If last week’s exhibition game was any indication, it’s up, up and away for the Mount Douglas Rams this B.C. high school football season.
The defending triple-A Subway Bowl champions (who have won the title four of the last five years) took to the air in defeating Vernonia High School in Oregon 40-6 in pre-season play and will be back at it Friday at home at 4:30 p.m. against John Barsby, following the 1:30 p.m. junior varsity game.
Second-year quarterback Gideone Kremler — who is just in Grade 10 — completed 24 of 34 attempts for 348 yards and five touchdowns. His favourite target was cousin Josh Lucas, who caught 10 passes for 170 yards and three major scores.
Lucas, a 17-year-old in Grade 12, also added an interception on defence.
“I think it was just what worked out in this game situation,” head coach Mark Townsend said of the pass-happy outing. “Obviously, we have a really talented quarterback, with a high football IQ and we have a pretty dynamic receiver in Josh Lucas. Gideone did a great job spreading the ball around, hitting 11 different receivers.
“That’s not to say that it’s just going to be pass happy — that just gave us the best option against Vernonia.”
It could very well be signs of what is to come, however, as the Rams exhibit a strong passing attack to go with a solid running game. Lucas wasted little time exhibiting his talents, after playing mostly on special times last season.
“We were quite deep with receivers last year, led by Gavin [Cobb]. We always knew he was a great receiver, very athletic with great jumping ability and fantastic hands,” Townsend said of Lucas. “He’s going to be a dynamic part of our offence this year.”
The 2016 version of the Rams will be a young team with Kremler as the only returning starter on offence.
“We’re just going to need to improve each week. We have a very young team,” Townsend said of the Rams who also have just one returning starter on defence. “This is a young team with a lot of new faces there. But it’s a chance for them to really develop and write their own chapter in Mount Doug football.”
Kremler wrote an interesting tale last season, leading the Rams to the B.C. title as a Grade 9 quarterback.
“We did pay pretty well, especially for the first game,” Kremler said of last Friday’s effort south of the border. “A lot of the guys came out ready to go and were jacked up for the first game of the season. So it was intense. We made some big plays, found some things to work on and hopefully come out even better against Barsby.
“You always want to be better. I don’t know if you can get better than a Subway Bowl, but you want to be better as a person, in yourself, and as an athlete,” Kremler said of the season. “When you have that mentality it makes it pretty easy to come in here and do the best that you can.”
It also makes it easy when you have chemistry with a favourite receiver as he and Lucas have been playing football together since Grade 5.
“I expect our team to play to its full capability and make it to another championship,” Lucas said of the season.
As for his own aspirations, he added: “I’d like to make it that I play well enough that college teams notice me and they know I can play at the next level. I’m confident I can.”
Other varsity players to watch on the Rams’ roster this season include Soren Hallschmid, Quinn Jenish, Spencer Meldrum, Jake Ounsted and Ben Pierik.
The Rams will travel to Washington to play Vashon Island next week before opening the regular season at home to Vancouver College on Sept. 23.
