Steelers stun Longhorns in Oakville

The Sault Steelers managed to do something they have never been able to do before -- beat the Oakville Longhorns in Oakville.

The Steelers put an end to that streak, which began when the team returned in 1996, on Saturday night as the locals opened the Northern Football Conference season with a 26-0 blanking of Oakville at Bronte Athletic Field.

Josh Gauthier led the Steelers offense with three touchdowns while rushing for 64 yards on eight carries. Nick Peterson added a run of 31 yards and Chris Tulloch added 31 yards on six carries.

Quarterback Travis McLean completed four of 14 passes for nine yards including a touchdown pass to Noah Rushon. Kyle Gauthier booted a pair of converts.

Defensively, the Steelers held the ageless quarterback of the Longhorns Mark Demerling to 8-13 passing for four yards. Mark Porco led with eight tackles while Tyson Vanderloo added 7.5 and a sack, Rob Southwind 6.5 and Brandon Lewis four.

Josh Gauthier also had a stellar game on special teams by taking a kick off back 40 yards and returning two punts for 57 yards.

The Steelers are back on the road next Saturday as they travel to Sarnia to face the expansion Imperials before returning to the Sault for their home opener on June 17 versus Oshawa beginning at 7 p.m. at Rocky DiPietro Field.