The start of the 2024 summer season of football has been somewhat chaotic for the Sudbury Spartans - to say the least.
With some butting of the heads taking place off the field with the various NFC (Northern Football Conference) franchises, the Spartans and the troika of the Sarnia Imperials, Tri City Outlaws and Sault Steelers branched off to form the Ontario Power 5 Football League.
Unfortunately, the Sudbury offense embraced that sense of chaos far more than head coach Junior Labrosse likely would have liked in the team's opening encounter as the Spartans dropped a 22-6 decision to the visiting Steelers Saturday night at the James Jerome Sports Complex.
Struggling to find their rhythm through much of the game, the Sudbury attack was either challenged with stringing together some first downs (they had but three in the entire first half) or punching it home when the opportunity would arise.
Either way, the extra pressure on their defense would eventually allow the Steelers to break through in a game that featured just a single point through much of the opening half.
A single from punter Brady Smith on the final play of quarter one would stand as the only scoring until the Sault converted on the battle of field position closer to half-time as quarterback Ryan Yost connected with Liam McFayden from nine yards out, one of only four receptions that the visitors recorded the entire night.
The Spartans looked poised to infringe on the 8-0 SSM lead, stringing together a march late that had them sitting first and goal inside the ten but were unable to get it over the goal line, despite having two cracks from the one.
That would prove especially costly when Michael Reid returned the opening kickoff of the second half 87 yards, with Smith making it a 15-0 game with a successful point after attempt.
For as much as the Spartans moved the ball better in the final thirty minutes - they would add 12 more first downs to their total - it was the Steelers who would tack on another major early in the fourth as Michael Reid scrambled in from the six, not long after a 36 yard scamper gave his team outstanding field position on his best carry of the game.
The Spartans finally broke the goose-egg in the dying minutes as pivot Adam Rocha was able to exploit a short passing game, capping things off with a two yard TD pass to Owen Ingrim after finding Zack Primeau (9 and 11 yards), Carter Will (17) and Carson MacNeil (10) open in the flats a bit earlier.
Luke Crepeau was the workhorse in the backfield for Sudbury, carrying the ball 18 times for 59 yards as Rocha aired it out far more frequently (21/42 - 155 yards), especially in the second half.
Defensively, Erik Conrad was again a monster in the middle of the Sudbury linebacking corps, racking up 7.5 tackles to finish well ahead of Carter Will (3.5) and the trio of Bryce Desabrais, Andrew Gillis and Andrew St Amour (all with three tackles) at the top of that statistical category.
Opening the season with a three-game homestand before closing things out with an equal number of encounters on the road, the Spartans are back at home next Saturday facing the Sarnia Imperials at 7:00 p.m.