Holub and LeDuc Score Touchdowns in 2023 Season Opener Win Over Spartans in Sudbury

Posted On: June 3, 2023
Posted By: Saultsports
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Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

In their first game of the 2023 Northern Football Conference season, the Sault Steelers headed to Sudbury, Ontario to open their season against the Sudbury Spartans at James Jerome Sports Complex in NFC action.

After heading into halftime with a 9 – 6 lead over the Spartans, the Steelers headed back to Sault Ste Marie with a 15 – 6 win over the Spartans. Taylor Holub and Dan DeLuc scored the majors for Steelers along with the Sault adding two points for a rogue in the win. With 1:11 left in the opening quarter, Victor Paajanen gave the Spartans a 6 – 0 lead with Sudbury’s only touchdown of the game. With 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Zack Kirk brought the Steelers within four with a two point safety to give the Spartans a lead of 6 – 2 heading into the second quarter. Dan LeDuc gives the Sault a 8 – 6 lead with 86 seconds remaining in the half before Brady Smith finds the uprights for the extra point to send the visitors into half up 9 – 6. At 7:06 of the third, Taylor Holub cements Steelers first win of the season with the final major of the contest with a Sault touchdown to give the Steelers a 15 – 6 win to head into week two with a 1 – 0 record.

Steeler coach Daryl Wood told Saultsports that “what a night, what a team win. Everyone held the rope together and grinded. This was absolutely a team win although stats will show the standouts I can’t say enough about how these men stuck together and battled. Having Steve Hiiemma back in the offence really boosted us and with Hiiemma, Alonzo Clarke in the backfield set the ton for our offence…Brock Hoover and Holub in the past game really balanced us out offensively but I have to mention our ageless wonder Dan Leduc catching a big pass to the end zone kicking starting out offence…but we don’t do any of that without our defence taking charge of the game lead by Michael Reid and the cast that makes our defense run with Freddie Casselman, Andrew Batman, Darion Belkosky just to name a few of that amazing defence. Newcomers, I have to mention with Jacob Jurich and Blake Iannelli who played amazing and really impacted the game. So for next week it’s always a difficult task playing back to back!

“That with the same team but I think we need to focus on what we need to improve and get us better week to week so that will be our focus…a week one win is great but that’s over now and our focus is how we get better,” added Wood.

Next action for the Steelers will be on Saturday, June 10th at Rocky DiPietro Field in Sault Ste Marie when they play host to the Sudbury Spartans in a 7:30 p.m kickoff.