Sparta in action against Warren Hills in the first round of the playoffs, November 5, 2021 (Source: Hudl)
The Sparta football team won back-to-back North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 titles in 2013 and 2014, beating River Dell both times, but they haven’t been back since.
And after an 0-2 start, the drought could have gone on for another year.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Cutoff Weekend: they won eight of their next nine games to become the third-seed in North 2 Group 3 this year.
Then, they put up 104 points in the first two games of this year’s playoffs, ins wins over Warren Hills and at River Dell, to make it back to the finals again.
Now 8-3, they will meet unbeaten top-seed Cranford (10-0) Friday night at 7 pm with a state title on the line, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, our Big Central Game of the Week, driven by Autoland. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action, with a special, extended pregame starting at 6:30.
Click here to listen live, and for free.
Mike Pavlichko caught up with Sparta head coach Frank Marchiano this week. Click below to listen: