The Bay of Islands College senior boys touch team is heading to the national championships in Hamilton next month, the only Northland team to qualify for a shot at the New Zealand title.
The Bay lads earned their place by winning the Northland Secondary Schools champs earlier this year (beatingWhangarei Boys' High 5-1 in the semifinal and Kaitaia College, also 5-1, in the final), then finishing second in the Northern Zone Regional Tournament in Auckland in March.
The Bay College side lost their opening game 2-4 to Westlake Boys' A team, but then delivered the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating favourites Kelston Boys 4-3 in an intense, hard-fought match. The final game, a 5-4 win against Westlake B, won Bay College second place overall and a ticket to the national champs in December.
The team is heading to Hamilton on December 8 with the tournament at Waikato University from December 9-11.
