It would take a fourth quarter rally to keep their shot at a first place finish in the Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL) alive, but the Sudbury U16 Jr Spartans were up to the challenge, yet again.

Facing the undefeated York Lions 17-6, on the road and heading into the fourth quarter of play, the locals rallied with touchdowns from Quin Mazzuchin and Paolo Grossi, improving to 4-1 with a 19-17 victory.

Without the benefit of a season long enough to integrate a complete round robin schedule within the ten-team East Division grouping (there are 11 teams 'in the West), the Jr Spartans were not given a ton of breaks by the schedule makers this summer.

The locals have hit the win column versus the Quinte Skyhawks (30-2 - last weekend), with the Hawks, Spartans and Lions all sitting at 4-1. The only loss for coach Jordan Desilets and company was a 34-28 setback at the hands of the Sault Sabrecats about a month ago in the Lock City.

The team will close out the regular season this coming Saturday at 4:00 p.m., playing host to the undefeated Huronia Stallions (5-0) - meaning they did not draw the 1-4 Clarington Knights this year, with a 36-0 whitewashing of the winless Etobicoke Eagles counting only as a "developmental (pre-season) game.

If nothing else, this U16 Jr Spartans team will be playoff ready come late July.

"They were very physical, especially on the offensive and defensive line," noted Desilets of the opponents from York Region. "They brought it to us; credit to them. They had a defensive end that we are probably going to hear about in the next couple of years."

Of course, Sudbury has a few players of their own.

Trailing 3-0 and with time running down before the end of the first half, quarterback Ian MacDonald found Quin Mazzuchin on the receiving end of a 30 yard TD pass, a missed PAT leaving the scoreboard reading 6-3 as the teams caught their breath.

"We felt that they (York) had the ball most of the half, they ran on us and we were winning 6-3," said Desilets. "We figured let's just play a good half and we should be alright."

The Lions had other ideas. Blessed with a workhorse of a running back, the homeside not only could string together a few first downs in a row, but could do so while eating huge chunks of time off the clock.

A pick six (returned interception for a touchdown) allowed York to regain the advantage in the third quarter and another successful drive on a shortened field resulted in the 17-6 scenario described above.

Though a punt return for a major by Harper Ferrier would be nullified on a questionable penalty call, the Jr Spartans got that back three plays later as the MacDonald-Mazzuchin tandem covered 51 yards to the end zone.

With a few defensive adjustments helping the Sudbury twelve pick up some much-needed stops, the visitors took advantage of the game-breaking talents of Paolo Grossi - yet again.

Inserted as RB/SB, the young man who will be forced to miss to Huronia matchup because he is playing in a U18 Prospects Game in Edmonton this weekend helped the Sudbury offense march into scoring position.

Facing third and five from the York 27, MacDonald found Grossi, who broke a tackle to get the first down and then dragged three Lions with him into the end zone for the game-winning score.

"Every single game, he has a couple of those "WOW" moments," said Desilets with a laugh. Needing one more stop to close out the contest, Niki Sola timed his contact with a Lions' receiver to perfection, forcing an incompletion with Nathan Nadeau stepping in front of a third down pass for the win.

Desilets also noted the sparkplug that was defensive lineman Nick Shakes, providing valuable feedback to the coaching even as his team was challenged to slow down the Lions' running game.

Offensively, Desilets likes what he is seeing in the development of his young quarterback. "This is a faster game than high-school," he said. "Ian just needs to keep learning that we don't need to always force the ball 20 yards downfield."

"With the five yard game, we live to see another play. You can take what's given to you."

While first place is still up for grabs this weekend, the tightness of the race means that although Sudbury is assured a post-season berth, they may be bumped down to the fourth seed if things don't fall their way.

Quinte closes out their schedule against Orangeville, while York and the Sault do battle at Superior Heights Secondary School.