GameDay ScoreBoard

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

11/1/2007 - Spartan tailback, Troy Bell was electrifying as Start won their 7th game of the season, and their 4th straight Hall of Fame Bowl in six years. Bell carried the ball 28 times for 263 yards and one touchdowns, as Brad Leestma only threw the ball 16 times, but connected on 11 for 144-yards.

   Start fumbled away their first three opportunities inside the Eagles 15-yardline, only to follow with four consecutive touchdown drives. Deonte Fuller scored first on a 1-yard run to take Start into halftime tied at 7. Leestma capped off a 55-yard drive with a 7-yard run of his own to give the Spartans their first lead of the night. Tailback, Troy Bell moved the Spartans down the field and finished a 81-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. Wide receiver, Derrick Rodgers finished the scoring with a 17-yard slant route to put Start up 28-14 in the fourth quarter. The Spartans finish the season with 7 wins, the most since 1998. Gucciardo's Spartans have now beat Rogers High School twice (2002. 2006) and Clay High School twice (2003, 2007) in four City-League Hall of Fame games.

Spartans host the Clay Eagles in Season Finale Thursday Night

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/31/2007 - Live, on BCSN, the annual Toledo City League Hall of Fame Game will kick-off tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at Spartan Stadium. Once again, Start will feature the City League's top 4 offensive weapons. Wide receivers, London Norton (36 rec. for 589, 9 TDs) and Derrick Rodgers (37 rec. for 725, 6 TDs) will threaten the Eagle secondary throughout the night, while the leagues leading rusher, Troy Bell (176 carries, 1,154 yards, 11 TDs) will control the ground game. Quarterback, Brad Leestma (139/232 for 2,021 yards, 19 TDs) will finish his illustrious career at Start High School as the All-Time leading passer in Toledo history (Leestma career: 424/691 for 6,344 yards, 50 TDs).

   Clay will not be short-handed though, the Eagles have some excellent offensive weapons as well. Tailback, Nick Tammerine, has been near the league-leaders for the past two seasons. Wide receivers, Jordan Kovacks and Frankie Kouts have also put up some impressive numbers this season. Tickets on sale at SHS this week and at the gate. Kickoff 7:00 pm.

Fun-n-Gun Offense too much for Bulldogs, Start Wins Big 47-18

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/27/2007 -The Spartans offense proved too much for Scott as Start amassed 557 total yards, including 257 on the ground. Start's Troy Bell led all rushers with 156 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns coming from 5 and 39 yards away.

   Quarterback, Brad Leestma had another electrifying day completing 16-of-20 passes for 267 yards with TD passes to wide-outs, Ben Thiede and Derrick Rodgers, and tight-end Marcus Whittington-Clark.

   Hank Oswald also caught a TD pass from Josh Giles and Deonte Fuller ran two yards to score for Start (6-4, 5-2 CL).

   Scott (1-9, 0-7) got scores from Daniel Carouthers on a 19-yard run, Damon McCall on a six-yard run, and by Angelo Snow who took a pass interception back 39 yards. The Spartans defense held Scott to 171-yards in total offense while intercepting two passes, and recovering 3 fumbles.

   Start will host Clay (6-4, 5-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday Night in the Hall of Fame game. At halftime, the all-academic players from each CL school will be recognized. Support: Toledo Blade

Spartans take on Scott, Saturday 2:30

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/26/2007 - The Spartans will head out on the road tomorrow afternoon to take on the Scott Bulldogs for the final regular season game of the season. Scott comes in to tomorrows game with a 1-8 record as the Spartans are still hoping for their first playoff bid in school history. The Bulldogs will feature their top performer, quarterback Jeremiah Davis, who has rushed 84 times for 587 yards. The Spartans will rely on another stellar defensive performance, as they have recorded 2 shutouts in the past 3 ball games.  Gates will be open at 1:30.

