Photo Credit Tony Boniferro

Coming of a 23 – 7 Ontario Summer Football League semi – final win over the Waterloo Warriors in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and finishing the regular season undefeated, the Sault Varsity Sabercats headed to Windsor, Ontario to face the Sarnia Sturgeon at Alumni Field on Sunday, August 6th in the Sandy Ruckstuhl Memorial Cup championship OSFL final.

At 5:58 of the opening quarter, Sabercat Ty Koski finds the uprights from the Sturgeon 23 yard line to give the Sault a 3 – 0 lead. Mason Broer grabs a handoff from Sarnia quarterback Josh Foulis at 2:45 of the first to run for a four yard touchdown carry to give the Sturgeon a 6 – 3 lead. Bumbaco kneels to concede to two points for a Sarnia safety at 5:29 of the second to bring the Sturgeon lead to 8 – 3. Sarnia increases their lead to 10 – 3 when Bumbaco is instructed by the Sabercat bench to take his second straight knee for the Sturgeon’s second safety of the quarter with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter. Ethan Scott recovers a fumble at the Sturgeon 51 yard line to start a four play drive into Sarnia’s 18 yard. Sabercat quarterback Matti Tucker airs a 18 yard pass to Jaidan Trudeau for the Sault’s first major of the game to close the gap to 10 – 9 with 34 seconds left in the half.

At 7:14 of the third quarter, Tucker fires a 17 yard pass over two Sarnia defenders to find Nate Carter in the Sturgeon endzone to increase the Sabercats lead to 15 – 10. Sabercat two point conversion was unsuccessful. With a Sarnia kick from the Saberacts 47 yard line, Jaidan Trudeau was tackled in the endzone to give up one point to the Sturgeon to close the gap to four at 5:04. In his late game as a Sault Sabercat and St Clair commit and 63 seconds remaining the third quarter, Daniel Bumbaco catches a Tucker 22 yard pass in the Sturgeon endzone to give the Sault a 22 – 11 lead after a Koski convert. Finishing off his OSFL career, Bumbaco kicks a rouge through the Sarnia endzone at the end of the third to bring the Sabercats lead to 23 – 11 and return to Sault Ste Marie with an 2023 OSFL U18 AA Sandy Ruckstuhl Cup Championship win.