BY SCOTT HADDOW
Sudbury Spartans running back Dave St. Amour could never be called a quitter. The 38-year-old player came out of retirement this year to play another season of football in the unforgiving Northern Football Conference (NFC).
With a group of his old teammates doing the same, St. Amour was primed for a big season of rumbling through opposing team's defences and scoring a lot of points for the Spartans.
St. Amour was an NFC legend before coming back and is
considered one of the best players to ever wear a Spartans
jersey in the franchise's long and proud history.
"One of the big reasons I came back was quarterback Paul
Gauthier, who was also coming back this year," said St.
Amour. "A bunch of old teammates and friends were playing
again. That, and another chance to play with Paul - we had a
lot of success over the years - was enough for me to strap on
the pads again and play."
St. Amour missed the first game of the season due to a prior
family commitment, but was raring to go in the next game.
Everything was going fine until the last play at practice
before a game against Oakville during the third week of the
season in June.
"I slipped on the grass while running and I felt a pop in
my lower stomach area," said the grizzled veteran. "I
tore a muscle in my abdomen and couldn't play. The injury
made it difficult for me to turn and make cuts while
running."
St. Amour didn't let the injury bring him down and ravage
his body with negative emotions.
St. Amour and his Spartans teammates clinched a playoff berth
with a big win last weekend and will be laying all on the line
when they travel to Milton to play the Mauraders in a
winner-take-all playoff tilt. Game time is 4 pm.
St. Amour knew his season could be over, but put on a brave face and still went to practices to help the coaches and even attended home games to help with play calls from the sidelines and offered loud, vocal support.
"It was very frustrating to be on the sidelines,"
said the former Nickel District Secondary School student.
"I am used to competing hard and I love to compete. It was
tough, especially since I wanted to be out there with the
team...even more when you think you can be out there and
contributing to help the team win."
St. Amour was a welcomed sight on the sidelines of games and
practices.
"You can't question his experience," said head
coach Chris Bartolucci. "He brings a lot of composure to
the team. Dave and Paul work well together and feed off one
another. Paul shows more confidence when Dave is with us...and
he plays at another level. The guys played hard because they
knew Dave was there for them all year. He was a good motivator.
Dave can settle everyone down, get them focused and ready to
play."
St. Amour's all-out style of play always impresses the
team.
"Dave's a big-time player in a small-time body,"
said Gauthier about the five-foot-eight St. Amour. "He
always plays bigger than he is. Dave's a very gifted
athlete and gave us much needed leadership on the
offence."
St. Amour played his one and only game last week versus North
Bay. He scampered for 81 yards and a touchdown to help the team
snap a four-game losing streak and make the playoffs. The
injury is still nipping away at his abilities.
"It's day-to-day," said the NFC Hall of Famer.
"Just before the half against North Bay...I made a cut and
felt another tear. It's still swollen. If it's
healed...I will play against Milton (on Saturday). I don't
want to be in there and hurt the team because I can't do
what I am supposed to do."
Watching from the sidelines, St. Amour has nothing but respect
for the 2006 version of the Spartans, who battled numerous
injury problems all season to a lot of key players.
"It was an excellent improvement over last year,"
said St. Amour. "Everyone did a great job. I like the
direction the team is going. The team is only a few players
away from being a really successful club."
St. Amour has not ruled out playing another season in 2007. It
will depend on how he's feeling next spring.
 
"I've learned never to say never," said St.
Amour. "The draw of the game is strong. I would love to
help bring another championship to Sudbury."
St. Amour starts his new job this fall as vice-principal at
Confederation Secondary School. He has been a teacher in
Sudbury since 1992.
The Spartans have come a long way, considering the number of
injuries they've sustained, to make the post-season.
When the curtain lifted on the 2006 season, the Spartans were
pumped for a great season, but the wheels fell off quickly as
they were pounded 62-13 in their first game by Tri-City.
Many expected another long, tough season in the Nickel City,
but what they got was a wild roller-coaster ride that saw the
team go through plenty of challenges.
Sudbury rang up two straight wins after the blow-out loss to
bring them to 2-1. Expectations began to rise, but injuries and
work commitments ravaged the squad and caused them to spin
their wheels. The team dropped their next four games and had to
scrap for the final playoff spot by dumping North Bay last
weekend 24-17.
All season long, the Spartans were routinely outmaned with only
30 players, compared to 50 to 60 opponents on the opposite
sideline.
But they hung tough and earned their playoff spot and now they
want to shine and bring a championship back to Sudbury.
As always, Sudbury will be playing with a depleted roster.
"We're going down there missing a few bodies,"
said Bartolucci. "It's been the story of our year.
We're missing some defensive players. We will have to do
some extra work to make up for the missing players. I have a
scheme cooked up to cover the missing defence."
It's not all bad news heading into the playoffs.Gauthier
(injured shoulder) should be ready to go and St. Amour says
he's primed considering the seasonis on the line.
"On the upside, Dave will play and he gives us extra punch
in the back field," said Bartolucci. "Dave frees up
(wide receiver) Dan Leduc so he can do his thing. If Paul is
good to go, then he will start. I might take him out early and
put in Reg Bonin (138 throwing yards versus North Bay in
limited action) though. We're more of an offensive threat
now than we were in the past."
The playoffs are do-or-die. Win and the team moves on. Lose,
and the squad thinks about what went wrong for the next several
months.
"We will need our best 60 minutes on the field versus
Milton," said Bartolucci. "We have dealt with
injuries all season and that might help us. It might make us
more prepared. We've been filling holes and playing iron
man football since the first game. It's nothing new for the
guys and they will be out there trying their best, and like I
said, it's the playoffs and anything can happen."
Sudbury and Milton never hooked up during the regular season.
But, this doesn't mean the Spartans are clueless about who
will face.
"Players and coaches from around the league talk all the
time," said the bench boss. "We don't know what
their tendencies are, but we do know who their big running back
and linebacker are and whether their offensive line moves well.
"We're going in a bit blind, but they don't know
what to expect from us either. We have nothing to lose and
everything to gain. No one expected us to even make the
playoffs. No one is expecting us to beat this team, including
them. It plants the seed for an upset. We're not going down
there to lose."
"We have to play mistake-free football," said St.
Amour. "We can't afford to have turnovers and have
penalty cost us. We're playing a team that went 6-2, so
obviously, they have done a good job all season.
"We're positive, the defence is coming along and the
team has found ways to win. We've been in games that we
lost. It's going to be a tight game and it will come down
to one or two plays and everyone has to be ready when it
happens."
Making it back into the playoffs was special for Sudbury.
"It's huge for the organization and everyone
involved," said St. Amour. "Everyone stayed positive
and put a good effort forward and we got a good product on the
field this year. It was great to see."
