September 7, 2019 Victoria, BC (ISN) – The Mt. Douglas Rams varsity football team put their best, early season, foot forward but were shutout 37-0 by the visiting St. Francis Browns of Calgary, Alberta in an exhibition match up Saturday afternoon on home turf in a warm up to the upcoming BC High School Football season.
For the retooled Rams, it is their first loss since September 21st, 2018 when they dropped a narrow 15-12 decision to Notre Dame, continuing on to finish the rest of the season undefeated and bring home the BC Highschool Football championship.
The Mark Townsend coached Rams, with only six starters returning this season, will rely heavily on that experience to finish high in the standings and hope for a playoff run.
In play Saturday, the notably smaller of the two teams, the Rams, where in tough against last year’s Calgary City Div 1 champion Browns. With fourteen returning starters, the Browns looked balanced on both sides of the ball from the opening kickoff.
The Browns would score the game’s first three touchdowns despite the Rams defensive glimmers of athleticism. Held from entering the Brown’s red zone, despite two first half pass interceptions by the Rams’ defensive secondary, the Mt Doug offense would be frustrated by the Browns, unable to connect on successive drives to pose a threat. The Browns would hold a 21-0 lead over the Rams at half time.
The Rams would show some resilience in the third quarter, able to run the ball with some success to move the yard sticks, however an equally resilient Browns’ defense would keep the Rams at bay, not allowing them close enough to erase the goose egg.
The Browns would go on to score a TD in each of the two final quarters and add a Rams’ safety to take the victory in convincing fashion 37-0.
For the Varsity Rams, they will travel to Nanaimo Friday, September 13thto take on NDSS in their final exhibition game before returning home to take on the New Westminster Hyacks in week three action, marking the first regular game of the season.