Leestma Continues to Impress

By Donald Emmons

Blade Sports Writer

10/25/07 - Leestma, a three-year starter at Start, will leave his mark as one of the City League’s all-time best passers.
   He has already thrown for 47 touchdowns in his career, which is a City League record, breaking the old mark of 39 set by Mike Berman, his predecessor at Start.
    Leestma also has set the CL record with 6,065 passing yards. The 6-1, 175-pounder has passed for 1,738 yards and 16 TDs this season.
Start coach Pat Gucciardo appreciates having had the opportunity to coach Leestma.
   “I’ve been fortunate because he is a tremendous quarterback,” Gucciardo said. “He’s a great leader. He has responded to my demands and I demand a great deal. He has responded so well ever since he was a sophomore.”
    Leestma, who has received some interest from MAC schools, including UT, said he’s been the beneficiary of playing in a system that is complementary to his skills.
“It’s the fun-and-gun offense and we usually try to pass the ball to set up the run,” Leestma said. “If you like to throw the football it’s an offense every quarterback would love.”
    Leestma recently showed his skills under fire when he led the Spartans to a come-from-behind 28-23 victory over St. John’s Jesuit. Start trailed 16-7 at the half before Leestma rallied the Spartans back by throwing for a pair of touchdowns in the second half.
Gucciardo believes his quarterback has the talent to continue producing such passing heroics at the college level.
    “Our offense is a college offense, inside and out,” Gucciardo said. “There is not a throw he can’t make.”   

-Full article

Leestma surpasses 6,000 Career Passing Yards for Spartans

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER
10/24/2007 -  Throughout the weeks, quarterback, Brad Leestma has been separating himself further and further from any other quarterback in Toledo history. In Friday's game against St. John's, Leestma needed only 93 passing yards to reach 6,000 for his career for the Spartans. Leestma connected on 11 of 20 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns to teammate London Norton. Brad is also approaching 50 career touchdown passes as he currently sits on 47 with at least two games to go.
     Leestma and the Spartans will play it's final regular season game this weekend at Scott High School against the Bulldogs on Saturday (October 26) afternoon at 2:30. The Spartans still have an outside shot at the Ohio State playoffs, but will need help. If they fall short of the playoffs, the Spartans will host the Toledo City League's Hall of Fame Game on Thursday Night (November 1st) at 7:00 pm.

Spartans Dominate St. John's as Defense Allows Only 5 First Downs
By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/20/2007 -  The Start student section flooded the field as time ticked off the clock at Spartan Stadium as their Spartans pulled off a huge win against City-League rival, St. John's 28-23. "Our defense was spectacular, Coach Rose and his defensive staff did a great job preparing our players for this game", Said Coach Gucciardo.

    Start got on the board first as quarterback, Brad Leestma hit London Norton on a perfect 8-yard corner route, which was set up by a muffed St. John's punt on the Titan 7 yard line. St. John's tied the score at 7, when Tim Kynard scooped up a controversial Leestma fumble from a sack and ran 58 yards. That was followed by a 46-yard pass play from Rick Rattay to Mike White. "Leestma was obviously down, but these are things we cannot control, and we must regroup and get those points back", said Spartan Head Coach, Pat Gucciardo. "I was very proud of the way our kids responded and didn't get down after some early setbacks".

   The Titans ended the first half by blocking a Spartan punt through the back of the end zone for a safety, and led 16-7 at the intermission.

    After the break, the Spartans defense completely dominated the rest of the game. Titan quarterbacks, Rick Rattey and Walt Anderson were harassed and sacked for 2 straight quarters, as the Spartans forced 5 turnovers including another Ben Thiede interception. Quarterback, Brad Leestma (11/20 158-yards, 2 TDs) wasted no time getting the Spartans on the board as he hit London Norton on another corner route from 15-yards out. This score was set up by a 42-yard pass play from Leestma to Troy Bell. The next score came after another Titan fumble, as tailback, Troy Bell made a "house-call" from 28-yards away, putting the Spartans up 21-16.

    Start got their last score on a 1-yard touchdown run from Junior running back, Deonte Fuller, which was set up by a perfect 23-yard strike from Leestma to teammate Derrick Rodgers (4 receptions, 61 yards). The Titans after punting 9 times on the evening, got on the board one last time on a pass play from Walt Anderson to Mike Weiher. Start will play the Scott Bulldogs next Saturday afternoon at 2:30, as St. John's will face St. Francis next Friday night.

Start, St. John's tied for 3rd, Face Off Tonight at Spartan Stadium
By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER
10/19/2007 -  The Spartans will play their final home game of the 2007 season against City-League rival, St, John's at Spartan Stadium. The two teams come into tonight's contest tied for 3rd behind Whitmer and Central Catholic. Once again, the Spartans will feature the area's best quarterback (Brad Leestma) and the TCL's third best rusher (Troy Bell). The Spartan defense is still riding high after recording two consecutive shutouts coming into tonight's game. Gates open at 6:00 pm.
     Start will play it's final regular season game next weekend against Scott on Saturday (October 26) afternoon at 2:30 at Scott High School.

