Two games into the Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL) season and the Sudbury U16 Spartans were looking pretty darned good.

With back to back wins over the Oshawa Hawkeyes and Scarborough Thunder by a combined score of 90-16, the local gridiron crew were looking very much the part of serious championship contenders.

And they knew it – perhaps a little too much so.

“We were thinking we were on top of the league and couldn’t be beat,” acknowledged standout running back Michael Bisschops, who combines with backfield mate Moshood Aduleye in giving the Spartans as good a one-two ball carrying punch as any team in the league.

A 42-22 home field loss at the hands of the York Lions was a straight out punch in the face for a very talented northern side – and one to which they have responded exceedingly well. A matchup against the overmatched North Bay Bulldogs quickly reset the confidence as Sudbury went up 40-0 at the half and focused on simply maintaining the shutout through the final 24 minutes of play on the road.

This past weekend, however, would be a test.

The Toronto Jr Argos had reeled off five straight wins, with only a 20-16 victory over the Clarington Knights even close. The Jr Argos would also enjoy the pleasure of hosting the Spartans as Esther Shiner Stadium served as the venue of choice on Saturday afternoon.

Up 12-9 at the half, the Sudbury reps found themselves trailing 25-19 with three minutes to play.

With quarterback Kade Campbell at the helm, the visitors drove the length of the field, with Aduleye knotting the game at 25-25 on a short run with a minute to play. Having not kicked a single convert to this point in the summer, coach Dan Yoisten called upon Dean Vildis to split the uprights, with the Sudbury defense securing the big win with one final stand.

After struggling to contain the Lions a few weeks back, the U16 Spartans defense were very much back on track, just as OSFL sophomore and St Charles College freshman Trent Maskevich believed they would.

“We’re all friends,” said the 14 year-old former linebacker turned defensive halfback. “We all get along together and all try our hardest. We all have some really good skill – but team spirit is honestly one of the main factors.”

Maskevich has been making his presence felt, game in and game out, from returning a pick-six more than 100 yards in the win over the Scarborough to delivering Thunder(ous) hits on opponents in the flats. “Ever since I made the change to halfback, I’ve had such a great time,” said the young man who played two years in the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League before suiting up with the junior Cardinals last fall.

“It was a perfect move for me.”

Not that he needs to be reminded, but Maskevich is typically looking up at the vast majority of his teammates – a fact that he wears as a badge of honour as he continues to excel in the tackling department.

“The key for me is not to think about me being smaller and just think about how I am going to bring him down in my fashion,” he said. “I have to get super low. I’ve learned to adapt.”

That would certainly make for an interesting one on one in full contact practices as Maskevich looks to stand Michael Bisschops up, mid-stride. The 16 year old has served as quarterback at SCC for the past two fall seasons but shifted over to running back with the Jr Spartans – and has looked more than a little natural in doing so.

“At quarterback, you are trying more not to get hit,” said Bisschops. “Run out of bounds, if you need to – avoid contact and injury. At running back, you get low and take on contact. It’s a lot more aggressive than quarterback.”

Yet for as much as Bisschops does not shy away from contact, he is even more thrilled when his running lanes allow him to dart quickly into the open field, giving rise to the several hundred rushing yards he has accumulated in 2026.

“My offensive line always makes me look good with great holes to run through,” said Bisschops. “Shout out to them. It’s just a matter of me reading the play.”

The scoring on Saturday was very nicely distributed as Kade Campbell rambled in from the one, Levi Blouin bolted 60 yards on a screen pass and Moshood Aduleye returned a kickoff for a touchdown as the special teams executed perfectly on a mission that they had planned all week.

For as good a runner as Michael Bisschops is, there will clearly be times where he is called upon to make the big block. “I was shaky at the start, just dropping my shoulder,” he said. “Coaches have been working with me to fix that, putting my hands up on guys. I am getting use to it now.”

The U16 Jr Spartans are back on the road this weekend, facing the Quinte Skyhawks (2-3) and looking to keep up with the current logjam at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, the 18U Jr Spartans saw their record drop to 3-2 over the weekend as the Toronto Jr Argos downed the locals 31-17.