VICTORIA – James Bay repeats as Island champions as they defeat the Vikes 44-37 in a closely fought game at MacDonald Park.
In the 100th edition of the Barnard Cup, James Bay and UVic, two historic rivals, battled until the final whistle. The Vikes were missing a number of key players including Phil Mack, Andrew Tiedemann, Ryan Hamilton, Nathan Hiryama, and Jamie Mackenzie, which necessitated some juggling of positions and players. It didn't slow them down, as the students jumped to a 10-0 lead after the opening 10 minutes. James Bay responded with three consecutive tries to take a 19-10 lead. The Vikes Dustin Dobransky closed out the half with a penalty kick to bring the Vikes within six, 19-13.
The Vikes started out quickly again in the second half, scoring two tries in succession to take a 23-19 lead. The Bays responded, capitalizing on a couple of Vikes turnovers and scoring three tries to take back the lead 36-23. Once again the Vikes fought back to bring the score back within a try, 36-30. But the Bays were not to be denied on their home field, and capped a long push by overpowering the VIkes and forcing the ball across the line. The convert and an ensuing penalty gave the Bays a commanding 44-30 lead.
The students fought back valiantly, with Sean Duke leading the charge with a couple of amazing runs. One final Vikes try in the closing seconds ended the game, with a final score of 44-37.
This was the fourth straight Barnard Cup final between UVic and James Bay, with the Bays capturing their third title in four years. This was also the first game of the newly coined 'Vikes-Bays Challenge Cup', a two-game total points competition held between the two Island titans. The second leg will be at Wallace Field when the two sides square off in the 2011 Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League season.
Vikes scorers: Brett Beukeboom (2 tries); Willem du Plessis (2 tries); Keaton Styles (1 try); Bryn Keys (1 try); Dustin Dobravsky (2 converts, 1 penalty).
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