A 46-5 win for the Pen High Lakers senior boys rugby team against Kelowna Christian School Knights made Ken Sommerfeldt happy.
The Lakers coach liked the way they played, however, he isn’t about to get too excited.
“The thing to remember is, it was probably a weaker squad. We have kind of run into that,” said Sommerfeldt of the Okanagan Senior Boys AA Rugby League. “We’ve had one game where we have blown out the other team. Then we’ve had a game where we’ve been blown out. And now we have another game where we’ve blown out the other team again.”
Lopsided results have made it hard for Sommerfeldt to gauge team performance. He saw improvement but wants a more evenly matched opponent. Once that happens he will know if his players have improved their weaknesses.
“It was a big win, we scored eight tries,” he said.
Against the Knights the Lakers passed the ball well, especially in the backfield and had strong support in open field. They delivered passes prior to contact as well.
While the Lakers are 2-1 in league play, Sommerfeldt’s main focus is to see improvement. Because the Lakers, a AAA school, are competing in a AA league they are not eligible for the playoffs. Sommerfeldt knew that going in but they decided to play at the AA level because Pen High hasn’t fielded a senior boys rugby team for two years. They had junior squads the last two seasons.
“We didn’t want to go into the higher level league,” he said. “In retrospect, it was a damn good idea because of the teacher strike there was not AAA league play this year. It was a good idea not knowing that would happen. We get a lot more playing time in the AA.”
Two players who have stood out to Sommerfeldt are Niall Carolan and Kyle Patan, who has improved his passing.
The Lakers have three games remaining on their schedule, including an exhibition match against rival Princess Margaret Mustangs on May 7. Sommerfeldt said the Mustangs dropped out of their league as they didn’t have enough players.
Girls rugby
The Lakers followed up a 15-0 win against Kelowna on Monday to defeat NorKam 24-5 at McNicoll Park. Lakers coach Marty Godsmark said his team came out flat in the first half but rallied for two big scores in the second half. Scoring for the Lakers were Adrienne Penner with two tries, Kendra Penner with one try and Tessa Goeckel with one try and two converts for nine points. The Lakers next play Valleyview Secondary in Kamloops.