Søllerød Gold Diggers not worried about quarterbacking question mark – “Team has great chemistry”
You could forgive the Triangle Razorbacks for entering their Danish National League game against the Søllerød Gold Diggers this weekend with an air of confidence.
After all, the Gold Diggers are suddenly a team in flux with the release of their quarterback Aaron Ellis, who had led them to two straight wins including a 36-30 overtime victory over the Copenhagen Towers last week.
The departure of Ellis, for reasons that the club is keeping strictly internal, would seem to leave an impossible hole to fill. It’s past the league deadline to bring in another import quarterback and domestic quarterbacks don’t actually “grow on trees”.
Enter Rasmus Carøe.
The versatile running back has already demonstrated his quarterbacking chops and against the very same Razorbacks. In fact, it was the last time the Gold Diggers and Razorbacks met – September 6, 2020. Søllerød came away with a 40-26 victory thanks in part to the late game heroics of Carøe who was pressed into service as a quarterback early in the third quarter after the starter left the game with a leg injury. He was superb, throwing a crucial touchdown pass and while kicking a huge 67 yard punt at another critical point in the game. On the day, he rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown and also caught four passes for 36 yards, which made him the team’s second leading rusher, receiver and passer.
Gold Diggers RB Christian Vahl #25 led the team in rushing last week against the Copenhagen Towers Photo: Jakob Vels
In other words, head coach Troels Vestergaard is not as worried as he otherwise could be. Not only is Carøe just one of his options at quarterback, he also has an excellent ground game to rely on. Running backs Christian Vahl and Spaniard Eduard Molina provide a one-two punch that’s hard to match. In last week’s key win over Copenhagen, Vahl had 14 carries for 132 yards and scored the winning touchdown while Molina scored two touchdowns.
Molina is confident the team will perform just as well this week:
“I honestly think it will be a good game, a good day to run the ball and finally be able to get the results of what I have learned since I have been here. I’ll do my best! And keep the Gold Diggers undefeated! The defense has to stay strong like it did against the Towers, we trust them a lot! Beat the razorbacks!”
Eduard Molina #43 playing for Spanish champions, the Badalona Dracs earlier this year. Molina wears #43 for the Gold Diggers as well and scored 2 TDs last week against the Copenhagen Towers Photo: Dracs
Whoever Søllerød enters the game with at quarterback, they feel good about their chances according to general manager Casper Reinhart:
The team has great chemistry, and as things can happen at any position, but the mindset is next man up. Improvise, adapt and then overcome. I have full confidence in the guys we have on the team. We have players who’ve stepped up before when needed, and I’m fully confident we’ll have players who’ll do it again.”
Carøe himself is unperturbed by the situation, realizing the pressure is not on him alone if he gets the nod to start. It’ll be a team effort:
“We are doing whatever we can to win the game. Everyone is ready to give it their all to go into the summer break undefeated. Yeah if I’m needed to play quarterback I will. I’ll play wherever I can be of the most use to the team.”
