This might be the nicest group of kids Murry O’Neil has ever coached and he has been around  plenty of football players during a 55-year career on the local gridiron.

O’Neil, 78, was the architect of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake program where he coached Saratoga Springs football legend, Blase Iuliano, among many others.

These days, you can find O’Neil working his magic with the Saratoga Central Catholic junior-varsity team and head coach Alphonse Lambert, Jr.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me because every day, it’s been a challenge. What’s so good about this group is that they’re so nice to work with,” O’Neil said at Wednesday’s practice. “There are no discipline problems and no back talk. It’s all business and just a great group of kids.”

The Saints last played varsity football in 1988 and returned to the sidelines last fall at the modified level. This year, Spa Catholic is in the midst of an undefeated junior-varsity season and will move up to the varsity level next fall in Class D.

“They know a little bit about the history of the program,” Lambert said. “The kids know that every time they go out on the field, it’s history, and next year when when we go varsity, it will be even more special.”

The Saints are an impressive 12-0 since their return, including a 5-0 mark this fall. This record is especially remarkable considering that the majority of the team had never played a down of football prior to last year.

“We’ve got pretty smart and disciplined kids. We don’t really turn the ball over and we don’t commit many turnovers,” Lambert said. “They’re very disciplined for having never played football.”

The latest win came last Friday courtesy of a 40-16 home drubbing of Whitehall. The Saints play their home games at the former home of the Blue Streaks - the East Side Rec.

“The school’s starting to get used to going to a football game. We had a tremendous crowd for our home opener,” Lambert said. “There’s a lot of buzz around school and the team performed very well. That’s always good.”

The team is comprised of 26 players: three eighth-graders; nine freshmen; nine sophomores and five juniors.

Rounding out the coaching staff is Kason O’Neil, who is Murry’s grandson and the indoor/outdoor track and field coach at Hudson Falls.

Murry O’Neil runs the offense with Kason in charge of the defense and Lambert overseeing the entire operation.

The Saints mix it up on offense with about 60 percent of the plays called for being on the ground and 40 through the air.

In last week’s win, Spa Catholic lost starting freshman quarterback Dylan Anderson, who broke his hand, and is also playing without freshman running back Jordan Stubblebine. Despite the injuries, the other players have stepped it up to keep the undefeated streak alive.

“We’ve got some good runners, so we run a lot. We emphasize where we are and what we’ve got to do at the point of attack,” Murry O’Neil said.

The alumni have been funding the team for the last two years and are as excited about the future as the players and coaches.