Ever since the use of an ineligible player cost the team three victories and a chance to earn a berth in the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 1 football playoffs last year, the St. Anthony Friars have been determined to put that misfortune far into ancient history.
“We wanted to leave the past in the past,” said junior running back/linebacker Jidamon Sparkman. “That was last year. This was a new year. But I have to admit that it hurt having those games taken away last year.”
So when the Friars took on Hudson Catholic last Saturday night in a driving rainstorm, it was a chance for redemption. A win would clinch a berth into the state playoffs in just the second year of varsity football.
“We really didn’t beat a team of the higher caliber yet,” Sparkman said. “We had to show everybody that we had a good football team. Our mind set was simple. We wanted to make the state playoffs and this game gave us the opportunity to shoot for it.”
St. Anthony first-year head coach Sean Fallon didn’t have to tell the players the importance of Saturday’s game.
“Our kids aren’t stupid,” Fallon said. “They knew what was at stake. We knew we needed at least one win to get into the playoffs, but we’re also thinking about a home game. We also knew that we had three games on our schedule that were big, Lincoln, Hoboken and Hudson Catholic. We had to get one of those three.”
The Friars had already dropped hard-fought contests to both Lincoln and Hoboken, so the game against the Hawks, who just last year played for the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 2 state championship, was the last chance.
“It’s what we really wanted,” Fallon said.
However, Fallon didn’t like his team’s chances when the skies opened late Saturday afternoon and the rains started to pound the ground and flood the area.
“We thought we were going to have to throw the ball to be successful,” Fallon said. “When we got to the field, it was a monsoon. It was thundering and there was lightning. I was really hoping that they might call the game.”
The Friars have been depending upon their passing attack, spearheaded by talented quarterback Sylvester Wright, who has already had some big games this season, including one 300-yard performance against Hoboken.
“But once the rain started and coming down hard, I didn’t know,” Fallon said. “I wondered how we were going to win.”
Fallon had another dilemma other than the weather. Because of injury, he was going to have to start three freshmen along the line.
So it heightened the importance of having a good running game. Sparkman took that as a challenge.
“I knew that I needed to have a big game for us to win,” Sparkman said.
The talented junior, who is drawing raves as one of the top underclassmen in the state, has shown some flashes of brilliance as a running back, but mostly, Sparkman has frustrated Fallon with his impromptu running style.
“He would get the ball and basically ad lib,” Fallon said. “He wouldn’t follow the blocks. He would just take the ball and take off. But we have a very specific offense with a lot of pulling and trapping in our blocking schemes. Jidamon had to trust his linemen to make blocks and follow the holes.”
“Basically, a lot of times, I am trying to make something myself instead of following the blocking,” Sparkman said. “I know that the coaches get upset by that, but I’m just trying to make a play.”
With the rain falling down, Sparkman could no longer be an improvisational back. He had to follow the game plan.
“He was putting his head down and running forward,” Fallon said. “He was making holes on his own. It was amazing to see. He should have been doing that all year. He’s always had the talent, but his whole life has been flipping him the ball and watching him go. He can’t do that on the high school level. It doesn’t work that way. But Jidamon was a different runner on Saturday.”
The results were staggering. Sparkman rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns, leading the Friars to a 30-0 whitewashing of the Hawks and with it, they clinched the program’s first-ever football state playoff berth.
For his efforts, Sparkman has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Not only did Sparkman have a brilliant game offensively, but he keyed the shutout from his linebacker position, making 10 tackles.
“He was all over the field on defense as well,” Fallon said. “This was definitely his coming-out party. He wanted the ball on offense and did what he was supposed to do. He dominated on defense. He’s shown flashes of it and made a few plays, but this was his first real all-around game. He put the team on his back and carried us to a win.”
Sparkman is a native of the Bergen-Lafayette section in Jersey City who played Jersey City Recreation football.
But as everyone knows, St. Anthony is more recognized for its incredible boys’ basketball program, the one with 24 state championships and three national crowns.
Sparkman was a basketball player when he entered the tiny school on Eighth Street in downtown Jersey City and was still a member of the Friars’ junior varsity squad last year.
However, the basketball days might be a thing of the past.
“I think this year, it will be strictly football,” Sparkman said. “I also may run track and hit the weight room to get better in football. I liked basketball growing up, but football is my future.”
Football is also in his blood. That’s because Ferris’ standout two-way player Bryant Worts is Sparkman’s cousin.
Sparkman knows that he now has a bright future in football, especially after being ranked by some recruiting services as one of the top juniors in the state.
“I didn’t even know that, but that definitely motivates me,” Sparkman said. “I didn’t even know I was being watched, but that’s good. It makes me want to work harder.”
Fallon knows that Sparkman has a long way to go.
“I spoke to him about the way he’s being watched now,” Fallon said. “The college coaches are very meticulous about their films. I explained to him that he has to follow the plays, because the college coaches know. If he doesn’t, they might not want him.”
Right now, the Friars are glad they have that kind of spark from Sparkman, because without him coming through in the rain, the state playoffs might still be an elusive dream instead of now being an etched-in-stone reality.
“It was very encouraging the way he carried us,” Fallon said.
“I can’t be satisfied with just one game,” Sparkman said. “I can’t be happy with 100 yards and two touchdowns. I have to back this game up and elevate everything about my game.”
And just maybe, Jidamon Sparkman needs a little more rain in the future. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.