Author: NFCadmin

Gauthier Gallops to Winning Score

Original article:  http://www.thesudburystar.com/2018/06/17/gauthier-gallops-to-winning-score-2
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Author and Photo Credits:  Peter Ruicci/Postmedia Network

He’s not the player he once was.

At age 35, Josh Gauthier is no longer the record-setting, championship-winning, nearly-unstoppable running back who once wreaked havoc on Northern Football Conference defences.

But he’s still awfully good.

Gauthier ran 27 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on Saturday, as the Sault Steelers rallied from a 10-0 deficit to defeat the Sudbury Spartans 23-10 at Rocky DiPietro Field.

With the home team trailing 10-8, Gauthier ran a counter, bolting nearly untouched into the Spartans end with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Alanzo Clarke ran in a two-point conversion and the Sault had a 16-10 lead.

Seeing how hard the Spartans were pursuing on power-running plays, Gauthier said he “told Ashton to call a counter,” referring to offensive coordinator Ashton Young. “I took two or three hard steps to the right and the whole defence shifted. You could run a semi through the hole.”

He didn’t need quite that much room, however.

“But once that happened I could use my wheels,” added Gauthier, who had scored earlier on a four-yard run and finished the evening with 104 yards rushing on 11 carries.

“The Gauthier play was the key to the game,” added head coach Brandon Lewis, whose club won its second straight, improving to 2-2 on the season. “It was vintage Josh. He wasn’t going to be stopped by arm tackles. You get him the ball and magic happens. He’s not even in game shape and he’s still a dominant player – absolutely.”

According to Spartans head coach Junior Labrosse, Gauthier’s run was a game-changer.

“That broke our back,” Labrosse added. “They had Gauthier hidden inside. And he paused with the ball until things opened up.”

“I don’t have that top gear like I used to have,” Gauthier admitted. “I’m so far from being what I used to be. But game smarts is something I’ll always have.”

Meantime, three minutes later, the Steelers sealed the win with another impressive run. Stevan Hiiemaa broke a series of tackles and galloped 68 yards for another touchdown.

That made it 22-10 with 2:03 to go in regulation.

Cam Basham booted his second convert to wrap up the scoring.

Jesse Hill had the other point for the winners, nailing a punt 35 yards for a single just before halftime.

“It was a big character win,” said Steelers head coach Brandon Lewis, whose team plays host to the Steel City Patriots this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rocky DiPietro Field. “We made some mistakes and took some penalties and the first half was very tough on us. But at halftime we talked about leaving the first half behind us.”

Lewis said he thought his team managed the ball better in the second half. And the Steelers defence “had a heck of a game,” he added.

“We were strong and we hit hard,” said first-year linebacker Tom Twentyman, who finished with five tackles. “We had a lot of guys playing a lot of snaps, but we dug deep and found a way. We’re getting better every week.”

En route to completing 9-of-23 pass attempts for 246 yards, Spartans quarterback Hunter Holub hit Sean Moore with a two-yard scoring strike. Massimo Cimino converted and also booted a 17-yard field goal.

“We played three-quarters of a game,” said Labrosse, whose club fell to 1-3. “We had some mental breakdowns. Our offensive line played its best game so far this season, but penalties killed us.”

Notes: Hiiemaa ran for a game-high 130 yards on 10 carries. Clarke went 2-for-7 passing for 22 yards.

On defence, Matt Gauthier had a team-high six tackles for the Sault. Dalton Povey added 5.5 while Jon Bujold was credited with 4.5 tackles. Ron Kelly had an interception.

pruicci@postmedia.com

Power Ranking 2018 – Week 5

NFC Week 5 Power Rankings

Back on NFCfootball.ca are the Power Rankings done by our NFC Insider. You, the fans, have asked that the Power Rankings which we had exclusive to social media be reinstated to the site. We heard your request and moving forward they will be published here too.

