A Super Season for Oakmont Football
by Jay Shenk and Rick Ruberti
Photos by Sandy Herndon
For Oakmont fans, parents whose sons were on this year’s football team, and the players themselves; it was a year to remember, not just for the Super Bowl victory, but for many of the games along the way, and how Oakmont stepped up in the face of adversity and maintained their cool under intense pressure. Speaking to people associated with this season, it’s obvious something very special took place on the field this year. A lot has been written about the Super Bowl victory, but this story is more about the season leading up to the final victory.
The Spartans started out very, very strong—most observers thought they wouldn’t lose a game, as their high powered offense racked up points almost at will. A big reason for this was Seth Sheridan, an Oakmont offensive back with such running ability that every time he handled the ball it was possible he’d end up in the end zone. Seth is often compared to another great Oakmont running back, John Griffin from the ‘06 Super Bowl team, as both were extremely fast, but what Seth had was an explosive first few steps, so that sometimes he was outside before the defense could react, leaving just a cornerback and safety between him and the end zone, which generally wasn’t enough to stop him. Since he was so fast, and could bob and weave so well, a handoff to Seth was often a quick six points. Touchdown runs of 50, 60 or 70 yards were not unusual, and in the first six games of the season Oakmont averaged an incredible 51 points per game.
An example of just how high powered and dominant the Oakmont offense could be was demonstrated in the Ayer game over a period of just 1:57 seconds, which represented the entire time Oakmont was on offense in the first half. In that short, less than two seconds span, Oakmont scored 35 points, with four touchdowns in just six plays, plus a Jon Jacobs kickoff return, as he ran the opening kickoff back for a TD.
Another example of how powerful the Spartan offense could be is that place kicker Eric Howlett scored 60 extra points, eclipsing Jeff Ruberti’s record of 46 extra points scored during the Spartans ‘06 Super Bowl season, a record many people thought would stand a long time since the record previous to that, set in the seventies, was 38. Eric is a great athlete in many ways, but you don’t get an opportunity to kick extra points unless the entire offense scores a lot of touchdowns, and by scoring 350 points in the first seven games, there were plenty of opportunities to kick extra points. Unusual for a place kicker, Eric contributed a great deal himself to those extra point opportunities—besides kicking extra points, he also punted, place kicked, played offense and defense (including filling in for Seth as a tailback), and as a tight end set an Oakmont record by catching 16 passes for touchdowns. For all of this, Eric won the league MVP award.
During the first six games of the season, the Varsity offense usually sat by the middle of the third quarter, allowing the JVs to take over, and making the individual records earned this year all the more impressive.
Adversity struck when Seth went down with a season-ending ACL injury in the seventh game, which besides being a major medical issue for Seth, also removed a huge piece of Oakmont’s offense. The effect of losing Seth, and how the rest of the team responded, can be seen by two contradictory facts:
1) With Seth out of the lineup, Oakmont’s average points per game dropped by 23 points a game, to an average of 28 from 51 points.
2) Oakmont still only lost one game the rest of the season, and won the Super Bowl, as the rest of the team rose to the challenge. Keep in mind that although Seth was primarily an offensive force, he also played safety sometimes, so his absence affected the entire team.
Another remarkable athlete on the team more than rose to the occasion—Jon Jacobs didn’t just fill in—He’d been sharing running responsibilities with Seth all season, but he certainly stepped up, now sharing the running with Eric Howlett. Jon set an Oakmont all-time record by gaining 1,600 yards in one season, and in one game scored four touchdowns. Perhaps Jon wasn’t quite as fast as Seth for the first few steps, but he had an uncanny ability to power and weave through a defensive line and come popping out of a group of tacklers; from there he’d shoot down the field. Keep in mind that this running record was set on a team where, especially during the first six games, running duties were shared and the first string spent a good deal of time on the bench in blowout games.
Luke Bakanowsky, the Oakmont quarterback, had a great season, and brought back memories of Kyle Anderson of the ‘06 team for his style of play—he kept the linebackers at bay because they never knew if he would pass, handoff, or take the ball and run himself. Perhaps his most notable characteristic, which carried over to the team as a whole, was his poise under pressure. He had tremendous confidence in tough situations, allowing Oakmont to make the big plays when they were needed. An example of this happened in a critical game against Groton Dunstable. Coming into the game both teams were 8-1, and late in the fourth quarter the score was tied at 21. Up until this game Luke had only thrown one interception in 9 games, but against Groton Dunstable he’d already thrown three. With just minutes to go in the game, Oakmont was on their own 35 yard line, and it was 3rd and 10. The game was on the line. Luke, under heavy pressure, dropped back to pass and hit Mark Ruberti for a 35 yard gain and a first down. Not only was it a pressure situation, but Mark was guarded by a 6’5” defender, and Luke threw the ball to about the only place on the field where Mark could catch the pass without the ball being intercepted.
That wasn’t the end of pressure situations in that game. Three plays later Oakmont had gained just three yards, and it was another tough third down situation at 3rd and 7. Luke dropped back, again under heavy rushing pressure, and again hit Mark Ruberti on a post pattern for the winning touchdown. Groton Dunstable got the ball back, but our defense held, and the final score was 28-21. Despite the three interceptions earlier in the game, and being only a junior, Luke didn’t second guess himself, and made the plays when they counted.
Often, the players on the line, in the trenches, don’t make the headlines, although they contribute greatly. Our offensive line did a great job protecting the quarterback, and included Matt Lahtinen, Joe Herndon, Josh Cudak, Rob Dearborn, and Tyler Baronowski. On defense we had John Mattus, a second year starter on Varsity who could always be counted on to make the big stop, joined by Kayne Bourgeois, Mike Lashua, and Tevin Meda on defense. Rob Dearborn, our center, had a nearly flawless season--there was not one fumble on snap throughout the entire season, including the more difficult long snaps to punters or the holder for a place kick. Rob, also a great blocker when Oakmont needed short yardage up the middle, was a leader both on and off the field--besides leading in the middle of the offensive line, he is also Senior Class President.
This season was Dave LaRoche’s last coaching Oakmont football—rumor had it he’d considered retiring after last season, but saw the potential in this year’s team. It’s not a coincidence that Dave has had such success coaching football. He not only knows the game well, but also has a knack for getting the most out of his players, and is well deservedly a hall of fame coach in Massachusetts.
Congratulations to everyone who was a part of this football season. Teams like this only come around rarely, and hopefully everyone, including the students, realize how special this was—after high school it’s a different world, and it’s a great treat for everyone, including the parents, to have one last hurrah in high school before seeing their children move on into adulthood and whatever that brings.