Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
Coming off a tough 35–0 road loss in Sudbury on June 21st, the Sault Steelers returned home to Rocky DiPietro Field with only 21 players dressed on June 28th still searching for their first win of the 2025 OPFL season. Unfortunately, facing an undefeated Sarnia Imperials squad (3–0), the 0–4 Steelers were unable to reverse their fortunes, falling 29–6 in front of their home crowd.
In a closely contested first half, the Imperials finally broke the scoreless deadlock with just 17 seconds left before halftime. Sarnia quarterback Marshaun Lothery punched in a one-yard touchdown run to give the visitors a 6–0 lead, followed by Spencer Bollman’s successful extra point to make it 7–0.
The Imperials took control in the third quarter. At 9:18, Dante Lewis hauled in a 12-yard pass from Lothery and added a 5-yard run into the endzone, pushing the lead to 14–0 with Bollman’s second convert. Just minutes later, Geoffery Clubine burst through the Steelers’ defense for a 32-yard touchdown run. With another Bollman extra point, Sarnia extended the margin to 21–0.
The Imperials weren’t finished. At 6:06, Lothery connected with Dylan Samuel on a 44-yard bomb, followed by Samuel’s 17-yard run for another major. Bollman remained perfect on the night, converting for a 28–0 lead. A conceded rouge by the Steelers at 3:12 made it 29–0.
Despite the lopsided score, the Steelers refused to be shut out. With just eight seconds remaining, quarterback Ryan Yost found Blake Ianelli in the endzone with a 10-yard strike, putting Sault Ste. Marie on the board. The game ended in a 29–6 win for the visiting Imperials.
Steeler Andrew Batman told Saultsports “that loss against Sarina was tough as we battled so hard in the first half, yet the loss still eliminated us from the playoff race. However lately we faced numerous injuries and arguably the toughest schedule of the league (five games straight no bye, only team asked to do this) so we shouldn’t hang our heads low. We have to have pride and keep fighting. That mindset has to carry over to next game, we take a lot of pride in playing at Rocky DiPiertro Field and especially when it comes to playing against the Spartans. We have to be motivated by our pride and this historic rivalry now that playoffs are out of the picture. Nobody wants to go without a loss whatever, we will finish strong aiming for 1-5 despite the lack of healthy bodies remaining.”
The Steelers (0–5) now head into a bye week before returning to Rocky DiPietro Field on July 12th for their regular season finale. They’ll face the Sudbury Spartans in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, looking to end their 2025 campaign on a high note.
