The Notre Dame Cougars girls squad and Rocky Mountain House West Central boys Rebels each came up just short in their quest for a medal in the provincial high school rugby championships at Ellerslie during the weekend.
The Cougars fell 32-0 to Fort McLeod in the tier 1 girls division bronze-medal match, while the Rebels were 27-20 losers to Fort McLeod in the bronze-medal game of the tier 2 boys category.
Notre Dame opened with a 7-2 win over Bev Facey of Sherwood Park, then fell 44-0 to eventual champion Raymond, a 32-5 winner over Calgary Sir Winston Churchill in the gold-medal contest.
Meanwhile, West Central cruised past Grande Cache 37-0 in their championship opener before being crushed 57-0 by Lethbridge Winston Churchill, which went on to claim the gold medal with a 43-0 thumping of Banff. The Lindsay Thurber Raiders posted a 1-2 record in the tier 1 boys division, losing 12-5 to Edmonton Holy Trinity, whipping Grande Prairie 63-0 and then falling 15-0 to Calgary Henry Wisewood in the consolation final.
West Central managed a 1-2 slate in the tier 2 girls category. The Rebels were 27-3 losers to Vulcan, rebounded to thump Drayton Valley 43-7 and dropped a 12-7 decision to High River in the consolation finale.
Holy Trinity captured the tier 1 boys title with a 39-5 win over Lethbridge Collegiate. The tier 2 girls title was claimed by Winston Churchill, a 17-15 winner over Springbank in the gold-medal match.