Spartans Quarterback, Brad Leestma Closing in 6,000 Career Passing Yards

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/17/2007 - Spartans senior, Brad Leestma has been the starting quarterback for Start High School since his 5th game of his sophomore season, but saw his first varsity action as a freshman. The young QB was thrown into varsity action in a blowout game against Woodward in 2004. Brad completed 2 passes to then sophomore receiver, Sherrod Thompson for 61 yards. In 2005, Brad threw his first touchdown pass against Canton McKinley (56 yards to James Buckingham) in week 1 at Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio). Leestma later moved into a starting roll during week 4 as quarterback, Mike Berman (University of Chicago) suffered a severe shoulder injury. Brad went on to lead the league in passing with 1,791 yards and 14 touchdown passes as a sophomore. Leestma continued to lead the city in passing in 2006 and led the Spartans to a 6-5 record and a Hall of Fame Game victory against Rogers (28-21), on the last series of the game, with a 26-yard touchdown pass to LJ Jones.

    Currently, Leestma is leading the City again for the third consecutive season, and has amassed 5,903 yards passing and 45 touchdowns amongst his illustrious career at Start High School. With at least two games to go in the 2007 season, Brad will surely break the 6,000-yard mark and set a new standard for Spartan quarterbacks, which is already extremely high.

    Leestma and the Spartans will play their final home game this Friday night against City-League rival, St. John's (3-2, 6-2). The Titans will bring in one of the leagues best running backs in DaJon Booth (104 carries for 720 yards) and a solid defense which is only allowing 17.4 points per game. Tickets for Friday's game will be on sale all week at Start High School and at the gate.

Spartans Defense makes Statement, and Records Second Straight Shutout

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

Toledo City League      1     2       3      4       F
Start Spartans (3-2)      8    15     14      7      44
Libbey Cowboys (2-3)   0     0       0      0       0

10/12/2007 - In front of a capacity home crowd, the Spartans handed Libbey (3-5, 2-3) its worst loss of the season in recording its second shutout of the year. Start's defense allowed a 231 yards of total offense, but stood strong at key moments to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone for the first time this season.

   Start (4-4, 3-2) connected twice on touchdown passes from Brad Leestma to Ben Thiede of 48 and 40 yards. "Thiede was spectacular tonight, some of the best catches I've seen at this school", Coach Gucciardo said. "When we throw and catch like that, we are very difficult to stop". Thiede finished the night with 4 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.

   Troy Bell added two 1-yard rushing touchdowns and gained 139 yards on 16 carries, while Leestma completed 12 of 16 passes for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns.

   Start lit up the score board on the 3rd play of the game with a 48-yard bomb down the left sideline from Leestma to Thiede. On the very next possession, Leestma found Thiede again for a 40-yard scoring strike. Later in the second quarter, Junior Tailback, Troy Bell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Start a 23-0 lead at the intermission. Leestma later hit Thiede again on a deep 39-yard corner route to set up Bell's second 1-yard touchdown run. On the next offensive series, Leestma hit London Norton on a 58-yard scoring play. Leestma has now thrown 45 career touchdowns.

   Senior, Ben Thiede also picked off a Libbey pass late in the 3rd quarter and returned 63 yards to the Libbey 21 yard line, to setup Start's final score. Sophomore tailback, Craig Griffin raced 23-yards down the left sideline to give the Spartans a 44-0 homecoming victory.  Start will take on the St. John's Titans this Friday evening at Spartan Stadium, Kickoff at 7:00 pm.

Spartans get back on Track and Route Woodward 29-0 as Bell rushes for 184

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/5/2007 - The Spartans handed Woodward (3-4, 3-1) its first City League loss of the season in recording its first defensive shutout of the season.

   Start (3-4, 2-2) connected twice on touchdown passes from Brad Leestma to Derrick Rodgers of 13 and 21 yards.

   Troy Bell added two rushing touchdowns of 50 and 8 yards. Bell gained 184 yards on 16 carries, while Leestma completed 16 of 23 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns.

   The Spartans got on the board after a 9-play, 68 yard drive was capped off by quarterback Brad Leestma finding Derrick Rodgers in the back of the end zone on a 13-yard scoring play. Later in the second quarter, Junior Tailback, Troy Bell broke of a 50-yard touchdown run to give Start a 15-0 lead at the intermission. Leestma again hit Rodgers on a deep slant route for the games third score, as Bell finished the final drive of the game with an 8-yard run of his own. Leestma has now thrown 42 career touchdowns.

