Billy Sparacio has led the First Baptist Academy football program from its infancy.
On Saturday, the coach will get to see someone he raised and in effect someone else he did too when the Lions get to watch two former FBA stars play against one another on a college football field.
Joe Sparacio, the coach’s son who is a linebacker at Boston College, and Blane Briggs, a senior linebacker at Colgate, will face off at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
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The younger Sparacio and Briggs played at FBA from 2014-16, and the Lions went 27-11 with two regional final appearances and a state semifinal one. But their relationship goes back much farther.
“Our first season not playing together was when we went to college,” Joe Sparacio, a junior linebacker who is a year younger, said. “Since we were 6 years old, we were on the same team. It’s going to be pretty special to finally meet up again. He’s one of my best friends to this day.”
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling,” said Briggs, a senior linebacker. “… When I saw Boston College, Sept. 4, I was like ‘God, he’s doing something special.’
“I’ve already talked to some of my teachers here, and a lot of them are coming up as well. God is good, honestly. It’s just crazy how this has worked out.”
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Sparacio and Briggs were back at FBA on Aug. 2, the first day of high school football practice to watch the Lions. Just over a month later, FBA will face Andover (Mass.) Friday night, then get to watch Colgate, a Football Championship Subdivision school, play at Boston College, a Power Five school.
“It’s a great opportunity for First Baptist Academy to be showcased,” said Billy Sparacio, who played at Colgate.
The coach believes the Lions will get two big positives out of this trip. The first being able to travel and spend time together leading into the game, where it’s mainly just the team and the coaching staff.
“To be able to do something like this is a highlight to a kid’s high school career,” he said. “I want them to have a great experience. When you spend time with people that you play ball with every day and then you do something fun or out of the norm, you build more chemistry. You build more of a bond, and you love more.
“You build that bond and then to me the biggest motivator is not to let the person next to you down. I believe with all of my heart that’s what gets the most out of everyone. It’s not that they want to beat their opponent.”
And then they top it off by watching two players who came through First Baptist on a major college football field.
“When we were these guys’ ages, we thought college football was the coolest thing ever,” Joe Sparacio said.
“We got to see a guy like Seth Penner go to Clemson,” Briggs said. “I remember seeing him come back and asking him what it’s like. Him telling us just got us more excited.
“Just seeing two guys who came through FBA, I think it tells these kids that it doesn’t matter what class of school you go to, if you’re good enough, colleges are going to find you. You don’t have to go to a 7A school to go play Division I football or any level of football.”
FBA senior linebacker Jimmy Ridinger can’t wait — for the Lions’ game and the next day.
“It’ll be really cool knowing that they both came from the school we play for and just seeing them ball out will be nice,” he said.
Briggs, who wears No. 31, and Sparacio, who wears No. 34, may or may not be on the field at the same time. They both play linebacker, but they also play special teams. But it’s the bigger picture that matters to them.
“For sure after the game, we plan on getting together and getting a picture and get with the team and talk with the team and everything,” Briggs said.
Billy Sparacio, his coaches, and the Lions are simply looking forward to it.
“I don’t know that unless you do it, you don’t really realize how much, how hard of work and how much time invested goes into that, and how difficult it is,” he said. “But what I think is probably the best part is, this is the most important — you can work your butt off. Unless God blesses the work that you’re doing. Unless God intervenes and does the things that He’s done in these kids’ lives, these things, it’s really hard for that to happen.
“It’s a total blessing. Just very, very thankful.”
Joe Sparacio, who was the Naples Daily News Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, started 9 of 13 games as a redshirt freshman for the Eagles in 2019 and made 50 tackles. He played in four games and had three tackles last season.
Briggs’ senior season consisted of one game due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Patriot League moved its season to the spring, then Briggs missed the season opener with an injury. He played in one game, starting and making five tackles. Two other games were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
“It was heartbreaking,” Briggs said.
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Briggs, who has 49 tackles in his career, considered whether he wanted to transfer to another school to use his final season of eligibility. Then the Raiders’ schedule came out.
“I’m going to be honest, seeing Boston College on our schedule was a pretty big reason why I came back,” he said. “That’s like a story-type thing.”
And one that may propel some of the current Lions to the next level.
“Hopefully it’ll help them to dream and say ‘Hey, man, I want to do this,'” Billy Sparacio said. “This is something I’m excited about, and this is something I hope I can do someday.”
All they have to do is look on the field right in front of them.
— Naples Daily News Sports Reporter Alex Martin contributed to this article
Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at [email protected]. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/
