Super Spartans
Oakmont v. Frontier this Saturday
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Staff Reporter

The last time that the Oakmont Varsity Football team played in the Western/Central Massachusetts Division III Superbowl, the members of the Class of 2006 were in the first grade.

Tomorrow, those first graders, with their teammates and coaches, take the field with the hopes and dreams of a championship season.

The Oakmont Spartans face off against Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield at 10 a.m.

The Spartans are 10-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to Clinton by three points in triple overtime. Frontier has an 8-2 record.

"It's our strengths going against their strength," said Head Coach and Athletic Director David LaRoche.

The two teams will challenge each other with speed on offense, he said.

"We have so many weapons and so many skills available to us," LaRoche said. "We're going to spread the ball around. We have a lot of kids that can catch and carry the football."

LaRoche said that the team has done everything it can to prepare for the game.

"We're healthy and that is a big part of it," he said.

Also, the camaraderie the players have developed over the course of the last three months is helping them prepare for this game, according to their coach.

LaRoche said the team is prepared to face their opponents from South Deerfield.

"We have a couple of films on them," he said. "We saw them against Athol. It was an intense game."

Frontier Regional beat Athol to progress to the Superbowl.

Although the weather forecast may call for rain this weekend, LaRoche doesn't believe it will slow the team down.

"It rained in the second half of the Gardner game (on Thanksgiving Day) and we put 21 points on the board," he said.

The Spartans won that game 28-15.

The team has also used the last week to practice on the field at Cushing Academy so players can get used to the synthetic turf, which they will be playing on at Holyoke.

LaRoche said the improved drainage on that synthetic turf field compared to a natural grass field also means the players won't face the typical challenges of a rain game.

The coach planned a practice schedule that he thought would keep the students focused on Saturday, with light practices starting and ending the week. He doesn't think the excitement of playing in their first Superbowl will distract his team.

The Spartans will have a light day on Friday because they have to meet for the bus ride at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday. LaRoche doesn't believe the travel time will affect the players negatively.

"(Frontier Regional) still has to get on the bus, too," he said.