Sabercats kick off season in victorious fashion

It was a productive day for both of Sault Ste. Marie’s entries in the Ontario Summer Football League on Saturday at Superior Heights.

Saturday afternoon marked opening day in the 2024 season for the Sault Sabercats at both the varsity and junior varsity levels.

In varsity action, the Sabercats jumped out to a 22-0 lead and ultimately picked up a 35-21 victory over the York Lions.

Sabercats coach Matt Premo, who was filling in on Saturday for head coach Jamie Antonello, said the team was pleased with the start in the win, but also noted there’s still work to be done for the defending OSFL champs.

“We’re happy for the most part,” Premo said. “The first half was good. We could have really put it away, but just couldn’t capitalize on a couple opportunities in the first half. In the second half, (there were) a few more mistakes. It was hot and guys were getting tired. It was their first game, and we have to clean that up.”

With a bye week on the horizon, Premo said the team is looking to be sharper for their second game.

“It’s a new offence and a new offensive coordinator so it’s new for a lot of these guys,” Premo said. “It’s going to be polishing that up on offence. We want to be able to run the ball a little bit more successfully. We had a couple of nice runs, but not consistent in the run game so we want to work on cleaning that up.”

The Sabercats opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game as Nathan Guizzetti ran the ball in on a 48-yard pass and run with a convert by Nikolas Vecchio to make it 7-0.

A missed field goal later in the quarter that York couldn’t run out of the endzone made it an 8-0 game through one quarter.

In the second quarter, Matti Tucker hit A.J. Romano with a 13-yard touchdown pass and Vecchio added the extra point to make it 15-0 Sault 2:44 into the quarter.

Guizzetti picked up his second major of the day on a 15-yard run just under two minutes later to make it a 22-0 game.

York got on the board with just under three minutes to go in the half as Tucker had a pass attempt blocked and Benjamin Mengers eventually grabbed the ball, running it in from 30 yards out. The convert from Marcus McMillan made it a 22-7 score.

Thought to be a forward pass by many, Premo said “(the referees) didn’t see it that way” when asked about it following the win.

Vecchio hit a 24-yard field goal in the final minute of the opening half to make the score 25-7.

York scored early in the third quarter as Joshua Martin punched the ball in from a yard out.

Midway through the third quarter, Vecchio hit a 25-yard field goal to give the Sabercats a 28-13 lead.

The Sabercats extended the lead further 1:51 into the fourth quarter as Tucker hit Jaiden Trudeau for a 27-yard touchdown to make the score 34-13 Sault.

After a rouge for the Sabercats and a safety giving the Lions a pair of points to make it a 35-14 game, the Lions capped off the scoring as Martin scored on a 75-yard touchdown run. The convert by McMillan made it 35-21.

Individual game stats weren't available from the game.

The varsity Sabercats return to action on June 1 at home against Vaughan following a bye week next week.

In Saturday’s junior varsity game, the JV Sabercats kicked off the season with a 16-8 win over the Sudbury Spartans.

The locals opened the scoring with just over four minutes to go in the opening quarter as Cole Rivet caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Hayes. The Sabercats grabbed a 7-0 lead as A.J. Coccimiglio hit the convert on the play as well.

The Sabercats made it a 13-0 game in the second quarter as Gevin Grisdale ran the ball to the Sudbury one-yard line and Payton Melchiorre punched the ball in on the next play.

The Sabercats took a 16-0 lead into the half after Sudbury gave up a safety and a rouge in the latter stages of the second quarter.

After a scoreless third quarter, Sudbury cut the Sabercats lead in half just under two minutes into fourth quarter as Dylan Nelson caught a 17-yard pass from Noah Parsons and the visitors added a two-point convert on a catch by Noah Scrobot to make it a 16-8 game.

“The offence sputtered a bit, but that’s going to come with week one, we’re still working things out,” said JV Sabercats coach Will Basawa. “The defence played phenomenal today. I could not be happier with that.”

Winning the turnover battle was what pleased Basawa most in Saturday’s victory.

“Anytime you can win the turnover battle, you’re pretty much locked in to win a football game,” Basawa said.

Basawa said the biggest building block for the Sabercats following the early-season victory will be “finding out who we are.”

“What kind of team are we going to be? Are we going to be pass-happy, are we going to be run-heavy? Are we going to be a physical defence or are we going to have to play with a little bit of flash and flair?”

Individual game states were not available for the game.

The JV Sabercats are on the road next weekend at Durham before returning home for a June 1 matchup against Clarington at Superior Heights.