The Eaton School Spartans are continuing to celebrate their win last weekend where they claimed the provincial championship in 1A 6 man football.

They are this year’s Cinderella story after not registering a win last season, to being this year’s provincial champions. Grade 12 student and starting quarterback for the Spartans, Turner Somerville, said it was their mental game that made all the difference on the field.

“We had a new defensive coach come in and told us that you have to want to win and we really ran with that and went into every game, really wanting to win – and showed up to every practice whether it was at six in the morning and cold or not.”

He also said the team as a whole got closer this year and became better friends off the field, again, which Somerville said, translated into wins on the field.

The Spartans season is a testament to the movie quote, “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” as they were the assumed underdog going into the season and dug deep to come out on top.

Despite more turbulent times in seasons previous, the community’s support hadn’t wavered and both Somerville and head coach, Clint Hayes, stated they were overwhelmed by the backing they received all season long.

“It was really incredible, not only did we get $7500 in sponsorship which paid for our buses and other things throughout the season, but at any given game we had fans in the stands and at the final, I think there were just as many Spartan fans there as Kerrobert fans, so it was just really great to see,” said Hayes.

The Eaton Spartans have not held the provincial title for 20 years, making the win all that more sweet.

Somerville’s mom, Elana, stated this was a win for not only the team but the alumni and whole community.

“It was a really big thing for the Spartan alumni, no matter what sport, it was really unbelievable the support they received and everyone was behind them all the way.”

Somerville said he has the greatest respect for the coaching staff and thanked them all for everything they did throughout the season, including Clint Hayes, Brad Kulyk, Chad Guidinger and Lisa Stevens.

In addition to the coaching staff, Somerville said all of his teammates stepped up to the plate, including four players from Marengo, who made the drive and showed up at every practice and game, and put forth a lot of effort to be reliable and valued players on the team.

Somerville stated the win was a great way to finish off his high school football career and is proud of the team and what they were able to accomplish this season.