OVFL PREVIEW: Coaches say Thunder chocked full of talent

Last year start through three weeks:
Varsity: 3-0
Junior Varsity: 1-2

Last year finish:
Varsity: Lost in conference semi-final to Etobicoke
Junior Varsity: Lost in conference final to Brampton

Players to watch:

RB Jayde Rowe
DE Ramon Richards
JV Defense
RB Nathaniel Johnson

Varsity

Looking to build on last year’s playoff berth, the Toronto (Scarborough) Thunder is turning to a new but familiar face to rally the troops.

Varsity head coach Rob DiMaria is back with the Thunder after a ten-year hiatus. DiMaria, one of the founders of the Thunder franchise, spent the last few years coaching with Team Ontario and at York University.

The OVFL schedule makers made sure it wouldn’t be an easy home-coming for DiMaria, pitting the Thunder against Etiobicoke, Metro Toronto and Pickering to start the season, three games that the coach says will be a big test.

“Those are three hard games and I’m just trying to get the guys ready, keep them pumped and that’s all I can do right now,” he said. “We’re a bit thin on numbers but we’ve got some ballers.”

DiMaria will look to his minor program graduates, young players who he says are off to a good start, to get the Thunder back to the playoffs. For that first game against the Eagles, he says the keys will be limiting mistakes, executing and starting every offensive series with good field position.

Once they get the ball, DiMaria says he’ll be looking for big things from Jayde Rowe, a skilled running back with great vision and a knack for staying on his feet.

Last season with the JV Thunder, Rowe racked up 1060 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged almost nine yards a carry.

“(Rowe) makes coaches look great,” DiMaria said.

According to the coach, the Thunder’s other running backs as well as their quarterbacks, defensive backs, defensive line, and six play-making receivers are all dangerous positions for opposing teams.

But despite being stacked on both sides of the ball, he says he expects a heavyweight bout with Etobicoke.

“It’s going to be a battle. The Eagles are, I think, one of the tops in the league if not one of the best teams.”

Anchoring the defense will be returning varsity defensive end Ramon Richards, a speedy, strong play reader that DiMaria thinks is one of the best in the province.

Richards had five sacks last year on the varsity squad and added nine tackles.

Having been around the OVFL before, DiMaria says he knows that wins aren’t a given.

“It’s going to be an exciting (season),” he said. “There’s such great parity in this league and no one knows who’s going to end up on top.

Junior Varsity

At the junior level, long-time Thunder head coach Robert Allen says he’s excited about the talent he’s seen during tryouts and the first few practices.

Like a lot of teams, the Thunder will have to rely on a pool of peewee players making the jump to junior varsity. Only about five kids are returning to JV but Allen still knows most of the new players and most of the new players know the system.

“With all of the guys moving up from the pee wee division … it’s a big jump so we just want to play mistake-free football,” he said. “We have a lot of talent but if we don’t play mistake free … we’re going to have problems.”

In the pocket for Allen will be pee wee graduate Michael Willard and newcomer Brett Watson. According to Allen, both quarterbacks are talented but Willard has a better understanding of the Thunder offense and more composure thanks to his time in the Thunder system.

Willard finished last season with seven touchdowns, four picks and a passer rating of 84.

But Adams predicts it won’t be the quarterbacks carrying the Thunder offense this season. He says tailbacks Nathaniel Johnson and Rakeem Simms have gotten bigger and faster since playing peewee last year where they combined for ten touchdowns.

“I’m expecting big things from those two. I think they should be the leaders of our offense,” he said. “They’re going to carry this team offensively and we’ve also got two really special players at the receiver position that we think are going to help balance it out.”

Those two players are Shomari Murdock-Reid and Dejuan Martin, two more peewee players making the jump to JV. Murdock-Reid, a six-foot plus, track athlete, only had five receptions last season but averaged 13 yards per catch and had a touchdown.

Allen predicts that, combined with Murdock-Reid as a deep threat, Martin’s inside presence will create mismatches with safeties and linebackers and create opportunities for both of them as well as for the running game.

“Both of those guys can take it to the house every time they touch the ball. Both of them have good speed and are very elusive players,” Allen added.

Despite the Thunder’s seemingly auspicious offensive attack, Allen says the defense is the strong point of this year’s team, so much so that he says he can’t isolate a single driving force behind it.

“I don’t want to single out any of the defensive players because I think it’s just twelve guys that are just fearless,” he said. “It’s going to be 12 guys going to that ball like crazy…the defense is going to lead this football team.”

Like their varsity counterparts, the Thunder plays Etobicoke on the road week one, the team the Thunder knocked out of the wildcard round last year. Allen says his team will need to play fundamental football and capitalize on opportunities to come out with another win over Etobicoke.

“The Eagles are a really good program I know a lot of their coaches…it’s going to be a good game. We knocked them out of the playoffs last year so they’re looking to avenge that.”