The undefeated South Delta Sun Devils produced a big win on Vancouver Island Friday to secure their No. 1 provincial ranking yet will enter this week’s Fraser Valley AAA playoffs as the No. 3 seed.
Such is the unique structure of B.C. high school boys rugby.
The Sun Devils will host Abbotsford in quarter-final play on Thursday. The Panthers finished with a 2-2 record in Pool B (East) play.
The Earl Marriott Mariners coming down from the five-team Premier League is what threw a wrench into the the Valley seedings. In order to encourage teams to play at the elite tier — that also includes Carson Graham, St. Georges, Shawnigan Lake and Oak Bay — the fifth place finisher is assured the No. 1 playoff seed at the AAA level.
That bumped South Delta into second in their pool and No. 3 in the Valley with Pool B champion Yale earning the No. 2 seed.
It’s a similar scenario to what happened a year ago when Marriott and the Sun Devils ultimately ended up in the Fraser Valley title game.
South Delta will head into the post-season with plenty of momentum after a 33-22 win over Claremont to wrap up their BCSSRU Stadium Series schedule.
Max Cantlon led the way with three tries. Jackson Bailey added another while Evan Paterson had a try and four converts.
On Tuesday, the Devils capped a perfect five-game run in Pool “A” (West) Group play with a 35-0 win over Lord Tweedsmuir.
A victory against Abbotsford would send South Delta to Yale the following week.
The Lions and Marriott enjoy opening round byes with the winner of Robert Bateman/Mountain heading to South Surrey in the other semi-final match-up.
Last weekend, the Sun Devils more than held their own with a fourth place finish in the Tier One flight at the BCSSRU Sevens Championships. South Delta lost a close battle with perennial AA powerhouse Brentwood College in the bronze medal match.
