Heading into playoffs, Steelers pleased with successful return

Regardless of the result, they’re going to look at the season as a success.

As the Sault Steelers prepare to face the Oakville Longhorns tonight in Northern Football Conference playoff action at Rocky DiPietro Field tonight, it’s been a season that they’re already looking at as a building block for the future.

“We see the core that we’re going to work with in the future and it’s the most promising core and future we’ve had in probably a decade,” said Steelers president and general manager Jonathon Bujold.

“You see them coming together as a group that believes they’re doing something special,” Bujold added.

Kickoff for tonight’s game is set for 5 p.m.

The Steelers wrapped up the NFC regular season with a dramatic 27-25 win over the previously-unbeaten Sudbury Spartans locally thanks to a late field goal by Jesse Hill and a last-minute interception by Connor Boudreau.

With the win, the Steelers finished the regular season with a 3-2-1 record.

The importance of the Steelers program having some success this season was crucial.

“It was a tone-setter for not just this season, but for the next decade to come,” Bujold said. “We promised all of these young guys who are core members of our future that this is something they want to be a part of. As they’ve gotten better, they’ve seen evidence of that themselves.”

Bujold referenced moments like the Steelers comeback win over the Spartans to end the regular season as times when the players were seeing the work come together.

“Those moments have secured us a core group for the future that believes they have something special going,” Bujold said. “That was really important for that to happen after two years off and even just five years after us folding for a year. We’re not that far away from it all going away not that long ago.”