forward Colin Sayer said he liked how it all came together.

“I’ve been playing for five years now and this is definitely the best team I’ve played with so far,” he said. “We were making sure that everyone was coming out to the practices, we were holding each other accountable because we really felt that there were no individuals here, it was a true team effort.”

OP had been counted out several times this past season, probably because of playing powerhouse teams like Lorne Park and Saltfleet, with whom they share a “friendly” rivalry.

“I think it’s been very unfair to count us out,” said Connor. “Saltfleet is probably always going to be the number one team in the area until we get to a point where we can prove otherwise. I think it’s very difficult to say that we’re not near the calibre of the top team in the province. This year we were ranked in the top 15 for the better part of the season in the province out of 380 schools. So I think it’s very difficult to say that we’re not in it.”

Defensive back Tyler Warden praised the coaching staff, and said it was a good move for the Patriots bring in a coach from the Stoney Creek Rugby Club, Ian Matheson.”

“We became a close group, the coaches really bonded well with the players and that’s another aspect. We all had respect for each other.”Connor said the Orchard Park Patriots are a team to watch next year. “At the beginning of this season we did set a goal for ourselves of making OFSSA but along the way we ended up playing some of the bigger teams like Saltfleet and Lorne Park,” he said. “We didn’t come out on top but we did feel pretty proud of what we did accomplish and I have a good feeling about next year.”