Spirits are high for LCI Rams
Whether it’s on the field or in the video room, the LCI Rams football team have been busily preparing for today’s game against the Calgary St. Francis Browns. And good luck wiping the grins off their faces. The Rams and the Browns hit the University of Lethbridge Stadium turf for the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association Tier 1 southern semifinal today at 4 p.m.
With a berth in the provincial semifinals next weekend on the line, Rams head coach Darren Majeran noted the high spirits and toothy grins among his charges.
“In our film session Monday, honestly it was just hard to keep their smiles down,” said Majeran, whose team heads into today’s game as the fourth seed, while the Browns are ranked third. “They’re laughing, they’re joking around. This is the hard part of the season because it gets cold outside and you’ve been in football since mid-August. These kids played three full games before school started, so we’ve been going for a long time. So for them to be smiling like they were in film and excited about the season still was just awesome. All I ask is for a little excitement from the kids and a little passion and our kids have that. They’re still excited to be playing to be playing football even though it’s a long season and it wears on you.”
The teams met earlier this year with the Browns posting a 24-0 win.
Last year, the Browns defeated the Rams 42-9 in the south final.
“They’re big, they're bad and they’re bruising, just like they always are,” said Majeran. “(But) this year I like our physicality.”
The location of today’s game is something else to like from the Rams perspective as the team heads to the westside.
“I think the biggest deal is we don’t have to get on the bus in travel for two hours,” said Majeran. “We love playing in front of our fans. It does get the boys going and gets them excited. On the one hand, there is adrenaline because you’re playing in front of your home fans. But on the other hand you get a little nervous, but that’s OK. We’ve battled nerves all year and I like how we battled it.”
The winner of today’s game plays the winner between No. 2 Notre Dame Pride and No. 7 Henry Wise Wood Warriors, who play at Shouldice Park in Calgary tonight at 7.
In Tier II play, the Catholic Central Cougars also have a home date today as they host the Okotoks Holy Trinity Academy Knights in the southern semifinal at 1:30 p.m. at the U of L Stadium.
The Cougars are ranked seventh in Tier II, while the Knights come in as the third seed.
In Tier III action today, the fourth-ranked Cardston Cougars are in Cochrane to square off against the top-seeded Cobras. Game time is 1 p.m.
The Football Alberta Bantam provincials also take the snap today.
And there’s a home date for the Cardston Junior Cougars as they host the Calgary Bantam Stampeders at 11 a.m. at the U of L Stadium.
The Cougars defeated the Lethbridge Junior Rams 27-6 last weekend at the U of L Stadium.
The Junior Rams are in Fort Saskatchewan today for their game at 4 p.m.
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