Spackenkill Football Season Update

Pavan Naidu knew his team needed to focus. After a lackluster performance the week before, the Spackenkill Spartans football team’s critics were skeptical that the team could achieve what would arguably be one of the biggest wins in school history.

Sloppy special teams play and an out-of-sync offense marred a strong defensive showing for the Spartans as they won an ugly 28-20 game over an outmanned Rondout Valley. “Our team definitely did not play to its potential,” said offensive and defensive lineman Zach Short, “We weren’t focused at all, we thought we were going to roll right past Rondout with no problem.” Short went on to say that the team lacked intensity for the last three quarters of the game.

One season-long criticism of the Spartans is their lack of intensity against weaker opponents. Taking opponents for granted has been an Achilles heel for the Spartans this season.

In the second game of the season, Spackenkill traveled to Middletown to play Goshen, a team that was not supposed to contend with the Spartans. Poor execution and sloppy first-half play neutralized an inspired second half comeback that fell just short in the Spartans only loss of the season, a 21-19 upset victory for the Gladiators.

Fast-forward two weeks, the Spartans travel to Onteora to battle the lowly Indians. Although the Spartans come away with an easy 29-0 victory, the game was plagued by penalties and sloppiness. Four touchdowns were called back on penalties and Spackenkill’s critics were not impressed at all, as the Spartans were left out of the Section IX Top Ten poll, despite beating perennial powerhouse Marlboro the previous week.

So what would be the Spartans mindset coming going into their showdown with defending Section IX champion New Paltz?

“Every day I come into [practice] like it’s a new day, as a senior I don’t have many days left so I know that I have to bring the same intensity if not more because I know that I need to help my team,” Naidu says. “I know I’m not the best player, so me working my hardest makes me feel that I can help my teammates around me.”

This is a shared attitude among the Spartan players. Their main strength this season has been the intangibles: team chemistry and a sense of brotherhood.

The Spartans went into New Paltz and spoiled their homecoming as Short, Naidu, and company overcame an early score to win comfortably 26-6, clinching their first league title since 2002. Short finished with eight tackles, while Naidu wrapped up thirteen, including a huge tackle for a loss in which he penetrated the line of scrimmage and tackled not only star running back Kariff LaBoy, but the offensive lineman trying to block him as well.

Even though the Spartans seemed to lack intensity for three of their seven games, second-year coach Clinton DeSouza has been able to keep his players focused for big games. Nobody expected Spackenkill, a team mostly irrelevant for the past eight seasons, to sneak up on league powerhouses Marlboro, Red Hook, and New Paltz. Spackenkill outscored these opponents 81-33 with victories of 21-6, 34-21, and 26-6 respectively. “We were overlooked every game.” Says Naidu, “Every team downplayed us and everyone hated us. [We took it as] extra drive, and I know we are the best team in the league.”