Here's a wrap and tap for the two major local football teams -
Sudbury Northerners and Sudbury Spartans - battling it out for
gridiron glory.
Northerners
Current record: 1-2
Current league standing: Third in the Wettges Division
Despite facing a winless foe this weekend, the Northerners
aren't taking their competition lightly. The team squares off
against the Ottawa Cumberland Panthers on Saturday. Game time
is 1 pm. The Panthers are 0-3 and have had trouble putting
points on the board, scoring only 13 in the three losses.
Head coach John Larsen wants his team to take the attack to
the air.
"We have to throw the ball more effectively than we have in
the first three games," said Larsen. "(Quarterback) Jacob
Gauthier's passing game has been OK. The biggest key on offence
will be to pass the ball well and spread out their defence and
that will open up holes for our running backs."
The Northerners success starts and ends with the defence,
which is big, tough and unrelenting.
"Our defence has always been a strength...last game they got
us four or five turnovers," said Larsen. "If they can keep the
turnovers coming that will be good. They just need to be a
little more secure."
Sudbury will be pushing hard for a victory.
"We need to maintain our focus for 60 minutes and just do
our jobs," said Larsen. "We will not take them lightly. If we
play as a team, we'll be successful."
There has been a few pleasant surprises for the Northerners
so far.
"We have some young guys on the offensive line who have done
a really good job for us," said Larsen. "The enthusiasm and
their interest in participating is great. We dressed 46 players
against the Riders and we'll dress 50 against the Panthers. It
speaks volumes about the strength of football in Sudbury. Our
versatility at running backs is impressive...with Aaron Rehel,
Eric Ethier, Neil Petrin and Matt Poirier. The defence has been
tough and moving well to the ball. The leadership from some of
our young guys has been most rewarding."
Game notes: Punter and back-up receiver John Hussak has an
ankle injury and will not play.
 
Spartans
Current record: 0-1
Current league standing: Fifth in the Central/North Division
The Spartans are literally the walking wounded, but head
coach Chris Bartolucci doesn't want any excuses as they host
the Oakville Longhorns on Saturday night for the team's 2006
home opener. Game time at Queen's Athletic Field is 7 pm.
"We lost our starting tailback (Eric Paquette) against Tri-City in Week One for at least six weeks," said Bartolucci.
"We also lost our starting defensive end (Tommy Dube) and
one of our defensive backs. We're in a patchwork mode. We're
filling the holes. We picked up Kevin White, a veteran
defensive lineman. We have to shore up our defence...it was a
little sloppy against Tri-City. We're still strong offensively.
We have a good ground game. We will be scored on, no question.
Without the depth, it's hard to overcome."
The Spartans need the ball, and need it for long
possessions.
"We have to keep our defence off the field," said Bartolucci. "We can't go for 30 points a game. I am a ball control guy. We need to eat 11 minutes of the clock to score a touchdown and give it back for only four minutes. We have to put the ball in the air and score a lot of points because we will give up a few. We're coming out with a strong offensive attack. If we can control the ball, it will be a good night."
The club will welcome back running Dave St. Amour, who missed
the first game.
"We have a little more punch this weekend," said Bartolucci.
Despite a crushing 62-13 loss in their first game, there's
no one throwing in the towel.
"We haven't given up," said Bartolucci. "We've run into some adversity, we'll play through it and rise above it."