1. GTA All-Stars
2. Ottawa Sooners
3. Sarnia Imperials
4. Tri-City Outlaws
5. Steel City Patriots
6. Toronto Phantom Raiders
7. Sault Steelers
8. Oakville Longhorns
9. Sudbury Spartans
10. North Bay Bulldogs

NFC Power Ranking Breakdown

1. GTA All-Stars
Current record 4-0

The tough part of their schedule is over – they can shift to cruise control until playoffs. The only thing they have to remember is to show up to the games and put their 12 guys on the field. They will run the table – again.
……………………………………………………………

2. Ottawa Sooners
Current record 2-2

Ottawa needs to focus on one thing – playoffs and GTA. They need to vastly improve to make a run at a Championship. Let’s wait and see how the next few weeks work out for them.
…………………………………………………………..

3. Sarnia Imperials
Current record 2-2

The Imp rolled over Tri City this week and looks like they finally got their offense moving. If they have hopes of making a deep playoff run – they are going to need to keep getting better each and every week.
……………………………………………………………

4. Tri City Outlaws
Current record 2-2

The Outlaws have lost two in a row. Both were teams ranked higher than them. They need to get their offense going or things will unravel quickly.
…………………………………………………………….

5. Steel City Patriots
Current record 4-0

These are power rankings not standings. This Patriot team will go 5-0 before they face a higher ranked opponent. That’s the schedule they were given. Unfortunately, you don’t move up hanging 62 points on North Bay – even 9th ranked Sudbury hung 62 on the Bay. You move up by playing higher ranked opponents. You will get your opportunity the last 3 weeks of the season. Patience, patience….
……………………………………………………………

6. Toronto Phantom Raiders
Current record 3-1

The Raiders won a tough one against a hungry Longhorn squad. A much improved team over the past few seasons. Kudos for turning the program around. Now you have 4 tough opponents in a row.
………………………………………………………….

7. Sault Steelers
Current record 2-2

They have essentially won the North after taking care of North Bay and Sudbury back to back. Excellent season after taking a leave of absence. More good things to come from this program and staring at .500+ season.
…………………………………………………………….

8. Oakville Longhorns
Current record 0-4

The Horns stuck around with a much improved Raider team for 4 quarters. That type of effort moves you up in the rankings. Oakville will improve each week.
………………………………………………………….

9. Sudbury Spartans
Current record 1-3

Looks like offensive woes are hurting the Spartans every week. It’s going to be a long season if things don’t change quickly. Now the three-time defending Champs are rolling into town. Keep your chins up and working on it.
………………………………………………………….

10. North Bay Bulldogs
Current record 0-4

The wheels have fallen off the Bulldog bus. Each week has its own challenges. Most importantly is building for the future – using each game as a learning experience.

Spartans optimistic despite defeat

Original article:  http://www.thesudburystar.com/2018/05/27/spartans-optimistic-despite-defeat
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Author and Photo Credits:  Ben Leeson

His team had just suffered a season-opening defeat and man, was he sore.

But Matt Glass had reason to feel good about a gutsy performance in his Northern Football Conference debut at James Jerome Sports Complex on Saturday night.

“It was definitely a different league,” said the rookie running back/receiver, moments after the final horn sounded on a 22-7 loss to the Steel City Patriots. “I’m definitely playing with bigger and better players I’ve never played before, so the intensity of the game was higher, the hits were harder, but I enjoyed it.”

The highlight was certainly his first NFC touchdown, a pass from Hunter Holub and a short run in the second quarter of Saturday’s contest, one of Glass’s four catches for 22 yards.

“As the confidence built up, I started to get a little better, started to adjust more to this new league,” said Glass, previously a standout in the high school and summer varsity ranks.

“I started to figure out what works, what doesn’t work.”

Whether it was Glass, who also recorded 41 rushing yards, Matt Kuzenko, who led the team with four tackles, or defensive back Riley Roy, who had two interceptions and a batted ball, Spartans head coach Junior Labrosse was encouraged by the play of his newcomers and felt there was plenty to build on as the season goes along.

