That was the distance that separated the Vancouver Sharks and the Battle Ground Bulls at the final whistle on Saturday at Delta Park in north Portland.
But those few feet meant plenty.

Thanks to a game-saving tackle by Nick Pullman, the Vancouver Sharks walked off with another trophy. The longest established team in Oregon Youth Rugby, the Sharks beat their second-year rivals from Battle Ground, 24-22, in a competitive and entertaining Division II championship match.

The Sharks secured the victory only when Pullman pulled down Battle Ground’s Jordan Iremonger as Iremonger dashed up the left sideline. The Bulls spent the final minutes of the match threatening to score the go-ahead try, but the Sharks survived several scrums to hold onto the lead.

“It was really nerve-racking,” said the Sharks Simi Saulo, who scored three tries to account for 15 Vancouver points. “I thought they were going to score. But, we just had to keep a clear mind and tough it out.”

The Division II championship, a tournament featuring the teams ranked 9-16 at the end of Rugby Oregon’s high school season, earned the Sharks their second trophy in as many seasons. In 2007, the Sharks won the top-level state title.

After graduating much of that roster, Sharks coach Mike Smith said winning the Division II trophy was a nice accomplishment.

“With a whole new team, I got to teach more traditional rugby instead of smash-mouth rugby,” Smith said. “We have a lot of forwards, a lot of big guys on our team who can run with the ball pretty consistently. Teaching that positional rugby made a difference for us.”

Saturday’s match was the second of the season between the two Clark County entries in Oregon Youth Rugby. In the regular season, Battle Ground rallied in the second half to beat Vancouver.

This time, the lead changed several times. After Battle Ground scored to take the lead at the start of the second half, Vancouver responded to lead 24-12.

The Bulls used two quick tries to tighten the score and threatened to move ahead right to the final whistle.

“Nick’s last tackle there at the 5-meter line to put the guy into touch, that was the difference,” Smith said.

Jode de Klerk scored two tries, Cole de Klerk one try and one conversion, and John Ceballos one try for Battle Ground.

Zach Duvall kicked three conversions and one three-point penalty to account for the other nine Sharks points.

“He’s hands down one of the best kickers I’ve seen on a high school team. He’s got the distance and he’s got the accuracy,” Smith said of Duvall, who scored 14 points in the Sharks semifinal win.

Duvall, who was the backup kicker for the Evergreen High School football team in the fall, is a first-year rugby player who tried the sport at the suggestion of several school friends.

“I came to one practice and I had a blast,” Duvall said. “I still don’t understand all the rules. It took me just until a couple of weeks ago to really (understand) everything.”

In 1999, Vancouver was the first high school rugby club founded in the Portland area. Jim Kautz founded the club, and Andre de Klerk was among the early coaches for the club. Kautz remains active with the Vancouver Rugby Club and is the head of referees for the region. De Klerk founded the Battle Ground team last season.

“That was a very good rugby match by any standard,” Kautz said following Saturday’s battle. “Both teams played very well and with heart.”

After going 1-7 last season, Battle Ground made great strides this spring, posting a record of 5-4 and finishing yards shy of a playoff title.

“I never thought we’d be in the (Division II) final,” Andre de Klerk said, noting that his Bulls side had only three seniors. Battle Ground also had enough players for a B (junior varsity) side this spring.

“Hopefully next year we’ll have a far better side, and compete at a better level in the first division,” Andre de Klerk said.