Mount Douglas set for semifinal tilt with Irish
Vancouver College always comes up, especially in football and basketball, during discussions of which are the greatest all-time B.C. high schools in sports.
So this isn’t any program the Mount Douglas Rams face today when they take on the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish in the B.C. Triple-A football semifinals today at 4 p.m. in B.C. Place Stadium. More than 50 former Vancouver College players have played in the CFL.
Not that Mark Townsend’s Rams program has exactly been a slouch, either, winning the B.C. high school championship four times in five seasons from 2011 through 2015 while producing several U Sports and BCFC junior players and a few CFL pros.
“Vancouver College is an extremely challenging team to prepare for because I do not see any weakness in their team,” said Mount Douglas head coach Mark Townsend.
“We are asking all our key players, and especially our Grade 12s, to play their absolute best on the big stage of BC Place.”
Mount Douglas easily dispatched the Kelowna Owls in the Sweet Sixteen at Westhills Stadium before upending the third-ranked St. Thomas More Knights of Burnaby 43-21 in the playoff quarter-finals to reach the semifinal stage.
Quarterback Gideone Kremler rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams while Zairech Kremler and Sam Mosky combined for another 153 yards on the ground and one touchdown each in the latter game as the Rams ground game ate up the favoured Knights with 395 yards gained as lineman Ivan Xu opened up gaping holes for the runners.
Mount Douglas will again be using that battering Ram approach. While making sure to hang on to the ball.
“For us to be successful against Vancouver College, it is imperative that we take care of the football,” said Townsend.
“College is a team that thrives on creating turnovers, so ball security will be key for us.” As will play in the trenches. “The other factor going into this game is the line play on both sides of the ball,” noted Townsend
“Vancouver College has an outstanding defensive line and a formidable offensive line. We are challenging our big boys to play the game of their lives. They will need to play tough but also balance that with great discipline and eliminating penalties.”
The Fighting Irish prevailed 55-26 in the regular-season meeting against the Rams as part of their quest to win Vancouver College’s first B.C. football championship since 2010. Eight years between championships isn’t much for most teams but it’s considered a drought by Van College standards.
“I know our players are excited about the rematch with College, and this is a great opportunity to bounce back from our early September game against them,” said Townsend.
The unranked New Westminster Hyacks play the fourthranked Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam in the other Triple-A semifinal game at 7 p.m. tonight.
Meanwhile, the John Barsby Bulldogs of Nanaimo play the topranked Vernon Panthers in the Double-A semifinals today at 1:30 p.m. under the dome. Vernon defeated the Ballenas Whalers of Parksville 51-14 last week in the Double-A quarter-finals.
The day begins this morning at 11 with the Double-A semifinal between the No. 5 Robert Bateman Timberwolves of Abbotsford and the No. 2 Holy Cross Crusaders of Surrey.
The Subway Bowl B.C. championship games for both Triple-A and Double-A are next Saturday at B.C. Place.
Meanwhile, the undefeated Belmont Bulldogs beat Vancouver College 21-12 in the B.C. junior high school semifinals Friday and have advanced to meet the Kelowna Owls in the Subway Bowl provincial final next weekend under the dome.