For the Steelers (3-2), finishing third in the division is the best position they can achieve. Win or lose, the locals will open the post-season on the road against a yet to be determined team from the East Division.
Author of the article:Gordon Anderson | Sault Star
Published Jul 20, 2023
The Sault Steelers are looking to pitch a shutout, of sorts, in the regular season finale.
The steel curtain club closes out the regular season when the GTA All Stars come to town for a Saturday night matchup at Rocky DiPietro Field.
“We haven’t given up a touchdown at home this year,” Steelers offensive lineman and GM Jon Bujold told the Sault Star. “Almost all of our points given up have been on the road.”
The defence has surrendered 63 points this season; ranking them third in the nine-team league in terms of points allowed.
The club lost 22-6 to the Sarnia Imperials in Week 3 and 28-14 to the North Bay Bulldogs in Week 5. In the season opener, the Steelers earned a 15-6 road win over the Sudbury Spartans.
And while 56 points allowed is well within the range of respectable, Bujold says the leakage comes down to attendance and personnel choices.
“For semi pro team, the guys work so it’s hard to get our players and the depth to the road games,” Bujold said. “When you are missing key pieces on a road trip the defence is more porous than it actually is.”
The All Stars (4-1) come to town with an opportunity to finish the season with the top seed in the West Division should they win the ball game. The visitors could also finish first overall in the league should results elsewhere go their way.
“GTA are the defending NFC champs,” Bujold said. “They have a lot of experience but at home with our defence, I’d give us a chance against anybody to defend the home field.”
For the Steelers (3-2), finishing third in the division is the best position they can achieve. Win or lose, the locals will open the post-season on the road against a yet to be determined team from the East Division.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“Even though a win won’t secure us a home playoff game we still want to take pride we could finish with a 4-2 record with this young group,” Bujold said, noting the team hasn’t finished above the .500 mark since 2014.. “It would be big for this program to get a win over the defending champs and secure a winning record.”