It’s onward and upward for a pair of Mount Douglas Secondary football athletes who have made their selections as to where they will play their university ball, with two more players to announce their intentions in the coming weeks.
Phil Grohovac will attend the University of Western Ontario while Hayden Naylor has selected the U of Alberta Golden Bears as his future team.
Defensive lineman Jake Ounsted is set to take a visit to Div. I University of Massachussetts Amherst, which he will likely join, although he has more than a dozen U Sports schools, including UBC, also interested in his services.
Soren Hallschmid might be joining Grohovac at Western as he is set to visit the defending U Sports champion Mustangs and McMaster University.
Should Ounsted accept the offer from UMass he would become the first Mount Doug Ram to head south of the border since Zach Wilkinson, who just finished his senior year at Northern Colorado where he was a captain. Ounsted has also garnered interest from the universities of Northen Arizona, Montana and Eastern Washington.
“Our coaching staff is all extremely proud of Phil and Hayden on their signings. This was another great day for Mount Douglas football and we look forward to Jake and Soren making their final decisions,” head coach Mark Townsend said after a signing ceremony for the latest two on Friday. “Massachussetts is NCAA Div. I and I know that’s been a dream of his, so it would be great for Jake to go.
“Phil Grohovac showed tremendous perseverance and fortitude through his [knee] injury. Most players would not have even tried to come back and play the season, but Phil did everything he could in his rehab — still never missed a practice and played whenever he could,” said Townsend.
“Phil would have definitely been a provincial all-star had he not been injured. We are proud to see him sign on with Western Ontario.”
The six-foot-four, 240-pounder injured his knee early in the year against Terry Fox and will red-shirt his first season at Western so not to use a year of eligibility, as will Naylor at the U of A.
“They’ve got a great program, coming off their Vanier Cup championship and an undefeated season,” Grohovac said of the Mustangs. “The coach is great and it’s a great school, and it’s somewhere I can call home.”
Mustangs assistant coach Joe Circelli recruited Grohovac, first making contact with the lineman during an all-star game in Ottawa last March.
“My final two schools were U of A and Western because of their historic offensive line play,” he said. “It was difficult. I’ve got some friends going to the U of A and it was closer to home, but I thought Western would be a better fit for me.”
His friend is Seth Rogers, who played Grade 9 at Mount Douglas prior to joining the Victoria Spartans.
Instead, Naylor will become the Golden Bear teammate to Rogers.
“It’s a great school with a huge academic program to go with the football,” he said of his choice. “There’s a lot of money going toward tutoring after practice. There’s a mandatory study session from 5-7 [p.m.]. The coach is well spoken. I was talking to other universities, but Alberta was best for me.”
Townsend was glad to see two more players move on to the university level.
“Hayden Naylor has worked exceedingly hard, perhaps the hardest working player I have ever coached,” said Townsend.
“His great work ethic has earned him a scholarship at the University of Alberta, where I know Hayden will have a tremendous impact.”
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