Indians explode for 59 points over Spartans

Neil Flanigan (#81) played another strong game defensively

By Steev Riccardo. More Patriot staff photos follow.

WEBSTER - The Bartlett Indians came out of a semi-coma in a big way on Friday night, trouncing the Uxbridge Spartans 59-28 behind the outstanding running of junior Alex Givins-Perry in a key Southern Worcester County League game.

Givins-Perry had a monster performance with 273- yards rushing and touchdown gallops of 84, 58 and 53 yards and is rapidly putting his name in with an elite group of Central Mass running backs.

Sophomore James Patterson, who has played well all season when called upon, added touchdown runs of 47 and 6 yards, while Ricky Spooner broke out of a slump with two rushing touchdowns of his own.

Co-captain Akeem Belnavis, who in a new twist for Dane Laboissonniere’s Indians, saw some snaps at quarterback. The experiment worked as the senior scored a pair of touchdowns in the impressive offensive outburst.

“Right from the get go, Alex broke one for a big play, and we had a lot of big plays tonight, the offensive line played well,” said a smiling Laboissonniere. “The offense opened up things tonight. Big plays were the name of the game.”

The coach praised Givins-Perry, who came over as a transfer from Doherty High last year but had to sit out the football season because of transfer regulations. “Alex is a big play guy and he makes a lot of things happen on the football field.”

Belnavis also felt great after the win and feels this game could be a turning point for the Indians. “We switched a few things up, practice was very intense this week, everyone stepped it up. After the loss to Nipmuc we knew we were good, but we had to get everything down pat and this week everything clicked for us.”

The 2-3 Indians will now shift their attention to archrival Shepherd Hill, who they will meet in a battle of the locals on Friday night in Dudley. This is a huge game for Bartlett and they know a victory could help them get into the playoffs again this year.

“I have been waiting for them all year,” said Belnavis. “The two games I look forward to every year are Northbridge and Shepherd Hill. This game is going to be big for us.”

“Next week is going to be tough,” said Laboissonniere, who is looking for his first win against the Rams. “I would rather play a happy and content Shepherd Hill that just beat Auburn versus a ticked off Shepherd Hill team that just loss to Auburn.”

“They are a tough team, Chris (Lindstrom) is a great coach, they are tough kids, we need to match their physicality and we have to be able to make our blocks. We need to do the basics. It’s all going to come down to blocking and tackling. If we do our job we are going to be in the game. They are as tough as it gets, I am sure they are going to come back next week firing on all cylinders.”

Read more about the Bartlett Indians and high school football in the View From The Sidelines column published every week in the Patriot and contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with feedback and comments.