Steelers hammer Imperials

What should have shaped up to be a battle at Rocky DiPietro Field turned into a laugher.

Despite the Sault Steelers and Sarnia Imperials entering Saturday night's Northern Football Conference game tied for second spot with records of 3-1, it was a one sided battle for almost the full 60 minutes of play.

The Steelers scored at will and cruised to a 78-7 victory to further establish themselves as an NFC championship contender.

On the opening kickoff, the Steelers forced a fumble and Kyle Gauthier pounced on the loose ball to give the offense instant field position.

A few plays later, Josh Gauthier pounded in his first of two touchdowns from 12 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

The Imperials did have some success in this game through the air as receiver Patrick Wright, who gave fits to the Steelers' secondary, tied the score on the next possession with a 36 yard catch.

But after Josh Gauthier's second major on a 43 yard scamper gave the Steelers a 14-7 lead on the last play of the first quarter, the flood gates opened on the Imperials.

On the next possession, Tysen Vanderloo blocked a Sarnia punt and recovered the ball on the Imperials nine yard line setting up a Steve Roberts two yard touchdown run.

Before the half was out, Dan Leduc scored on a beautiful 52 yard catch and run play from quarterback Travis McLean and Dan Swystun returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown and a 35-7 lead.

Despite sticking to the running game for the majority of the second half, the Steelers continued to find the end zone.

Leduc scored his second touchdown on a 17 yard reception, Matt Premo hauled in a 40 yard touchdown pass, Kofi Osei scored three times on runs of two yards, two yards and 35 yards, James Albidone ran for a 26 yard major, Vanderloo recorded a safety on a sack and punter Brad Beatty added a single.

Swystun converted nine of 11 convert attempts.

In all, the Steelers rushed for 320 yards while throwing for 264 yards.

Osei ran for 127 yards on eight carries while Josh Gauthier added 115 yards on nine attempts. McLean completed 11 of 17 passes for 197 yards while backup Peter MacNamara completed three more passes for 67 yards.

Premo led all receivers with 105 yards on three catches while Leduc made four catches for 84 yards and Kyle Gauthier added three catches for 37 yards.

Defensively, Matt Gauthier recorded eight tackles and recovered a fumble, Kurt Morrison made six tackles, Vanderloo finished with four tackles and four sacks, Brandon Lewis made five tackles and a sack while Russ Moyle picked up 4.5 tackles.

Kyle Gauthier recovered a fumble while interceptions were also collected by Joey Thorburn, Morrison and Jason Brunetti.

The Steelers victory sets up a first place showdown next Saturday in Oshawa against the Hawkeyes.

With Oshawa blanking Milton 36-0 and North Bay edging the Toronto Raiders 17-14 this weekend, the Steelers (4-1), Oshawa (4-1), Raiders (4-2) and Tri-City Outlaws (4-1) all sit tied for first place with eight points.

The Oakville Longhorns, Imperials and North Bay Bulldogs all remain in the hunt with 3-2 records for six points.

Following the Oshawa game, the Steelers play their last regular season game at home on July 21 against the Milton Marauders before capping the first season on July 28 in Sarnia.

The NFC playoffs begin with quarterfinal action involving the league's top eight teams on Saturday, August 4.