I was sitting in a meeting the other night when I overheard coach Gallagher address a comment that had been directed at him. The comment was something to effect of, "your guys looked sharp against that Class A school on Saturday." Coach's response to the comment really placed into perspective the way in which he and his team are approaching the next several weeks of preparation. His response was, "thanks, but there are still pleanty of tough Class "B" teams to worry about." That response was not intended to make light of the compliment, he was simply being realistic. After a rather dismal performance against Binghamton two weeks ago, Gallagher needed some of his starting veterans to do a little soul searching to determine what it is that they really want to accomplish this year. It matters little if the team is a poorly coached class C school, or the toughest class A school in the state. What does matter, is that each member of this Spartan team delivers more than his potential. To win the next two contests against Windsor and a very tough Johnson City, not to mention those to follow in the Sectionals, this team must step up to every play in each series, regardless of who mans the opposing bench.

Lurching from those sentiments was center Matt DeVall, and lineman Ross Scribner. On both sides of the ball, these young men cranked up the intensity to a level hard to ignore. With the crack of every shoulder pad smacking off of a helmet, one of these two, or both, were sure to appear dragging down a Tiger running back. While both DeVall and Scribner had a tough time manning their respective peices of ground during the Binghamton contest, it was they who would take turns driving the proverbial stake through the heart of the Tiger offensive threat. During a critical 3rd quarter U-E drive, with fourth down and inches, it was Matt DeVall who shrugged off his block, placed his body in the gap and wrapped the driving legs of Jordan Thomas. His efforts, amazingly stopped the drive short of the first down mark and the Spartans reclaimed possession of the ball. After the Tigers returned the favor, stopping Maine-Endwell on what would have been a door closing TD had they completed the drive, it was Scribner who appeared in the defensive secondary and snatched the ball out of the air for the game winning turnover with just one minute remaining on the clock. As history now shows, Connolly was able to take a knee and bleed out the remaining seconds of the game.

As Bertrand wound up to deliver that final errant pass, it was obvious that he was feeling the pressure of both time and defensive surge. Behind a good deal of the driving force of the blue defensive storm was end Alex Sherman. Sherman, along with other sideline minding compadres' Barrett, Burgo, Carden and Connolly, was able to hold the rocket powered Thomas to only one outside break of any signifigance. While Jordan was still able to pile up an impressive 123 yards on 22 carries, the majority of his efforts were forced up the middle and bouncing off-tackle with spins and creative footwork. Sherman, however, proved himself a menace to all Tigers with the football. His constant presence in the offensive backfield when not yielding a sack, was an ever present source of discomfort for Bertrand.

Alex Sherman sacks Bertrand

Stepping up to the plate with all guns loaded was Senior running back, Nate DuVaul. I use the generic term, "running back," because after his performance Saturday, who knows where he'll pop up next. DuVaul has run the gamut of offensive striking positions from 2 through 4 and has been efficient in each. This weekend, however, he placed an overdrive on his heart and tuned up his legs to muscle out 78 yards on only 19 carries. The thing that I most enjoyed seeing was that on each carry, DuVaul's drives were more akin to absent fullback Nate Reynolds. While he is most comfortable looking for gaps off-tackle, or using his speed to sweep around the ends, DuVaul was forced to man-up and drive the middle. In doing so, he showed not only how tough he truly is, but that he is far more than an arm-tackle light-foot. While the efficiency of the Spartan offensive attack was pretty evenly distributed across the entire offense, it was DuVaul who was ultimately tasked with filling some pretty big shoes in Nate Reynolds. By the conclusion of the game, it was apparent that not only had DuVaul pulled it off brilliantly, but he displayed a side of himself that we haven't seen before. He can truly lead.

This week the Spartans will move on to Windsor to meet the Black Knights, who have had a troubled season, but who's record does not reflect the teams toughness. Their battles have all been hard fought and they will be sure to bring some late season intensity to the field on Saturday. With the Spartans knocking down a big class AA foe, it's imperative for them to maintain the intensity that fueled their efforts this past weekend and stick with the fundamentals central to coach Gallagher's game plan.

 

Submitted by TJM