Spartans to play Montville in opener

If you talk to anyone in the Sparta High School football program, they would say the team’s lackluster 4-6 record last year does not tell the full story.

After losing four straight to start the season, a quarterback change and a star transfer sparked a 4-2 finish in the last six games of 2023.

The Spartans look to build on that momentum as they open their season Thursday, Aug. 29 at home against Montville.

After taking over at the helm last year, sophomore quarterback Shane Hoover threw for more than 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in the last six games.

With experience and a full off-season under his belt, the junior may lead the Spartans back to a winning season.

“I expect him to be an All-State player. He’s tall, fast, smart and is a leader,” said head coach Frank Marchiano.

The other midseason change last year was the addition of Luke Brown. Recently committed to attend Monmouth University, he is Sparta’s star on both sides of the ball.

Scoring seven touchdowns in just four games while racking up 46 tackles on the other side of the ball, Brown is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. He will be the focal point of Sparta’s offense this year.

Some consider the defensive side of the ball to be a weakness this off-season. Just looking at scores, it may seem that way, but poor field position and other factors led to points allowed being very high early in the year.

With three three-year starters on the defense - Vinny Rispoli at corner and Hunter Chlodnicki and Brown at inside linebacker, the defense should be pretty stout. It is led by defensive coordinator Andrew Carbone.

Marchiano took over the program more than a decade ago and has brought a lot of success to Sparta, culminating with back-to-back state sectional championships in 2014 and 2015.

While his expectations for this team are high, he is not looking too far ahead.

“You can’t worry about November unless you take care of games one, two and three,” he said.

Opening night against Montville will go a long way in determining how the rest of Sparta’s season will go.

But as the Spartans showed last year, a slow start might not bother them too much.

Marchiano and the rest of the team will take it one game at a time as they try to bring home a sectional championship.