Enough about the knee, Rams QB ready for semis
Gideone Kremler knows the wellbeing of his knee is getting attention.
“There seems to be some talk about it,” said the Mount Douglas Rams quarterback, who has had injury issues the past couple of years, but ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-21 win over the St. Thomas More Knights in last week’s Subway Bowl TripleA quarter-finals.
“There should be more talk about a football team that seems to be coming together than a single body part doing well, though.”
The Rams, the Victoria squad that was an honourable mention in the final Triple-A provincial rankings, have come together well enough that they ’ll take on the No. 2 Vancouver College Fighting Irish in the provincial semifinals on Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium.
It’s arguably the biggest meeting between the teams since Mount Douglas beat Vancouver College 34-17 in the 2015 provincial final, when Kremler did the improbable and led the Rams to the crown as a Grade 9 under centre.
He suffered a knee injury the following year. It was diagnosed initially as a strain, but ended up being a torn anterior cruciate ligament and he had off-season surgery. He returned to action midway through last season, but his mobility — as you’d expect — had taken a step back and forced him to be more of a pocket passer.
Now in Grade 12, Kremler’s performance against the No. 3 Knights is proof the knee is continuing to come around.
There’s also the fact he’s returned to playing safety full time, something he hadn’t done since his Grade 10 season.
“You’re never going to feel the same after something like that,” the 6-1, 185-pound Kremler said of the surgery.
“I feel different and I feel better in different ways. I’ve definitely matured through the whole process and I think I play smarter football than I did before.”
The other semifinal (7 p.m.) sees the honourable mention New Westminster Hyacks facing the No. 4 Terry Fox Ravens in a rematch of last year’s final. New Westminster won that 15-14, thanks to a last-second touchdown and two-point convert.