The Bow Valley Grizzlies held off pressure in the second half from the Red Deer Titans to earn their second straight Southern Alberta Division 2 Rugby Championship and are off to the provincials, Sept. 30.

The Grizz were up 34-19 with 20 minutes, but the unrelenting Titans pressed deep into the Grizz end several times but came up with only one try to briefly close the gap to 12 points. The Grizz capped off the scoring with a late try that put them ahead 41-24 and kept it out of reach of the Titans.

Coach Tyler Hawes is super stoked about the win and the upcoming rematch against Edmonton's Lepechaun Tigers for the provincial crown.

"The boys worked super hard this game and worked really hard the last two years," says Hawes. "It's our sixth year as a club and we're putting into practice what we're been preaching, so this is awesome."

The weekend before the Titans came from behind to down Calgary Saracens, 20-19, while the Grizz manhandled Lethbridge, 92-7, in the other semifinal matchup. The Grizz sat out the quarterfinals after topping the league.

With the Titans late surge against the Saracens, the Grizz knew they couldn't let their guard down.

"They're a really good squad," says Hawes of the Titans. "They're playing some decent rugby, but our boys just left it all out there today. You see what we're coming against and the boys did well at the end to get that final try with a man down, so it showed a lot of character on our part."

Mackenzie Tivendale and Karl Bauer have played rugby since starting as teenagers nine years ago and have been with the Grizz from the start. They're impressed with how much the Grizz have done in just six seasons.

"I think it's really awesome to see that this has developed," says Tivendale.

Both want to see the club claim the provincial title this weekend, but agree it will be another tough match up.

There were some Grizz hobbling between plays but Hawes says never mind that; this Saturday's game is the one they've been waiting for all season.

"It's playoffs. It's amazing what that will do to your health, so they'll play through anything to be in these matches. This is why we play the whole season. This is all the prep that leads to this game and next weekend so they'll leave it all out there."

All season long, the Grizz proved to again be the team to measure against and they only lost one league game to Lethbridge, 36-33, on the road. The Grizz proved to be the offensive and defensive force of tier 2, accumulating a whopping 560 points and allowing the league low of only 123 points. The score differential for the Grizz was plus 437 and their closest rival in that department, Saracens, were plus 89. 

The Leprechaun Tigers downed the Fort McMurray Knights, 25-17, to become the other finalist for the Lorr Ann Cup.

In last year's finale, the Grizz lost to the Tigers, 29-19. An early red card left the Grizz short a player most of the game, but they remained competitive to the end.

Hawes plays down the idea of redemption and instead is focusing on the team playing their best Grizz rugby.