Springfield will compete in the SOL in football this fall for the first time since leaving in 1993. For the latest SOL football news, follow us on Twitter @SOL1FB.
By Scott Huff
Springfield head football coach Chris Shelly is a 1988 graduate of Springfield High School, and the current history teacher at his alma mater remembers his playing days in the Suburban One League.
“I remember it being a great conference,” said Shelly as the football Spartans rejoin the SOL after leaving the league in 1993 and playing the last two seasons in the Bicentennial League. “But the times were different back then.”
Springfield moved out of the SOL for football due to the sheer lack of numbers of males enrolled in the school. And honestly, not much has changed as Springfield will be far below the rest of the teams when it comes to male enrollment (see below).
“We will do our best to compete and just strap it on,” said Shelly, who currently has 38 players on his roster from grades nine to twelve. “Our real issue is with depth. We can go from a senior starting to a freshman starting in a blink of an eye with an injury.
“I have told the players that we are playing football at a different level this year,” added Shelly, who begins his ninth season as head coach of the Spartans. “We have a group of seniors that are used to winning.”
Springfield won the Bicentennial League title last year with an unblemished record of 7-0. The Spartans were 11-1 overall with their only loss coming in a 28-7 loss to West Catholic in the second round of the Class AA playoffs. Springfield scored over 30 points in 10 of its 11victories last year.
The last two seasons the Spartans were a successful 12-2 in Bicentennial League play.
“We were playing schools like us with a small school population,” said Shelly. “But we are no longer playing those people. The school is moving in a different direction.”
The members of the Bicentennial League last season were Calvary Christian, Delco Christian, Jenkintown, New Hope-Solebury, Bristol, Morrisville, and Lower Moreland. Calvary Christian, Delco Christian, Jenkintown, Bristol, and Morrisville are all Class A schools. New Hope-Solebury, Lower Moreland, and Springfield were Class AA schools.
The new neighborhood for the Spartans is the Suburban One League American Conference. That conference includes five Class AAAA schools in Cheltenham, Wissahickon, Norristown, Upper Dublin, and Plymouth Whitemarsh. Upper Moreland and Upper Merion are both Class AAA schools.
“We are going to have to grow up fast,” said Shelly. “This football program isn’t going to back down at this point, and our goal this year will be the same as last year – win a championship.
“The season within a season is the AA playoffs that take place at the end of the season,” added Shelly. “If we can beat the teams in our conference – all of which are all triple A or four A schools – we should get a lot of points toward getting into those playoffs. But we need to stay healthy.”
The Spartans’ non-league schedule includes a season opener against Nativity BVM from Pottsville (Class A), Neuman-Goretti (Class AA), Academy of the New Church (Class A), and Lower Moreland (Class AA).
“A positive thing to come about with the move back to the Suburban One League is that we can schedule Lower Moreland for a Thanksgiving Day game,” continued Shelly. “That will be a great thing for both the players and the community. All in all, I’m cautiously optimistic about the season.”
With a huge emphases on ‘cautiously’.
The following is a list of male enrollment for the 2012 football season in the Suburban One League.
Suburban One League American Conference
Norristown – 774
Plymouth Whitemarsh – 601
Upper Dublin – 584
Cheltenham – 562
Wissahickon – 558
Upper Merion – 448 (AAA)
Upper Moreland – 414 (AAA)
Springfield – 250 (AA)
Suburban One League National Conference
Pennsbury – 1324
Neshaminy – 1221
Abington- 960
Bensalem – 941
Harry S Truman – 899
Council Rock South – 818
Council Rock North – 764
William Tennent – 592
Suburban One League Continental Conference
North Penn – 1575
Souderton – 1078
Pennridge – 1057
Central Bucks South – 978
Central Bucks East – 804
Central Bucks West – 711
Hatboro-Horsham – 642
Quakertown – 622
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