   The Spartans defense came up huge all evening long holding the Polar bears to 169 total yards and only 7 first downs. Senior Safety, Ben Thiede picked off a Woodward pass late in the 4th quarter to preserve the shut-out for the Spartans. Start will take on the Libbey Cowboys for Homecoming this Friday evening at Spartan Stadium, Kickoff at 7:00 pm.

Leestma Sets New Passing Mark in Toledo City League Football History

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

10/1/2007 - Overshadowed by a tough loss to City-League rival, Central Catholic, was Brad Leestma's remarkable accomplishment. The 6'2 175 lb. senior quarterback became the first Toledo City League Quarterback to throw for 40 career touchdown passes. The record breaking throw came with under 5:00 to go in the 4th quarter, as Leestma found receiver London Norton on a 13-yard scoring pass. Brad has now thrown for more than 5,300 yards in his high school career and holds 19 other school records. "The records are nice and all, but all I care about is winning", Leestma said after Friday night's game with Central Catholic.   See more of Brad's accomplishments

Irish Defense key as Spartans go Down in New Gallagher Stadium

STEVE JUNGA

BLADE SPORTS WRITER

   9/28/2007 -The first game ever played in its newly renovated Gallagher Stadium was a rousing success for Central Catholic last night, as the Fighting Irish rolled to a 42-14 City League victory over Start before a crowd estimated at 6,000 on homecoming night.

"This was huge winning this first game here," Central Catholic coach Greg Dempsey said. "There's going to be a lot of games played here over the years. Eventually, we're going to lose a game here. But you never get another chance at that first game. The kids put on a good performance.

"Start's a good football team."

The Irish (4-2, 2-1), who produced a modest 195 yards offensively, thrived on defense against the league's top passer. Start senior quarterback Brad Leestma was sacked eight times for minus-48 yards, and was intercepted.

   One of those QB hits, this one by Dane Whitaker, allowed Central defensive end Josh Dixon to score the first points on his school's new FieldTurf.

   After Leestma lost a fumble in the backfield, Dixon scooped up the loose ball and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown 5:29 into the game.

"I've never scored a touchdown before, not even in grade school," said Dixon, a Division II All-Ohio first team offensive lineman last season. "The odds were slim to none that I would.

It was nice.
   "We started getting good penetration, and he went down. Coach always told us to run to the ball until the play is over with, and I just kept going toward the quarterback and saw the ball pop out."
"It was pretty funny seeing a lineman take it in," Dempsey said. "We knew we had to put pressure on Brad [Leestma]. He's a great quarterback, and you have to disrupt his rhythm. If you let him sit back there, he's going to pick you apart. We were fortunate enough to get his timing off at times and make him scramble."

Following a Start punt, Central needed just three plays to score again, this time on a 38-yard screen pass from quarterback Tyler Kleeberger to Vyshawn Arnold with 3:54 left in the first quarter.

The Spartans would respond with a 73-yard TD drive, a six-play effort capped by Leestma's 39-yard bomb to Derrick Rodgers with 57.6 seconds left in the first quarter.

But the Irish answered with two more TDs before halftime, and were never seriously threatened.

On the first play of the second quarter and Central facing a third-and-18 situation, Kleeberger scrambled around left end 30 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

   In a near carbon copy of its second TD, Central went to the screen right once again on fourth-and-nine. This time Kleeberger floated one to tailback Brad Rogers, who found a seam and cruised 36 yards untouched to the end zone 8:49 before halftime.

After Kleeberger (7-of-11, 146 yards) connected with Michael Molnar on a 10-yard TD pass with 4:24 left in the third quarter, Rogers (17 carries, 56 yards) capped the Irish scoring on a one-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter.

   Start added a 13-yard TD hookup from Leestma to London Norton with 6:23 remaining in the game.

"I just have to give credit to Central," Start coach Pat Gucciardo said. "They did a great job preparing for the game. The kids played hard on both sides of the ball. But we blew field position a couple times, and left a lot of points on the field.

   "We got a gift inside the 20 two times at the end of the first half and came away with no points. I would expect our offense to score both those times, and we came away empty."

Leestma, who entered with 1,028 passing yards, was 7-of-27 for 102 yards. Troy Bell rushed 18 times for 73 of Start's 160 total yards.

