JV Sabercats offence hot in big win

A quick start set the wheels in motion for a big day offensively.

The junior varsity Sault Sabercats got on the board early and held a 40-point lead at halftime en route to a 49-0 win over the Huronia Stallions on Saturday evening at Superior Heights.

Playing in hot conditions, the fast start was a major factor in the win.

“It was important for us to start quickly and efficiently,” JV Sabercats coach Jim Monico said. “We expected a close game, so we knew we had to get a quick start. Once we got up early, we tried to bury them and take all of their hope away.”

Monico added that the hot weather on Saturday was a motivating factor in getting to a point in which the game would get to a straight-time position.

“It was hot and getting up early, the quick start, really helped us,” Monico said. “Then we started getting to the point where we wanted to get it to 35 because that’s straight time. We wanted to be up 35-0 at halftime when we knew that was going to be a possibility. We really put our foot on the gas pedal for that because we wanted it to be straight time. We wanted to get out of here without any injuries.”

The veteran Sabercats coach added that he was pleased with a lot of aspects of their game in the win, noting their efficiency in the win.

“We love to get the shutout,” Monico said. “(Huronia) put up some points against Kingston, so we were a little worried about their offence. Getting the shutout was nice.”

Monico added that special teams is something the team wasn’t as pleased with on Saturday.

“We made some mistakes on special teams,” Monico said. “Our punt team wasn’t great. We missed some converts, so that’s stuff we’ve got to work on, but other than that, we were happy with the game.”

The locals opened the scoring thanks to a three-yard touchdown run early by Nathan Guizzetti.

The Sabercats extended the lead thanks to a four-yard touchdown run by Kaylob Thibodeau who then tacked on a two-point convert on a three-yard run to make the score 14-0 at the time.

Jarett Dewar caught a 26-yard pass from quarterback Matti Tucker early in the second quarter for a touchdown. An extra point by Ty Koski made the score 21-0.

Guizzetti then caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tucker that, combined with an extra point by Koski, made the score 28-0.

Thibodeau ran for a pair of touchdowns, from 17 yards out before punching the ball in from three yards out as well to give the JV Sabercats a 40-0 lead heading into the second half.

After Huronia conceded a safety in the third quarter to make the score 42-0 before Thibodeau stepped in and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Guizzetti in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring.

Tucker completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“We’re really happy with Tucker,” Monico said of the quarterback. “It’s a really complex offence that we run. He had a lot to learn and in the last couple of games, it’s really clicked in for him. We’ve got some really good weapons for him to throw to like (Nate) Carter and (Nathan) Guizzetti. Those are two really good guys to throw to and he found them open.”

Carter caught seven passes for 155 yards while Guizzetti caught five passes for 69 yards.

In addition to his touchdown pass, Thibodeau ran the ball for 135 yards on 16 carries.

Hunter Dickinson and Ethan Carchidi had four tackles each defensively for the Sabercats.

Jake Ellen caught a pair of passes for 21 yards for Huronia while Matheson Barr had three catches for 22 yards.

Defensively for Huronia, Austin Brabant had 12.5 tackles in the loss while Hayden Mrazek had five tackles and a fumble recovery.

The JV Sabercats return to action on Canada Day on the road against the Kingston Jr. Gaels before wrapping up the regular season at home on July 9 against the Cumberland Panthers.