“Growing pains, I knew was going to happen,” Labrosse said. “Hamilton has been training indoors since January, because they have the facilities down south. We don’t have those facilities here and we basically get a month of practice outside and the city books us for an hour and a half. There’s a lot you have to do in an hour and a half, especially when you have this many rookies to this league, where they have to bond and get that connection to their receivers, their running backs, the line, the timing and all this kind of stuff.

“I knew we were going to be in tough, that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, and any time you play a southern Ontario team, they have a talent pool to pick from, but I guarantee you if you look at the guys who got knocked out, not our guys. Our guys can play, they hit.”

Labrosse credited the Sudbury defence, the team’s greatest strength last season, for holding them in Saturday’s game while the offence sorted things out.

That defence looked strong early, as the Patriots made their way deep into Spartans territory on the opening kickoff return, only for Sudbury’s Joe Shyminsky to sack Steel City’s Denzel Rocha for a big loss. The visitors had to settle for a single after a missed field goal.

Emotions ran high at times, with both teams giving up several yards in penalties and a good bit of talk between benches, especially in the first half.

Some untimely Patriots penalties helped Sudbury on a long drive led by Holub, Glass and Josh Cuomo, a former all-star running back who played despite a nagging injury and posted a team-high 66 yards rushing, along with 39 receiving. Glass finished things off by taking a pass from Holub near the end zone, taking a hit from a Steel City defender and stretching across the goal line for a TD.

“We haven’t been in full gear practising for more than a month, so we’re still getting everything together, but I think we played great for how much practice we had,” Glass said. “We’re ready to hit the rest of the season hard.”

The Patriots, who picked up several starters from the Oakville Longhorns in the off-season, got their offensive game going later in the second quarter and pulled ahead after a bit TD catch by Josh Vandeweerd with 1:04 left before halftime. Another pass to Cordel Lewis put them up 15-7 in the third and Holub threw an interception for a touchdown, this time by Donovan Saunders, with 3:46 left in the frame.

“Hunter threw a few picks, but it’s a fast game and he’s been out of the game for a little while, too,” Labrosse said. “A few times, there were some breakdowns on the offensive line where there was pressure. There are certain things that are going to have to be addressed, like there’s one guy in the offensive huddle that’s going to talk, and that’s the quarterback. Nobody else has an opinion. When the quarterback has to take a timeout because the offensive line is getting angry or whatever, it doesn’t matter, I’m calling it. Shut up and run the play. That’s what these guys have got to learn. If they can learn to just do as they’re told, they’re going to be great and we’re going to be fine.

“To me, everything was positive tonight. I would have liked to win, but if we can compete with a team that loaded up, took 12 players from Oakville, starters, and we gave up 22, but those were our mistakes, fixable stuff. Last year, that stuff wasn’t fixable. That’s the positive thing.”

The Spartans host the North Bay Bulldogs on June 2 at 7:30 p.m.

bleeson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ben_leeson

Sault Steelers are back

Original article: https://www.sootoday.com/local-sports/sault-steelers-are-back-9-photos-935554 
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Author:  Brad Coccimiglio

After a year away, the Northern Football Conference has returned to Sault Ste. Marie.

The Sault Steelers returned to action on Saturday night at Rocky DiPietro Field against the Tri-City Outlaws.

The team took a hiatus in 2017 after low players numbers during their spring tryout.

In August, the organization announced intentions to return to the league this season and began the recruiting process.

The team held recruiting nights during the winter and player interest led to the team having 24 players signed with the intent to play just before Christmas.

Longtime Steeler Brandon Lewis, who will serve as coach this season, said in December that the hiatus may have helped interest.

“It’s weird to say it, but maybe the fact that (the program) had gone away (played a role in players being interested),” Lewis said. “A lot of players over the course of a few years who said they want to play and at some point are going to play, that time ran out because it was gone, and now those guys are showing interest, which is good. We’re really putting it out there that we want to come back and we want to come back strong.”

The team was officially welcomed back at the NFC annual general meeting in January.