Spears squad
young and talented: coach; Team has lost just three of 32 games the past
three seasons
Posted By BERNIE PUCHALSKI
Since winning the Ontario
Varsity Football League championship in their inaugural season in 2005,
rebuilding has not been in the Niagara Spears' vocabulary. During the
past three seasons, the team has lost only three of its 32 games and it
has been more reload than rebuild. But 2008 is different for the Niagara
Spears as they head into their season opener Saturday at Mississauga
against the defending champions. With stars such as Ryan Chmielewski,
Jed Gardner, Matt Snyder, Brett Maitland, Jerimy Hipperson, James Savoie
and others lost to graduation, head coach Dave Howe is no longer able to
pencil his squad in as an immediate contender. "I definitely think this
is a rebuilding year for us. We graduated quite a few impact players
that could have came back but didn't because they were playing CIS
(Canadian Interuniversity Sport) football." But that doesn't mean the
Spears will be content to be a middle-of-the-pack squad. "What I have
here is just as athletic a team as last year but they are more green. My
expectations are early mistakes and bringing them up to speed towards
the end of the season." One player Howe expects to hit the turf running
is wide receiver Gary Spero. Spero was the wide receiver MVP of the OVFL
junior loop in 2007 and caught 17 TD passes for the Spears over the last
two years. In 2007, he had 26 catches for 490 yards and was also in the
top 10 in kick and punt returns. "We expect him to step up quite a bit
and be an impact player for us this year," Howe said. He describes Spero
as a leader who works hard and has a great attitude. "Certain receivers
have a next gear to get to the ball and that's what he has. Plus, he has
fantastic hands."
Since helping Sir Winston Churchill to a
Division 2 crown last fall, Spero has been working out in the gym
three or four times a week. He has also enlisted the services of a
personal trainer to improve his speed and conditioning. He has already
dropped his time in the 40-yard dash to 4.7 from 4.84 seconds.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has been arguably
the best running back in Division 2 football over the past two seasons
but is content to play wide receiver for the Spears. "I enjoy playing
running back better but I understand my build is more of a receiver at
the next level." The next level referred to by the 17-year-old is the
CIS where Guelph, Queen's, McMaster, Western, Acadia and the University
of Manitoba have already expressed interest in his services. He has yet
to be accepted at any Canadian university and may return for another
year of high school. "I'd like to go to university as early as I can but
it won't be a letdown if I don't. I will get bigger and it will be
another year of football experience." But before he even thinks about
what's next, he's concentrating on helping the senior Spears succeed.
"There's definitely a lot of pressure on us to continue winning. Most of
the other teams in the league look down on us and don't expect us to do
well because of all the players we've lost," Spero said. He should get
plenty of opportunities to catch balls because of the squad's powerful
offensive line and the talent at quarterback with returning co-starter
Nick Coutu and Lakeshore Catholic star Jack Creighton. Other key members
of the offence are: centre Kevin Wassill from Sir Winston Churchill;
running back Devon Egerter from St. Paul; fullback Andrew Barry from
Blessed Trinity; and, fullback Nick Moreau from Stamford. In charge of
the offence will be Larry Bone, the QB/receiver coach last year. "It
will be an easy transition," Howe said. He expects Bone to take a
slightly different approach than his predecessor Adam Cook. "We will
probably see a little more passing but it will still be our same
offence." There will be more motion from the quarterbacks but the Spears
will continue with their bread and butter - a strong running game.
"We're young, but strong," Howe said. On defence, four starters are
back. Expected to be key contributors are: cornerback Andrew Meyer, a
St. Francis graduate; safeties Jordan Duncan from Blessed Trinity and
Ryan Miller from Denis Morris; and, linebacker Adam Grilj from Blessed
Trinity. First-time starters who are being counted on to shine are: Sir
Winston Churchill's Ryan Saunders at halfback, Lakeshore Catholic's Mike
Millar and Denis Morris graduate Roman Zanatta at linebacker. "We have
four returning starters and the rest are new. We do a lot of rotating
and we will have a lot of guys on the field who are green to the OVFL,"
Howe said. But he's not worried. "We will be as good as any Spears
defence by the end of the season. They just need reps."
bpuchalski@stcatharinesstandard.ca
