Where the age gap from youngest to oldest on either of the Sudbury Spartans OSFL (Ontario Summer Football League) youth teams might max out at perhaps three to four years, such is certainly not the case with the squad where those who decide to continue playing ultimately gather.
Greybeards of the local entry into the OP5FL (Ontario Power 5 Football League) - formerly the Northern Football Conference - will often venture into their forties, all the while boarding a bus for a road trip with perhaps a small handful of young teammates who have not yet reached the provincial drinking age.
In some years, this gap can prove problematic. Not with the 2026 Sudbury Spartans however.
"The young guys are meshing with the older players and vice-versa," noted Sudbury head coach Junior Labrosse on Sunday.
In fact, in many ways, it is the very manner in which those two factions complement each other that has been critical to a Sudbury record of 5-0 following a 40-0 win this past weekend at home over the Tri-City Outlaws.
Back to back season opening victories over the Sault Steelers (30-9) and the Outlaws (45-7) were encouraging, but the follow-up run of games with the Sault on the road (52-0), the Sarnia Imperials in Sudbury (35-0) and the rematch with Tri-City have taken the excitement surrounding the team to a whole new level.
As for the co-existence of old and new, consider for a moment that league leading scorer Braedan Beggs, who added a TD, FG and five PATs to his season output, along with another 163 yards rushing, is piling up the yards behind an offensive line that includes athletes who were cutting their teeth in men's football at the same time Beggs was playing in the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League ranks.
Just a year removed from his high-school days, former SDSSAA league MVP Steven Sola returned a punt 79 yards to give the Spartans a 10-0, all while also manning his post at safety behind a defensive unite that features the likes of Eric Breau (College Notre-Dame - 2007), Erik Conrad (St Charles College - 2008) and Andrew Gillis (Lockerby Vikings - 2010).
The remaining Spartans scoring came courtesy of Owen Ingram (1 yard pass from Adam Rocha), Jesse Shoults (1 yard run) and Dalton Wilcox (45 yard pass from Rocha).
Defensively, linebacker Andrew Kilby led the way with 5.5 tackles, with Declan Eldridge, Tyson McFadden and Andrew Gillis all bunched in at three. Labrosse, for one, has no issue whatsoever will the workload being shared across an entire defensive unit that has been nothing short of sensational this year.
"In the past, we might have been weaker in certain spots so Eric Conrad would really stand out, or another player would really stand out," said Labrosse. "Now, I would say there are 12 alpha dogs out there."
"We're really well balanced defensively at pretty much every spot."
And given the horses at his disposal, defensive coordinator Eric Paquette (not the former CND running back) has been able to work his magic in his third year on this staff.
"He has a great defensive mind and the guys respect what he's doing," said Labrosse. "The systems are there and he always comes up with a game plan."
The Spartans are on the road this weekend, facing a 2-2 Burlington Longhorns team that have won two straight after dropping game two by just one point to the Sarnia Imperials.
