Steelers end home schedule with win

The Sault Steelers inched towards gaining home-field advantage in the Northern Football Conference playoffs in convincing fashion on Saturday night.

The Steelers posted a 57-3 victory over the Milton Marauders on Saturday at Rocky DiPietro field. The win improves the locals record to 5-2 heading into their regular season finale in Sarnia next weekend.

Josh Gauthier paced the Steelers with 113 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the opening half. The veteran did not see action in the second half. Noah Rushon led the receiving corps with 41 yards receiving on a pair of catches.

“All cylinders were firing,” said Steelers coach Barry Rushon. “Our offense was not perfect but it was quite good. Our defence did an outstanding job. Our special teams were really good. Everybody took an important role in that game.

Kurt Morrison got the ball rolling for the Steelers when he recovered a fumble in the endzone for the Steelers first score midway through the opening quarter. A pair of Gauthier touchdown runs, from 26 and 12 yards out, gave the Steelers a comfortable lead after one quarter.

Tony Boniffero caught a 16-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter while Gauthier ran in from nine yards out and again from 45 yards out to. James Albidone ran back a punt 45 yards to give the Steelers a convincing 43-0 lead at halftime.

In the second hald, Kyle Gauthier scampered in from 14 yards out and Dan Leduc caught a 34 yard pass to cap off the Steelers scoring. An Al McAllister field goal in the final moments of the fourth quarter broke the Steelers shutout bid.

Rushon hopes to cement his lineup heading into next weekend in Sarnia and the following weekend, which will be the playoff openers.

“We want to stay healthy,” Rushon said. “We still want to find our best 12 on offense and our best 12 on defence. We’ve got 15 or 16 guys who are pretty regular on offense and we’re about the same on defence. It may come down to the crunch where you have to squeeze 12 or 13 guys that are going to be playing a lot. We’re going to be looking at, this week and next week, being able to do that for the playoffs.”

Statistically, Josh Gauthier finished the day with 113 yard rushing on just 7 carries while Noah Rushon had 41 yards receiving on a pair of catches. George Baiden led the Marauders with 61 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards.