It was a productive day for both of Sault Ste. Marie’s entries in the Ontario Summer Football League on Saturday at Superior Heights. Saturday afternoon marked opening day in the 2024 season for the Sault Sabercats at both the varsity and junior varsity levels.
In varsity action, the Sabercats jumped out to a 22-0 lead and ultimately picked up a 35-21 victory over the York Lions. Sabercats coach Matt Premo, who was filling in on Saturday for head coach Jamie Antonello, said the team was pleased with the start in the win, but also noted there’s still work to be done for the defending OSFL champs. “We’re happy for the most part,” Premo said.
“The first half was good. We could have really put it away, but just couldn’t capitalize on a couple opportunities in the first half. In the second half, (there were) a few more mistakes.
It was hot and guys were getting tired. It was their first game, and we have to clean that up.” With a bye week on the horizon, Premo said the team is looking to be sharper for their second game.
“It’s a new offence and a new offensive coordinator so it’s new for a lot of these guys,” Premo said. “It’s going to be polishing that up on offence. We want to be able to run the ball a little bit more successfully.
We had a couple of nice runs, but not consistent in the run game so we want to work on cleaning that up.” The Sabercats opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game as Nathan Guizzetti ran the ball in on a 48-.