Sparta football looking to extend historic playoff journey

By admin | October 25, 2018

It was the first-ever playoff win last week for the Sparta High School football team.
It prompted an escort back to town by the Sparta Police Department.
The Spartans weren’t really even supposed to be in the WIAA playoffs.

Wisconsin teams typically have to be above .500 in conference. Sparta was 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

But, the Spartans proved Friday they belonged in a big way. The No. 7 seed blew out second-seeded Ashland 36-8 on the road.
It’s been an exciting week for the town, as Sparta coach Adam Dow says everyone is texting and stopping players in the street, offering congratulations.
It was also a big moment for Dow, once he did realize the team had never won in the playoffs. That news was a bit of a surprise.
“I think it was a couple weeks ago, when we finally realized we had a shot at (the playoffs),” Dow explained. “(Someone) said, ‘You know we’ve never won a playoff game?’
“I’m like, ‘What?'”
“They said, ‘Yeah, we’ve never won a playoff game. We’re 0-6.'”
The Spartans are the underdog again this week, heading to third-seeded New Richmond, which beat No. 6 Logan 20-14 last week.
By comparison, Sparta lost to Logan 30-29 back on Aug. 31.