The Smithers secondary school boys rugby team defeated Houston 12-0 and 19-5 on the weekend to advance to the provincial championship.
Smithers and Houston were the only two teams competing in the zone final as Prince Rupert was unable to attend.
Both matches were very close, coach Alan Slater said.
“It was a combination of some lucky breaks and skill, hopefully mostly skill, and we played really well as team,” Slater said.
The wins allow the Gryphons to move on to the provincial championships in Abbotsford at the end of May.
In the lead up to the championship tournament, Slater said the boys will continue to practice hard and also fundraise for their trip to the Lower Mainland.
“Fitness is always a big thing,” Slater said.
“And we will just continue to work on the basics.”
On the girls side, Smithers secondary school lost out against Houston in the zone final.
An injury to a key player led to some positional changes, coach Cobus Jonker said, which allowed Houston to blitz, scoring four unanswered tries in short succession.
“It was a hard-fought battle,” Jonker said.
“During the second half of the game, the team settled down and our defence started working again and we held territorial advantage for most of the second half but just couldn’t cross the try line.”
Anyone interested in helping the boys raise funds for their trip to provincials can call Alan Slater at 250-847-5190.