Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The Sault Sabercats wrapped up their 2026 Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL) U16 ‘AA’ regular season on Saturday, June 7th, suffering their first defeat of the campaign in a hard-fought 12-6 decision against the Sudbury Spartans at the James Jerome Sports Complex in Sudbury. Entering the contest, the third-place Sabercats carried a 4-0-2 record, having scored 169 points while allowing just 45 through four played games, with two additional contests recorded as ties after their opponents were unable to play. The fourth-place Spartans entered the regular season finale at 5-1, boasting 206 points scored and 96 points allowed over six games.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Sudbury broke through with 5:42 remaining in the second quarter when the Spartans connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass before adding the successful conversion to take a 7-0 advantage. Late in the opening half, with 1:42 left on the clock, the Sabercats conceded a safety, sending the Spartans into halftime with a 9-0 lead. Despite the deficit, the Sault defence continued to battle, keeping the game within reach heading into the second half.
The Sabercats responded at the 9:15 mark of the third quarter when quarterback Reegan Dezordo found Vinn Sagel on an 11-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 9-6 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt. However, just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Spartans extended their lead with a 17-yard field goal, providing the eventual 12-6 final margin. While the loss marked the Sabercats’ first of the 2026 regular season, Sault closed out league play with a strong overall record and now shifts its focus toward the upcoming OSFL U16 ‘AA’ playoffs, where the team will look to rebound and make a deep postseason run.
Sabercat coach Jim Monico told Saultsports that “We had another slow start today, and that’s been something we’ve battled all season. Against a quality team like Sudbury, you can’t stop their momentum early. I was really proud of our defense. They played an outstanding game and got us out of a lot of tough situations. Offensively, we weren’t able to establish our running game the way we wanted, but our passing game stepped up and kept us in it.”
“We also hurt ourselves with too many penalties. We have to be more disciplined because those mistakes become even more costly once the playoffs begin. At this point, we expect to be opening the playoffs in York next weekend against the Lions. We’ll use this week to clean up the areas we need to improve and make sure we’re ready for the challenge ahead, added Monico.
