Sabercats beat Guelph in home opener
Sunday, June 10, 2012 by: Brad Coccimiglio
They’re not perfect, but they’re moving in the right direction.
The Sabercats picked up their second win of the Ontario Varsity Football League season on Saturday afternoon with a 49-25 win over the Guelph Bears.
Sault Sabercats coach Steve Nott called the win “elite athletes making some big plays.”
“Our offense still isn’t clicking the way we need it too,” added Nott. “We have some really good athletes and a lot of 19-year-olds. So far this year we’ve played poor three times and we survived twice because we have so many top end 19-year-olds that can make plays when we need to.”
Nott also said the early struggles could be a blessing for the team.
“The last three years we’ve come out of the gates quick and blew everybody away right off the bat,” said Nott. “Maybe this will help us progress. As the season goes, you can’t make guys better athletes but you can make them a better team.”
The Sabercats opened up a 21-point lead through a lengthy opening quarter that took roughly 40 minutes to play. Among the opening quarter scores was a blocked punt returned into the Guelph endzone by Ray Duplin.
“If he physically develops like Rhys Mahler, he can be unstoppable in this league,” Nott said of Duplin. “He’s already a terror.”
Colin Booth had a big game for the Sabercats, catching eight passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’ve been waiting for him all year (to break out like this),” said Nott. “He’s a risk to break (the defence) every time. It all depends on what the defence does.”
Brock Hoover had 57 yards receiving on three catches, two for touchdowns. Eric Koshowski ran for 33 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while Steven Hiiemaa ran for 46 yards on six carries.
Sabercats quarterback Casey Wright completed 15 of 28 passes and threw for 238 yards and three touchdown passes.
Next up for the Sabercats is a home game against the Brampton Bulldogs on June 16. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Rocky DiPietro Field.
