The Spartans played their second game against the Sault Steelers this past weekend, this time hosting them here at home on James Jerome field. The Spartans came out on top, defeating the Steelers, this time in a more convincing manner, with a score of 28-7. Quarterback Adam Rocha started and led the Spartan offence the whole game as starting QB Hunter Holub was out of the line-up due to illness. Between Rocha’s 3 passing touchdowns, and a strong defensive line led by number 53 Kevin White, the Steelers struggled to get anything going.
The Sault started off the game with an onside-kick attempt that was quickly caught by the Spartans, which started them off on the 53-yard line. From there both teams went 4 and out putting the ball back in Spartan hands. Running backs Josh Cuomo and Matt Glass put the Spartans within 10 yards of the goal-line, which lead to the first touchdown of the game, with Rocha connecting with number 86 Derrick Rantala in the endzone. Massimo Cimino put the extra point through the up-rights to make the score 7-0 for the Spartans with 9:41 left in the 1st quarter. The following Steelers drive did not make it too far down the field despite the running effort of Steve Hiiemaa. The drive was cut short by Spartans defender Ben BeDenedit who picked off a pass from Steelers QB Darrel Wood. With 2:30 left in the quarter the Spartans moved towards the Steelers endzone and in similar fashion to their first, scored another touchdown with Rantala in the endzone, which rounded out the 1st quarter with the score at 14-0.
The 2nd quarter was a very defensive affair, with both teams being forced to punt multiple times on 4thdowns. Both teams’ offences were tested throughout the quarter. Sault Quarterback Wood made some great throws and in one case he scrambled to escape the Spartan defenders by making a solid pass to Zack Kirk to turn a broken play into 25 yards. Despite the Steelers’ offensive effort, the Spartans D held up well. Late in the quarter, after running by Cuomo, and a good pass to Nicholas Rideout, the Spartans were in a scoring position. Rocha handed the ball off to Cuomo who ran it in for a touchdown. Cimino’s kick was good and the Spartans were up 21-0 to end the half.
In the 3rd quarter, both teams faced some untimely penalties that halted any good drives they had. Early in the quarter, the Steelers were putting together a strong drive. However, despite gaining 30 yards, the Sault could not make a crucial first down due to two penalties against their offence. Then off a Spartans punt, the Sault fumbled the ball and Sudbury recovered it. With a penalty on the play against the Spartans, the ball ended up back in the Steelers hands. After strong defence from both teams, the Spartans scored late in the quarter with Rocha throwing to Rideout who then ran the ball over the goal-line. The score at the end of the 3rd quarter was 28-0.
The 4th quarter was scoreless until roughly 9 and a half minutes in, after Wood made good use of his receivers. The Steelers connected multiple times with Dalton Toppan, and then finishing with a throw to the corner of the endzone where Ron Kelly made a great catch for the touchdown. With their first touchdown of the game, the score was 28-7 for the Spartans. This was the only touchdown for the Steelers, with the game ending 28-7.
With this win the Sudbury Spartans have secured a first-round home playoff game on July 27th. The Spartans have a bye week next week and will be returning to the gridiron July 6th when they head on the road to North Bay to face the Bulldogs.
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