SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Mia Fradsham and Caleb Dawson kicked their teams to the 2019 P.E.I. School Athletic Association senior AAA rugby championship titles Thursday night.
Dawson’s penalty kick on the last play of the game from just outside the 22-metre line broke a 17-17 tie and lifted the Three Oaks Axemen to a 20-17 victory over the Bluefield Bobcats in the boys’ final.
“The ref called a penalty and I asked him how much time was left and he said this was it,” said the 17-year-old Grade 12 student from Summerside. “I was like, ‘OK, I guess it’s my time.’
“I set up, took my steps back, took the kick and it went through. He blew the whistle to finish the game and that was it.”
The girls’ final was also decided by a penalty kick. Fradsham delivered in the clutch from about 25 metres out with about five minutes remaining in the second half to count the game’s final points and the Charlottetown Rural Raiders held on for a nail-biting 20-19 victory over the Three Oaks Axewomen.
“When I was setting up I didn’t really feel nervous, but I should have been,” said the 18-year-old senior from Marshfield. “Everyone who was watching said they were all nervous for me, but I felt pretty confident about it. Now, when I think back I feel I should have been really nervous, but I didn’t feel it in the moment.
“When the flags went up (indicating a successful kick) and I saw my team start to celebrate, it set in – what it meant to us.”
Boys
The Axemen, who completed league play with an overall record of 7-0 (won-lost), have won four provincial titles in a row and 10 of the last 12 under head coach James Voye.
“It was one of those years coming into the season I wasn’t sure what to expect because we had lost so many skilled players last year,” said Voye. “The guys who were returning certainly stepped up and worked hard. We had some great additions who came out for the first time this year, one being Brandon Hastings.
“He’s a really good athlete, really fast, runs hard and has a nose to score. He scored three trys in the semifinals and scored two in the final and he’s only been playing rugby for two months.”
Bluefield went up 5-0 and after Three Oaks tied the game 5-5, the Bobcats opened up a 17-5 advantage. An Axemen try on the last play of the first half made it 17-10 at the break.
“It was a classic Bluefield-Three Oaks showdown in the final, coming down to the final play of the game,” said Bobcats head coach Donnie Sonier. “In the second half, we took way too many penalties and lost possession of the ball a lot and just didn’t have an opportunity to put them under any pressure.”
Girls
Raiders head coach Ryan Lloyd explained it was a rare decision to take the penalty kick.
“Most situations we wouldn’t go for points,” said Lloyd. “That was probably the first time all season that we decided to kick for points. The situation called for it, and Mia stepped up.”
However, Fradsham’s kick did not guarantee the Raiders the victory as the Axewomen pressed in the final couple of minutes.
“They had possession for a little bit at the end and had some cracks at breaking through our defensive line, but our girls held strong and were able to hang on for the win,” said Lloyd.
It was back-and-forth game as the Raiders went ahead 7-0. After Three Oaks, which had previously won five straight provincial titles, tied the game 7-7, Rural went ahead 17-7. Three Oaks rallied to take a 19-17 lead with about seven minutes remaining.
“It was as close to an evenly-matched game as you are ever going to see,” said Axewomen head coach Tim Hockin. “We knew it was going to be a tight game, potentially going into overtime and we had prepared for that. We had beaten Rural earlier in the year, but we knew they were a really strong team.”
Rural had an overall league record of 6-1.
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