Spartans football dominates in preseason, prepares for home opener

The Strathmore Spartans High School Football Team dominated in its preseason game against McCoy, cruising to a 41-0 win.

While Head Coach Danny Warrack was happy to see the win, his initial impression was that there is still a lot of work to be done, and the Spartans can't get complacent just because of a big win in the preseason.

"I wasn't overly happy with our performance, we had a lot of dumb penalties, we had three or four big drops that would've either been big yards or touchdowns, but at times we looked really good and at times it looked like we have a lot of work to do. It was mostly discipline, things like that we need to clean up," he said.

Warrack's critical look at what many would consider an outstanding game sets the tone for this season, as Warrack wants to take the Spartans to even greater heights after last year's provincial championship appearance.

"I told them back in spring camp: expectations are high. And get used to it, it's always going to be that way."

Warrack naturally had plenty of positive things to say too, as a 41-0 win means you have to be doing something right. Among them was the defense's shutout, quarterback Dylan Elliott's solid performance (10/22 215 yards 2 TDs), Bodey Pettifer hauling in 6 passes for 116 yards and  2 TDs, and Porter Zaugg flying all over defense for 9.5 tackles. Perhaps the most impressive thing was punter Hunter Corbin recovering 2 of his own punts to score for touchdowns, which Warrack says is exactly the type of hustle and determination he wants to see the team play with.

The Spartans will look to carry this momentum into their home opener this Friday, September 1, against the Cardston Cougars. Warrack says the Cougars are a strong team so he expects a hard-fought, competitive battle. He urges everyone to come cheer the Spartans on, as the home crowd momentum makes a big difference.

"Football is a game that runs on momentum, and if you get rolling good for a couple of drives and the crowd is behind you, that can help bring players to another level or continue to keep the level they had with a good crowd."

Beating the Cougars will take tough, disciplined, football, and Warrack added the Spartans will have to win at least 2/3 of the game's main phases, being offense, defense, and special teams.

The Spartans kick off their season at 5:00 p.m. on September 1 at the Strathmore High School's football field. Concession will be available and attendance is free, so Warrack hopes to see a strong crowd there to hopefully celebrate an opening night win.

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