The last great Spartan

2003 was the final season for the Stayner Collegiate Spartans football program.  This ended a 43-year tradition of excellence for the small rural high school of approximately 500 students.  The Spartan program typically operated with only a junior team which was incredibly successful over the years.  The original coach, Ken Leyshon, built the program on the pillars of discipline, hard work, teamwork and accountability.  Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the team won multiple championships.  In the GBSSA era, the school captured Junior titles in 1984, 1988, and 1994.  In each of these years Coach Leyshon was involved, with the ‘88 and ‘94 teams led by his successor, Coach Claude Riopelle.  This is the story of the ‘94 Championship game and one exceptional player.

The Spartans entered the game with a 6-1 regular season record followed by a Semi-Final home playoff rout over a strong Eastview Wildcats team.  The Semi-Final will always be remembered for all the farm machinery which intimidatingly ringed the track during the game.  The Final was against Innisdale Secondary School.  The Invaders were the two-time defending Junior Champions, notched a 28-6 victory over Stayner in the first game of the season, and were undefeated on the year.  Coach Riopelle elected to have the team warm up at Barrie’s Sunnidale Park to improve their pre-game focus.  Ten minutes prior to kickoff the Spartans arrived at a packed Innisdale field supported by two busses of loyal Stayner fans.  The game started out in disastrous fashion.  Innisdale sprinted to a 14-0 lead and recovered a Stayner fumble on the ensuing kickoff.  With the Invaders up two touchdowns and with possession deep in Stayner territory, things looked dire for the Spartans’ chances. Coach Riopelle then took a timeout to exhort the defence to step up and make something happen or the game would be lost.  Two plays later, Middle Linebacker Ryan Lightheart recovered a fumble.  The Spartans then turned to their big third-year veteran fullback, Shane Jennings.  Jennings carried the ball over and over, pounding the Innisdale defence in a clock churning drive which took up most of the remaining time in the first half.  The Spartans punched in the touchdown and entered the half down 14-6 in a game they had been utterly dominated in for the first 22 minutes.  The Spartans got the ball to begin the third quarter and methodically moved down the field with Jennings again busting off successive short, powerful runs that resulted in another touchdown.  The Stayner offence then executed a two-point conversion attempt to tie the game.  For most of the second and third quarters, the high-powered Innisdale offence sat and watched as Jennings and the Spartan Offensive Line took over the game.  The defence got a key stop and the cement roller offence again went to work eating up most of the time in the fourth quarter on a long Jennings led touchdown march.  With less than two minutes remaining, the Invader offence desperately attempted to rally.  However, the Spartan defence held and the upset was complete.

The team celebrated in the change room by shaking up a case of coke which substituted for a champagne celebration.  The school dance the next week honoured the team by playing Queen’s We are the Champions.  Following tradition, the players ordered green leather championship coats and joined the ‘84 and ‘88 teams in the pantheon of Spartan football excellence.  To this day, my leather championship jacket is one of my prized possessions.  I know I would not have it without the contributions of my best friend and our best player; Shane Jennings.

Last weekend we tragically lost Shane to an industrial accident.  He is survived by his wife Sarah and daughter Hope.  Everyone will always remember Shane as caring and friendly with a great sense of humour, calm demeanor and stalwart ability on the football field.   At the end of the ‘94 game Coach Leyshon was on hand to present Shane with the Ken Leyshon game MVP trophy.  He will always be the last great player and MVP to wear the Spartan Green and White.