BY SCOTT
HADDOW
The Sudbury Spartans surprised many by making the playoffs and
now they want to continue surprising people by advancing deep
into the post season.
When the curtain lifted on their 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 play off spot by dumping North Bay last
weekend 24-17.
All season long, the Spartans were routinely outmaned with
only 30 players, compared to the 50 to 60 fielded by the
opposition. They hung tough and earned their play off spot and
now they want to shine and bring a championship back to
Sudbury. The Spartans' quest for a league championship begins
tomorrow in Milton when they take on the Marauders. Game time
is 4 pm.
As always, Sudbury will be playing with a depleted roster.
"We're going down there missing a few bodies," said head coach Chris 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. Veteran
quarterback Paul Gauthier (injured shoulder) could be ready to
go and veteran slot back Dave St. Amour is primed for more
action after missing the team's first seven games with a groin
injury. (St. Amour returned last week and rumbled for 81 yards
to help Sudbury dump North Bay.)
"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 year.
"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 they
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."
The Spartans have worked on their timing and tackling. Even
though they have gone 0-4 on the road this season, the players
see it as the perfect time to change that statistic, but they
will have to step up their game.
"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. Everyone has to be ready when it
happens."
Making it back into the playoffs is special for Sudbury. "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."
