HIGH SCHOOL: UNDERDOG DEVILS REVVED UP FOR RAMS
Underdog South Delta aims to upset three- time champion Mt. Douglas for receiver’s late father
Moving up to B. C. high school football’s top tier this season was motivation enough for the gritty South Delta Sun Devils. They wanted to prove they could play with the big boys.
But as the resilient underdog and somewhat undermanned Sun Devils prepare to face the three- time reigning Triple- A champion Mt. Douglas Rams this Saturday in the Subway Bowl Final at BC Place Stadium, they are also drawing inspiration from another source.
Before the 2014 season began, the Sun Devils dedicated the season to Randy Franklin, the late father of Grade 12 receiver/ defensive back Thomas Franklin. Each player is wearing a simple white patch on the back of his jersey with the inscription “Randy.”
As Thomas was coming up through community football in South Delta — it is the primary feeder system for the Sun Devils, who do not run a junior varsity program — Randy Franklin was a constant presence. Equipment manager, manning the yardsticks, “he did everything behind the scenes,” said South Delta head coach Ray Moon.
“When Thomas came to high school, Randy was always around as a helping hand.”
But in 2013, Randy also had to endure the kind of season a father never wants to see his son face.
Three games in, Thomas went down injured, eventually needing to be taken off the field by ambulance. He sustained a concussion and was out for five weeks. Thomas returned for the playoffs, but in a quarter- final game against Rick Hansen of Abbotsford at Minoru Park in Richmond, he sustained a broken leg.
“Once again, his dad is there,” says Moon. “Randy goes again in the ambulance that takes Thomas to the hospital.
“Three weeks later, his dad goes into the hospital for minor surgery. There’s complications and he passes away.”
Through his grief, Thomas worked diligently in the offseason to rehab and strengthen his leg and returned this season to become a reliable target for standout Sun Devils quarterback Lucas Kirk in South Delta’s dangerous passing attack.
“Quite an experience,” Thomas said of his injuryplagued 2013 campaign. “And then losing my dad, it was rough. He’s impacted my life a lot. He was my No. 1 motivator, my inspiration.”
The lanky Thomas was second on the Sun Devils with six TD catches in 11 games, while averaging 20.5 yards a catch. And coming up on the Dec. 14 anniversary of his father’s death, he’s appreciative of the support he’s got from teammates and coaches.
“It’s hard to talk about,” he said of his dad. “He was my everything.
“It means a lot to see the team helping me through it, having my back and supporting me. It means a lot to my family, it’s great to have these special people.”
The Sun Devils, who won Double- A B. C. titles in 2008 and 2012 and were eliminated in the semifinals in 2013, were moved back up to Triple- A this season when the threshold number for male students in Grade 11- 12 was dropped to 275 from 300.
“We were ready to go up,” said Moon, who has the most players he’s ever had at South Delta, but still dresses just 33. “My biggest concern was going up against teams like Mt. Doug who have got 41, Vancouver College who’ve got 78 and Terry Fox who’ve got 45. You get a couple of players injured and you’re in trouble.”
There were some questions about South Delta’s ability to dominate at the Triple- A level, but they went 7- 1 during the exhibition and regular season, outscoring the opposition by an average of 40.6 to 7.1 in the wins.
Their only loss was a 44- 7 decision on Oct. 24 to Mt. Douglas in Victoria. But they arrived late that day because of ferry delays, got just a 20- minute warm- up and the game turned ugly and dirty with several unnecessary roughness penalties.
“It was a real good awakening,” said Moon, a big, often colourful presence on the sidelines. “The kids started realizing that ‘ Hey, my s--- does stink.’ They had player meetings and really started to come together.”
Still, it was a battle in the playoffs. South Delta scraped by Lord Tweedsmuir of Surrey 9- 7 in the quarter- finals, then rallied with 16 secondhalf points to beat No. 1- ranked Terry Fox of Port Coquitlam 16- 13 in last Saturday’s semifinal at UBC’s snow- dusted Thunderbird Stadium.
Kirk, who threw a 68- yard scoring bomb to Franklin to get the Sun Devils on the board against Fox, easily led TripleA in passing this season with 2,306 yards and 26 touchdowns in 11 games.
That passing attack should thrive on the turf indoors at BC Place. Mt. Doug relies more on a power running game led by Seye Farinu ( 8.54 yards per carry average) and Gavin Cobb ( 11.82).
The Rams can become the only four- time outright champion with a win, but Kirk and the Sun Devils believe they can pull off the upset.
“They’re an amazing team and have been for the past four years,” Kirk said of the Rams. “But we’ve got amazing players as well. When we played them ( in Victoria), we were just not on our game.
“We’re a different team from when we played them last. If we just come out like a know we can, we won’t have a problem.”