Spartans Second half Surge Spoils Bowsher Homecoming 28-20

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

9/21/2007 - The Start Spartans came back from a 14-7 halftime deficit spoil Bowsher's homecoming Friday evening at Bowsher High. Start running back Troy Bell reeled off 171 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Spartans defeated Bowsher. Teammate Brad Leestma was 14-for-25 for 131 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

   Bell scored on runs of 23 and 24 yards; a third TD was on an interception he returned for 20 yards.

Spartan Quarterback, Brad Leestma opened the game with an interception, but followed it by dissecting the Rebel secondary for 131 yards, using London Norton (8 rec. for 80 yards, 1 TD) as his main target. Leestma opened up the second half with a 4th down touchdown pass to Norton to cap off a 14-play, 60-yard scoring drive. Leestma is now 1 Touchdown pass away from tying the All-Time Toledo City League passing record. The Spartans had 3 completions for 79 yards and 1 touchdown called back due to various penalties.

   Bowsher's Dominique Reed scored the game's first points on a 35-yard run. That was followed by another first-quarter score, a 66-yard pass completion from Casey Keil to DeVon Bryant.

Bowsher was paced by running backs Durrel Pettaway and Reed, who each had 82 yards rushing. -support Toledo Blade Sports

Whitmer tops Spartans on Koger block in overtime 35-34

BLADE SPORTS WRITER

9/14/2007 - Defensive end Kevin Koger's block of a point-after in overtime proved to be the difference last night, as Whitmer outdueled Start 35-34.

   Panthers running back Anthony Allen piled up 150 yards on 20 carries and scored twice. Quarterback Donnie Dottei threw 21 times, completing 10 passes for 137 yards. Dottei also had 102 yards rushing, including an 82-yard dash in the third quarter. Whitmer amassed 427 total yards.

Rusty Hafner lighted up the scoreboard after the half, when he intercepted a pass from Start quarterback Brad Leestma and returned it 47 yards.

   The Spartans' Leestma was 19-for-32 for 288 yards and one TD, a 17-yard score to London Norton. Start's Troy Bell carried the ball 15 times for 92 yards; he also scored a touchdown on a 35-yard run. Teammate Derrick Rodgers scored on a 25-yard pass from Leestma. Whitmer is 3-1 overall, and 1-0 in City League play. Start drops to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the City.

6 Turnovers Plague Spartans as Boardman Rolls to 49-6 win in Week 2

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

8/31/2007 Youngstown, Ohio - The Start Spartans never got on track as they fumbled the very first play from scrimmage at Boardman Memorial Stadium and continued to turn the ball over for the remainder of the evening.  Boardman turned the first two Start turnovers into scores getting a quick 14-0 lead with just under 10:00 to go in the 1st quarter. The Spartans quickly responded with a 7-play, 78-yard drive which was capped off by a 21 yard pass from Leestma to Norton, but that wouldn't be enough as Boardman scored on their next 5 possessions. Spartan Quarterback, Brad Leestma never got on track as he was only 14 of 27 for 166 yards, but did manage 71 yards rushing on 7 carries. Boardman amassed 339 yards rushing on the night while throwing for 78 yards on 7 of 8 passing and one touchdown.

Leestma, Spartans too Much for Admiral King in 2007 Season Home Opener

By CINDY BAXTER
SSDN SPORTS WRITER

8/24/2007 Toledo, Ohio - As lightning delayed kickoff nearly 3 hours, the Start Spartans took advantage of an inexperienced Admiral King secondary. Start quarterback Brad Leestma was next to perfect on the stormy late-night game, completing 75% of his pass for almost 300 yards. Leestma moved the ball around to 6 different receivers, with London Norton, Derrick Rodgers and Joe Maurer came up "huge" on many occasions. Tailback, Troy Bell led all on the ground with 17 carries for 87 yards. The Spartan defense pitched a second half shutout while holding the Admirals to 165 total yards and just two completions for the entire game.

   King was able to get on the board first with a 67 yard TD run on the games second play. The Spartans answered quickly with a 9-play 86 yard drive capped off by a Leestma to Norton 19-yard TD. Both teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter before Leestma hit Norton again in the left corner on the End zone to give the Spartans a 19-12 halftime lead. Kyle Whitmore hit a 27-yard field goal to solidify the Spartan victory with just under 4:00 to go in the game. Start (1-0) will travel to Youngstown Boardman (0-1) and Lorain (0-1) will take on Cleveland Heights.