Steelers keep pace in Power 5 Football standings

A home playoff game remains a possibility for the Sault Steelers in Power 5 Football League play.

To make that happen, it will take a home win over next weekend after the Steelers blanked the Sudbury Spartans 17-0 on Saturday evening at Rocky DiPietro Field locally.

A 67-yard touchdown run by Michael Reid and point after by Matt Gauthier gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead before Gauthier extended it with a 22-yard field goal.

A 15-yard catch by Fred Casselman on a pass by Ryan Yost for a touchdown and the subsequent point after by Gauthier capped off the scoring for the Steelers.

Reid paced the Steelers with 124 yards on the ground on 13 carries while Steve Hiiemaa added 60 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Casselman caught a pair of passes from Yost for 31 yards in the victory.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers sacked Sudbury quarterback Adam Rocha four times.

Connor Boudreau and Joseph Eshkibok had three tackles each for the Steelers.

Rocha completed nine of 17 pass attempts for the Spartans for 79 yards in the loss.

Rocha hit Victor Paajanen for a pair of catches and 27 yards receiving.

As a team, the Spartans ran the ball 12 times in the loss for a total of just 19 yards.

Brice Desabrais and Erik Conrad had three tackles each.

In Saturday’s other game, the Tri-City Outlaws beat the Sarnia Imperials 40-12 to move into top spot in the Power 5 standings with a 4-1 record.

The Steelers wrap up regular season play next weekend at home against Tri-City. The winner of that game will move to 4-2 and take second in the standings.

Last week, the Steelers dropped a 29-7 decision on the road against the Imperials. Matt Gauthier had the lone touchdown for the Steelers in that game on an eight-yard pass from Yost.