Erik Conrad has seen a lot over the course of his lengthy career in the NFC (Northern Football Conference) / OP5FL (Ontario Power 5 Football League).
That said, he has not seen, nor felt, an atmosphere quite the same as the 2026 Sudbury Spartans.
And, for as much as the talented graduate of St Charles College and well decorated linebacker has blocked a punt or two in his day, he's never experienced the joy of actually scooping up said block and returning it to the house.
Let's start with the latter.
"I've blocked punts before, but no "tuddies" (touchdowns)," said the 35 year-old grizzled veteran. "The guys we're making fun of me. The way I turned - it didn't look fluid at all with my body turned - but it got me to the end zone."
And, at the time, it gave Sudbury a 17-0 second quarter lead opposite the Sarnia Imperials in a battle of undefeated squads.
In the second half, the Spartans poured it on, playing as complete a game against a quality opponent as has been seen at the James Jerome Sports Complex in quite a while - prompting the following assessment from Conrad, a defensive dynamo who has spent the bulk of his post high-school football career locally but did suit up in 2025 with the Sault Steelers.
"The culture has shifted 100% with the young guys coming in," noted Conrad. "It's totally different - and I've been playing for 10 to 12 years now. The guys are really pushing each other to get to know everything."
"That's something I have never really seen."
Certainly, the new additions are paying off. Running back Braedan Beggs ran for a pair of majors, sailed a 29 yard field goal through the uprights and added four converts on a night that the Imperials defense did a good job of limiting the damage imposed by the Sudbury backfield to less than 100 yards, with Beggs racking up 30 yards on 13 carries.
But kudos for this win runs throughout the roster, just as the triumphs have all year. Quarterback Adam Rocha finished with a very tidy 12/17 - 192 yards passing evening which included a touchdown pass of 65 yards to Victor Paajanen and additional completions of 36 (Paajanen), 25 (Oliver Poupore) and 21 (Zack Primeau) yards.
Meanwhile, a Spartans defense that has yet to surrender more than nine points against in any of their four outings this year (30-9 vs SSM; 45-7 vs Tri-City; 52-0 vs SSM) was absolutely dominant in the latter stages of the contest, with Sarnia recording all of two first downs in the second half, both by virtue of penalties.
"Our defensive coordinator (Eric Paquette) has put some crazy game plans together and we're buying into it," said Conrad, who knows that the job is still a long way from being completed.
"I've been on 5-1 teams, 6-1 teams," he said. "It doesn't matter until you do it in the playoffs. We're in great shape (4-0) to get everything we wanted - home field advantage and stuff. It looks that way, but we've got to keep the pedal to the metal."
"We're 0-0 next weekend; that's part of the culture change."
Defensive highlights included interceptions by both Kolby McLean and Steven Sola, a total of seven tackles for loss (three from Tyson McFadden; two from Erik Conrad), and some great work in the secondary from both Declan Eldridge (7 tackles) and Hayden Liinamaa (5).
The special teams battle already favoured the Spartans thanks to a pair of blocked punts and a blocked field goal, but the advantage was further titled by the work of Braedan Beggs as punter, who continually pinned the Imperials deep with some well-angled kicks.
The Spartans are at home again next weekend, welcoming the Tri-City Outlaws to town before closing out the regular season with a trip south to face the Burlington Longhorns.
