One of Squamish's own rugby players helped bring victory at the provincial level.
The Squamish Axemen Rugby Club's Blake Mahovic was a member of the B.C. travelling squad for last weekend's clash against Alberta.
Mahovic is one of the B.C. Bears team who played the Best of the West match against the Prairie Wolfpack on July 27 at the Apple Bowl Stadium in Kelowna.
BC won 54-12 to overcome a 32 point defecit and win the two-game series with a 60-50 total score.
"The club is hugely proud of Blake and delighted to have a player from the club be acknowledged and honoured with a provincial cap," said the Axemen's manager Cian Starogardzki in an email to The Chief.
Mahovic, 27, has been with the Axemen since 2016 and usually plays fullback or centre.
Best of the West was the Bears versus Prairie Wolfpack two-match series. The Prairie Wolfpack is a provincial side representing the Prairies region with the best of the club players from Alberta and Saskatchewan, while the BC Bears is the equivalent for B.C., the senior men's representative rugby team for the province made up of top players from the B.C. clubs, according to Starogardzki.
The Saturday match was the final of the two-legged tie, with the first leg ending in defeat for the Bears in Red Deer on June 29.
In the second game, Mahovic played fullback and scored a try in his provincial debut when he broke through a couple of tackles on the right and ran in under the posts.
He also made his presence felt with some big tackles on defence.
“Up in Red Deer, we felt we didn’t work as hard as we could have, and that was the message this weekend, was to leave everything on the pitch,” said head coach James Thompson after the win, in a BC Rugby game report. “Some guys played 40, some guys played 50, some guys played 80. We had 23 players that all wanted to work hard for each other. Regardless of what’s in front of you, to be able to pull out a result like that shows a never-say-never attitude.”
Back in Squamish, Mahovic’s hometeam, the Axemen is currently in the middle of a recruitment drive. Starogardzki said the team is open to players of all abilities from Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton.
"It's a great way to keep fit, meet new people and make friends for life," he said.
There's also a new women's team this upcoming season, a first for the Sea to Sky, headed up by coach Emily Young who has played national level rugby.
For more on the Axemen teams go to www.axemenrugbyclub.com, or Axemen Rugby Club on Facebook. Contact the team directly at [email protected].
