IMHO, it will not be close. #22 Dusty Frampton is a very good RB as we witnessed last year, and his strength is his power/speed once he gets into the opponents backfield. That is where the challenge sets in. Last year, he had a very good o-line to create holes for him to get into the backfield. Even vs SJB, once he got into the backfield he would gain another 8 to 10 yards. He's a beast to bring down once he gets thru the trenches. This year, the question that remains to be answered, will be does he have a good enough o-line to create the holes he needs to get thru. Given the fact that St. Mary's QB, Jake Dunniway, graduated and a newbie will be behind center, #22 is going to need there to be an aerial threat from the newbie QB, else the opponents SM faces are going to stack the box, and it will be near impossible for #22 to get thru and have an impact. The newbie, QB, if indeed it is the sophomore Noah May, may surprise a bunch of folks. But, he too, will need protection. Max Barth and Hunter Jones are anticipated to anchor the Ram's line on both sides. Just not sure it will be enough, especially against Mater Dei. If Noah May is the Rams QB and is able to perform like he did during 7x7 camps earlier this sprint, again, he might surprise a bunch of folks. This will be the Rams only hope of keeping it competitive. I just don't see the Rams' D having the ability to stop or slow down MD QB, JT Daniels, and the Monarchs offense. They are just too good. Mater Dei 48 St. Mary's 17 is a fair projection. I think we will all have a better assessment of how good the Rams are from their very first game vs Serra. Serra is not Mater Dei. But, if St. Mary's has any hope vs Mater Dei, they will need to be very impressive vs the Padres, like they were last year. I anticipate the game vs Serra is going to be a very close contest with either team having the chance to win. Like many agree, the Rams are not the same team as last year, with so much lost to graduation. Mater Dei, IMHO, is a better team than last year with another year under his belt for JT Daniels. Kudos to Coach Franks for scheduling this game. Just praying it does not result in a match-up similar to the 2005 Rams vs Chowchilla after winning the SJS D1 section championship in 2004. What a crazy scheduling move that was with much more talent lost to graduation. I at least appreciate that this game is schedule later into the non-league schedule vs right away when he has a team that needs to get some experience, especially at QB and on the lines.
