Local football notebook

The Sault Steelers are enjoying a bye for the holiday weekend and are looking good heading into the second half of the Northern Football Conference season.

Sitting at 3-1 and holding first place in the North/Central division, the Steelers return to action next Saturday on the road against the struggling North Bay Bulldogs (0-4).

The Oshawa Hawkeyes are close behind with a 2-0 record and are in action this weekend against Sudbury while the Toronto Maddogs are 2-1 and playing expansion Sarnia.

Steelers running back/returner Josh Gauthier leads the league in scoring with seven rushing touchdowns and one kickoff return while receiver Matt Premo has four touchdown catches on the year.

Defensive linemen Tysen Vanderloo, who also has eight tackles for losses, and Joe Oldham lead the league with three sacks each.

*** SABERCATS ON THE ROAD:

The Sault Sabercats will play a very important road game on Sunday afternoon against the Wentworth Panthers in the Ontario Varsity Football League.

At 3-2 on the year, the Sabercats are currently tied for the final three playoff spots in their conference with Guelph and Brampton.

With six team qualifying and the top two teams receiving a first round bye, the Sabercats control their chance to grab a home playoff date with a third or fourth place finish.

*** SAULT MINOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION:

Action in the SMFA continues on Sunday with six games on the schedule.

In the myte division, J.M.C. plays Lop Lops at 10 a.m. followed by the Crushers and Rezolution at 11:30 a.m. In the tyke division, Joey Calzone's meets Sports Gold at 1:30 p.m. while Rome's battles Sal Dan at 3 p.m. All games at Queen Elizabeth Field.

Over at Rocky DiPietro Field, the bantam division features Scholars and NorthShore Telus at 10 a.m. followed by a contest between Aurora's Westside and the Firefighters at 11:30 a.m.