After a summer full of training and bonding, the football team is ready to kick off the 2013 season. With their season opener Aug. 30 at Parkway Central, they are working on final preparations.

“We’ve been practicing on and off all summer and we are really starting to click as a unit,” senior Duncan Cannon said. “Going to Illinois in June really helped our team chemistry and got us ready for the season.”

During summer workouts, players trained from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. four days a week on top of competing against other high schools in 7-on-7 scrimmages a few times each week. In addition, they had football camp over the last two weeks in July.

“It’s all coming together,” senior Matthew Hooper said. “We expect to play at state and I know no one will settle for anything else.”

Many senior players joined the football team their freshman year and have been Ladue Rams fans for even longer. Now leading members of the team, they are ready to take on new responsibilities as senior role models.

“Being a senior is really fun and exciting,” Cannon said. “This is our team now. We have a great senior class with around 20 seniors, twice as many as last year. We have some great senior leaders too, which we hope will carry us through the playoffs into state.”

Time will tell how the Rams perform, but count on them coming out strong. If preparation is any indicator, this squad has 2013 figured out.

“Everyone get excited and check us out at Parkway Central Aug. 30,” Cannon said.