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6 Spartans selected SCIL First Team All Stars Six Spartan standouts have been named to the 2000 Sussex County Interscholastic League All Star First Team as Sparta completed the campaign with an 8-3 overall record, reaching the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey, Section 2, Group III playoffs. Matt Skorupka was accorded honorable mention status. m m

2000 Results 09/08 at Hopatcong 21-7 09/16 LENAPE VALLEY 13-6 09/23 at High Point 43-12 09/29 NEWTON 15-8 10/07 at Pope John 13-19 10/14 WALLKILL VALLEY 21-14 10/21 KITTATINNY 39-0 10/28 at Jefferson 21-13 11/04 at Vernon 7-13 OT 11/11 River Dell 20-7 11/18 at Ramapo 0-28

Spartans ousted from sectional playoffs by Ramapo

By Ron Rowe, Jr. Sparta Coach Pat Shea summed up his team's loss to the Ramapo Raiders Saturday afternoon quite simply. "They were just at another level than us," Shea said. "They're at a level that we want to get to." The Spartans' postseason campaign came to an end in a game that Sparta was simply outmatched by Ramapo. Final score:28-0. Ramapo set the tone of the game on its very first possession. Ramapo's primary offensive weapon was senior running back Chris Scarpelli, and 12 of his 36 carries came on the Raiders opening drive. Scarpelli gained 66 yards on the 17-play, 71-yard drive, and capped off the march with a two-yard touchdown run. The drive lasted nine minutes and gave Ramapo a 7-0 lead. Early in the second quarter, Ramapo extended its lead to 14-0 when senior quarterback Nick Mezzadri connected with junior wide receiver Jeff Miller on a 39-yard scoring pass. Ramapo's offensive dominance was thoroughly established in that telling first quarter. This was in sharp contrast to Sparta's offense, which gained just two yards on three plays in the opening quarter. The Spartans' offensive attack never got untracked all game, as it was neutralized by a physical Ramapo defense. "They (Ramapo) did a good job of taking our pass away," Shea said. "We struggled running the ball, and they defended the pass very well." Ramapo's defense intercepted three passes, registered two sacks, and applied pressure on Sparta quarterback Matt Skorupka all game long. Conversely, Mezzadri was given plenty of time to pass and he delivered with two touchdown passes. His second was to a wide open Scarpelli from 15 yards which closed out Ramapo's first half scoring. Ramapo was heavily assisted on the drive by two 15-yard personal fouls against Sparta. The Spartan defense picked up its level of play in the second half. Scarpelli had torched them for 120 yards on 22 carries in the first half. But, he was limited to 51 yards on 14 carries in the second. Late in the third quarter, Sparta's defense came up big and held Ramapo on a fourth down from their own 32-yard line. The Sparta offense suddenly rose to the occasion itself. Senior running back Ryan Peer took a dump pass from Skorupka and raced 40 yards to the Ramapo 31-yard line. Two plays later, Chris Anzano intercepted a Skorupka pass at the four--yard line snuffing out Sparta's only legitimate scoring threat. Anzano complemented his clutch interception with a 56-yard touchdown run on Ramapo's ensuing possession. At that point, the issue of victory had clearly been settled. It was a season of great accomplishment for the Spartans, in spite of their playoff defeat. Along with Vernon and Pope John, Sparta finished as tri-champions of the Sussex County Interscholastic League. It was the school's first conference title since 1982. Shea credited his veterans. "The seniors did a great job," Shea said. "They worked hard for four years. They put their heart and time into getting ready for this season." Saturday afternoon, their heart and time just wasn't enough against a team that was at a higher level.

Bob Decker's Sparta Preview

Sparta's gridiron hopes rest on seniors

SPARTA -- "The senior football players on Pat Shea's team will have a lot of say in how the squad does this season. And Shea, entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Spartans, has liked what he has seen and heard so far from his upperclassmen. The Spartans lost 11 starters, eight on defense, three on offense from last year's 6-4 team that finished fourth in the Sussex County Interscholastic League behind champion Lenape Valley, Pope John and Vernon. Even with half the starting lineup wiped out by graduation, Shea is still optimistic. "We're looking to improve on last year's performance and we feel our seniors will be the one who take us there," Shea said. "Not only do we have a good nucleus of returning senior starters, but the people who are stepping in are seniors who have been in the program a long time and have a lot of experience with what we are doing. We think we can contend in the SCIL and in the states but we're not dwelling on it ... we're honestly looking at each game as it comes." The offense is led by a senior backfield made up of QB Matt Skorupka (6-3, 225), back to again guide Shea's multiple set attack, fullback Ryan Peer (5-11, 185) and halfbacks Martin Convey (5-11, 185) and Morgan Brazitis (5-8, 150). Convey and Peer led the team in scoring last season as each scored five TDs in a balanced attack. Skorupka had four TDs and Brazitis scored three. The rest of the starting offensive slots will also be manned by seniors. Jim DeStefano (5-8, 145) and Brendon Herrick (5-8, 145) will rotate at split end and Tom Alfsen (6-3, 210) is the tight end. Scott Williams (6-0, 190) and Wayne Rogers (6-1, 230) are the tackles; Brandon Liming (6-1, 220) and Jeff McCarrick (6-1, 195) start at guard; and Alex Greco (6-2, 190) is the center. On Shea's 4-4 defense, Alfsen, Greco and Liming will split time at the two ends and Rogers and senior Tom Cirri (5-10, 190) will man the tackle spots. Peer and soph Jason Cook (5-10, 180) are the inside linebackers and junior Brian Murphy (5-10, 170) and soph Steve Leonard (5-9, 165) are the outside backers. In the secondary, Brazitis is the safety, senior Greg Settineri (5-8, 145) has one corner spot nailed down and Herrick and DeStefano will split time at the other corner. Shea has been pleased with what he has seen in the pre-season, saying his team has improved with every scrimmage. "we're progressing each day and that's important," added Shea. "We haven't taken any steps backward and the kids are eager and ready to go." Shea sees Lenape Valley as being tough again this year and, like a lot of other coaches in SCIL, has a new-found respect for Vernon, a program on the rise. He won't count out Pope John, either, since the Lions and Spartans have been natural cross-town rivals ever since the league was formed . "We have to play Hopatcong first ... and right now that's the team we are concentrating on," Shea stated, half alluding to the 10-0 victory that Hopatcong scored in last year's SCIL opener. "If our seniors play up to their expectations, we'll do fine and we'll let the wins and the losses fall where they may." Shea's assistants for the season include Gene Mendes, Tim Bazzaro, Rob Ambrosino, Sam Slobodzian, Frank Marchiano and Rob Austin.

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