Austin Kraemer isn’t a Marine, but you can still hear him scream “Hoorah” if you listen closely as he rumbles around the field during practice. It’s his rallying cry, one he uses often to inject his teammates with a shot of energy when things may seem a bit sluggish.

It’s not surprising to hear him shouting these days as Porters Chapel Academy prepares for the upcoming season. Kraemer is not known for being quiet.

“I’m never quiet. I’m always saying something,” Kraemer said excitedly. “My catchphrase is ‘Hoorah’ so I’m just always screaming ‘Hoorah, Hoorah’ getting the team pumped up.”

It’s safe to say the junior is the barometer for which his team’s intensity is measured. He might be one of the most talented two-way linemen on the roster, but his ability to rally the troops is what makes him such an invaluable asset to the Eagles’ chemistry.

“He just finds a different gear and he does a really good job of motivating his teammates, especially the linemen. They all work really well together and he’s a big part of that motivation and just getting them to play at that higher level,” PCA coach Wayne Lynch said. “With his intensity, it just flows over from him and it kind of catches on to the other guys. He’s a big part of their intensity level when they’re playing.”

Kraemer’s attitude is contagious and adds a cohesiveness to the squad that helps them through some of the more trying times that come with practicing twice a day in the scorching August heat. Kraemer’s adaptability and strong bond with his teammates have made him the resident patriarch of the locker room even though he’s only a junior.

“If practice is a little slow or if there’s something going on, even if it’s something in the locker room or something of that nature that got a little heated, he’s one of those guys that kind of has a relationship with the entire team,” Lynch said. “They know he’s a playful guy, but when he gets serious, they know it. He’s able to kind of bring those guys back together and get them out of that atmosphere.”

Call him the moral arbiter for the Eagles. When someone starts to slip, he has no problem transitioning to play the part of the angry teacher scolding a student.

“Whatever I think is right, I try to help,” Kraemer said. “If I see somebody’s doing something wrong I tell them, ‘Hey, y’all need to cut that out.’”

Kraemer is the heartbeat of the team, and his unrelenting work ethic and refusal to quit is the blood that pumps through PCA’s veins.

“I think probably his best attribute is his refusing to lose,” Lynch said. “He just has a knack for, when it gets down to crunch time, he just finds that extra something that prevents him from being defeated. That’s kind of what we see the most in him is just his will to win.”

But make no mistake; Kraemer can play football too. The dual offensive/defensive lineman and his 6-foot-4 frame have terrorized Class A the past two years and he’s only getting better with time. Lynch and his staff have developed the junior from a raw talent into a versatile monster on the gridiron, capable of using both his lengthy arms and speedy feet to either get to or keep others from getting to the quarterback.

It’s a sight PCA fans have gotten used to over the past couple of years, and one they won’t be tired of witnessing in 2014.

“He’s able to go both ways. He’s not going to come off the field very often,” Lynch said. “He’s a guy who we have a lot of confidence to run the football behind him and we really look for big things out of him for this year and for next year.”