Simon Fraser safety Gideone Kremler will bring his No. 1 Red Leafs' jersey along with a singular focus into action Saturday as the locals open the 2022 season against visiting Central Washington. (Photo by Garrett James property of SFU athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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For Simon Fraser Red Leafs’ defensive back Gideone Kremler, finding his inner ‘safety’ comes after a pain-stamped journey to the top of Burnaby Mountain!

BURNABY — A framed photo sits on the dresser drawer of his room in the Burquitlam rental he shares with six other housemates, and for Simon Fraser sophomore safety Gideone Kremler, all it takes is a simple daily glance back at his 12-year-old self to understand — despite all of the pain and disappointment — […]

Kelowna running back Jack Nyrose does his best to elude what has been an Iron Curtain defence in 2021 for Notre Dame Jugglers like (left to right) Noah Banco, Massimo Ryan and Pedro Cabanas. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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No. 2 Mt. Douglas at No. 3 Notre Dame: Who wins? Victoria’s Rams with its Thunder & Lightning at backfield, or the Iron Curtain defence of East Van’s Jugglers!

BURNABY — The heavens have been threatening all week with a distinct dark-cloud scowl, and yet if the football gods do indeed decide to order up rain by sheets for Friday afternoon’s highly-anticipated AAA clash of unbeatens at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex (2 p.m.), then so be it.East Vancouver’s No. 3-ranked Notre Dame Jugglers have […]

From a title in 2019 to a No. 1 ranking to start 2021, head coach Todd Bernett and Vancouver College maintain their spot atop the B.C. high school football world. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Varsity Letters’ Big 5 Triple A high school football rankings: ‘Look up, look wayyy up’ at No. 1 Vancouver College and No. 2 Mt. Douglas!

LANGLEY — Back in the late 1960s, at my home in a rural part of North Delta, I’d watch a kid’s show on the CBC called ‘The Friendly Giant’ in which the title character, made to look larger than life by a simple upwards camera pan, would ask his young viewers to ‘Look up… wayyyy […]

Mt. Douglas Rams longtime head coach Mark Townsend (centre) and the rest of his coaching staff are excited about the new look and challenges that the 2019 Western Conference AAA season is sure to bring in the provincial capital. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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For No. 2-ranked Mt. Douglas, the blueprint is in place! Rams set to take first big steps in post-Gideone Kremler era

VICTORIA — The Gideone Kremler era may have ended at Mt. Douglas Secondary, but the good news for fans of Rams football, is that the Gideone Kremler model remains.

Mt. Douglas Rams' Dante Carbone (left) and Greyson Planinsic of the New Westminster Hyacks will battle for a Subway Bowl AAA title on Saturday night at B.C. Place Stadium. (Photos by Howard Tsumura, Varsity Letters.ca and Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway Bowl 2018’s inner secrets: One sleep ahead of Rams-Hyacks AAA finale, Mt. Doug’s Kremler says: “…it’s been a Clash of Titans every time.”

VANCOUVER — Nov. 2. Mercer Stadium. One minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Gideone Kremler to Eddy Shala. Sixteen yards. Touchdown. Final score: Mt. Douglas 34 New Westminster 28.

Football brothers with arms, New Westminster's Kinsale Philip (left) and Mt. Douglas' Gideone Kremler have been intense rivals throughout high school, but they are also great friends off the field. (Photos by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway Bowl’s quarterback brotherhood: Rams’ Kremler, Hyacks’ Philip share friendship, respect on and off the field

VANCOUVER — A learned football sage pointed out earlier this week that a unique B.C. high school football era will be coming to an end Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium when the Mt. Douglas Rams and the New Westmintser Hyacks meet at 7 p.m. to decide the 2018 Subway Bowl B.C. Triple A champion.

The four coaches guiding their teams into Saturday's Subway Bowl semifinals (clockwise from top left) Terry Fox's Martin McDonnell, Todd Bernett of Vancouver College, New Westminster's Farhan Lalji and Mark Townsend of Mt. Douglas, speak to what they feel are common threads running through the four programs. (Photos by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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The Power of Four: Saturday’s quartet of AAA Subway Bowl semifinalists have won seven of last eight B.C. titles! So what’s their secret?

VANCOUVER — The. Mt. Douglas Rams have set the most recent bar of excellence within the senior varsity ranks of B.C. high school football. Yet the three other teams which join the Victoria juggernaut Saturday in the Subway Bowl AAA semifinal round at B.C. Place Stadium help give the 2018 Final Four a unique distinction.

New Westminster running back Sammy Sidhu powers his way across the goal line in front of Mt. Douglas defensive back Connor Clarke as the Subway Bowl AAA quarterfinals opened at Mercer Stadium. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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Super Sammy lifts Hyacks with grinder’s mentality, No. 1 New West tops No. 5 Mt. Douglas for Subway Final 4 berth

NEW WESTMINSTER —You’ve got to first be a grinder if you want to be a game-breaker. If you needed proof of what is surely a playoff football axiom, you saw it as the second half of the 2017 Subway Bowl quarterfinal clash between Victoria’s Mt. Douglas Rams and the host New Westminster Hyacks unfolded on Friday at […]

Mt. Douglas Rams' quarterback Gideone Kremler chats with head coach Mark Townsend during recent road game in Tsawwassen against the South Delta Sun Devils. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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Gideone Kremler: On comeback trail, Mt. Doug Rams’ quarterback shows he is truly the ‘Great Warrior’

His given name, roughly translated, is Great Warrior. For Mt. Douglas Rams’ quarterback Gideone Kremler, it’s been all too fitting over a high school football career in which he has matured from a young lion king into a crusty, old field general, all by his 11th grade campaign.