Regis High school stadium will be packed this Saturday night at 6:00 p.m., November 14 with parents, family and friends cheering on Spartan Copper from the 13-year old N.F.C. competitive division. Spartan Copper is from southeast Aurora and is returning to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row against a familiar opponent, Hawk Orange, from Parker. The Spartan organization is one of nine clubs participating in the Arapahoe Youth League (A.Y.L.) representing Englewood, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Parker and Aurora. The A.Y.L. and their member clubs provide numerous recreational activities for boys and girls between the ages of six to thirteen focusing on sportsmanship and citizenship.
The head coach for Spartan Copper is Dean Glau and his squad finished the regular season with a 7-1 record. The offense is explosive averaging over 30 points per game and the defense is unyielding and stubborn holding their opponents to about 10 points per game.
The snowfall from the previous weekend was a distant and melted away memory when Spartan Copper met Spartan Black during a playoff match up on Saturday afternoon, November 7. The sidelines were buzzing with excitement and anticipation for this Super Bowl qualifying playoff game between the two competitive Aurora teams. This was the second meeting of the year between the two southeast Aurora squads. The earlier contest was held at Aurora Sports Complex in late September with Spartan Copper winning the first battle 33-12 over Spartan Black.
The playoff environment brought out the best in both the squads with a scoreless first quarter. Spartan Copper reached the end zone on their initial drive of the second quarter via a terrific pass and catch combination and scored once more on the last play of quarter to go into halftime with a 12-0 lead. The third quarter was another defense battle until the final play of the quarter provided an exciting long run along the sideline to the end zone. The final quarter saw Spartan Black reach the end zone, but the Spartan Copper defense intercepted the ball and secured the victory with an 18-6 final score.