A red hot arm and lack of current options at running back has added up to an all out aerial assault in the opening weeks of the high school football season for the South Delta Sun Devils.
Senior quarterback Kyle Menzies threw for five touchdowns to lead the fourth ranked Sun Devils to a 35-17 victory over the Kelowna Owls on Friday at the Apple Bowl. The second-year starter racked up over 250 yards through the air and has thrown for eight majors in just two games.
The air attack is somewhat out of necessity as three running backs - Shane Dagg, Matthew Wollin and Nick Whitty - are currently on the injured list, while back-up quarterback Parker Dodd is still recovering from off-season ACL surgery.
"If Parker was healthy, then we could give him a few snaps under centre and use Kyle at running back but that's not an option either," said Sun Devils head coach Ray Moon. "We are having to dig pretty deep to run our offence right now but it does look pretty encouraging when everybody get healthy."
Dagg and Dodd could be available as soon as Saturday's conference opener against Victoria's Belmont Braves in Tsawwassen (1: 30 p.m.). Wollin is expected be sidelined another three weeks and Whitty will be back in a month from a broken collarbone. Standout receiver Mitch Dino also may return soon from a high ankle sprain.
In the meantime it's about the Sun Devils developing depth which should pay off over the course of the season. Just how well South Delta stacks up against the province's best likely won't be known until next month's exhibition game in Nanaimo against the second ranked John Barsby Bulldogs. Moon is impressed with the overall level of talent.
"This team probably has more depth than the (2008) championship team," he said. "It's definitely a bigger roster and there is more speed but it's lacking the experience of that group. We have some good athletes from the Bantam program but it's a real eye opener adjusting to the speed of the game here. It really is quite the learning curve for them."
"We want to keep building on our performances week-to-week."
Grade 12 receiver David Mann hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from Menzies and now has four in two games. Jeremy Gordon-Carmichael had two touchdowns as well, while Mark Dykstra also reached the end zone.
