Cross town rivals Dartmouth High Spartans and Prince Andrew Panthers set to kick off the NSSAFFL regular season Thursday night

The Prince Andrew Panthers and Dartmouth High Spartans are starting off the Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation Football League (NSSAFFL) season with a bang.The crosstown rivals will face off against each other the first game of the Nova Division regular season tonight at Burnside Turf.  Kickoff is slated for 7:00pm.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to kick-off the Nova Scotia high school football season, and we hope to put on a good show for those in attendance,” comments Dartmouth High Spartans head Coach Nick Barr of the matchup.

Even though this is only the first game of the season, both teams want to have a great showing.

“This is our rivalry game so the outcome is extremely important not only to the football teams, but to the students of both schools,” explains the Spartans head coach.  “The first game of the season sets the stage for the rest of the year, and it’s our first opportunity to show the league what we bring to the table so we consider this game to be absolutely critical.”

As for the Prince Andrew Panthers, this game will serve as a measuring stick of where their team is at early in the season.

“This is a game that will resemble more of a test of us,” comments Panthers head coach Joe Flemming.  “It will be a demonstration of what they’ve learned and retained over the last few weeks.”

“This game will help us identify the strengths and weaknesses that we need to work on going forward.”

While the Panthers will be evaluating their team’s performance on the field, pulling out a win against their cross town’s rival would increase the team’s confidence.

“Win or lose, us coaches will be evaluating more than just the final result; however, the win would be a welcomed addition and a huge boost going forward,” says the Panthers head coach.  “I expect both teams to be excited and pumped for this game.”

When it comes to actual game execution plans, the Spartans plan to expose, yet capitalize on the Panthers weaknesses with the goal of winning the game on Thursday night.

“Offensively, we are going to force Prince Andrew to defend the entire field both vertically and horizontally,” discusses Barr of the team’s execution strategy.  “We will force them to respect the run and pass.”

“Defensively, we plan to shut down the run and create turnovers.”

There are two Panthers players that the Spartans will be keeping their eye on while trying to contain throughout the entire game- Nate Skeete and Riley Potter.

“We know that they are a dangerous combination who can make big plays on the offensive side of the ball, and we will do our best to minimize those opportunities,” adds Barr.

On the other hand, the Spartans will be relying on major contributions from quarterback Cody Cluett, defensive back/receiver Jesse Rudel, linebacker/offensive lineman Kevin James, receiver/linebacker Nathan O’Quinn-Wentzel and fullback Travis Stanfield.  On the injury front, the Spartans will be without the services of receiver Scott Kendall who is out with a sprained ankle.

The Panthers will count on their veterans to lead the team while trying to eke out a victory on Thursday night.

“We expect our veteran players to help our newer players get used to the taste of competition, all the while laying it all on the line in an effort to start our season off with a win,” says Flemming.

While both teams says this is a friendly rivalry, this game is the most important yet most hyped-up one of each team’s respective regular seasons.

“There is a lot of competitiveness between these teams and lots of friends between them as well so I expect a clean, fun high octane game,” explains Flemming.

Barr echoes the sentiments of Flemming.

“This is the game that gets circled on the calendar every season as it is the most talked about and well-attended game for both teams,” comments Barr.  “Essentially, the winner of this game has bragging rights as the best football team in Dartmouth, so this one means a lot to our players and coaches.”

“This is also our opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league about who we are, and what we stand for, so it’s important that we play well.”

However, the Spartans also have tons of respect for their opponents and look forward to facing off against them on Thursday night.

“Despite the friendly rivalry, we have the utmost respect for the Prince Andrew High School football program,” says the Spartans head coach.  “They have an excellent coaching staff, and they play the game with integrity and respect.”

“I wish Coach Flemming, his staff, and players the best of luck on Thursday, and we look forward to a hard-fought contest.”

Traditionally, this crosstown matchup used to be played on Turkey Bowl weekend on the NSSAFFL schedule.  Due to circumstances, it has not been played on that weekend for the last few years.  It is the hope that a great game on Thursday night will force the league to reconsider putting it back on the Turkey Bowl schedule in future years.

“I hope the fans of both teams really enjoy an opportunity to see their teams’ plays in a clean, fun healthy rivalry,” explains Flemming.  “If we can keep it safe and exciting, we’ll be one step closer to getting our historic Turkey Bowl back on the schedule in the not so distant future.”

(twitter: http://twitter.com/vohra_ameeta)

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

Leave a Reply