Saultsports.com’s High School Football Coaches Corner, presented by True North North, sat down with Superior Heights Steelhawks senior coach Matt DeSando and Korah Colts senior coach Tom Annett to talk about the challenges and excitement heading into week five of the 2025 Sault Ste. Marie High School Football season. With both teams in the thick of the standings, DeSando and Annett shared their thoughts on their squads’ progress so far, the adjustments being made on both sides of the ball, and what it will take to keep momentum rolling as the season moves into its second half.
Matt DeSando (Superior Heights Steelhawks)
Friday, October 3rd is the second meeting of the Superior Heights Steelhawks versus the White Pines Wolverines in Sault Ste Marie High School Senior action at Superior Heights field with a kickoff of 7:30 p.m. The Steelhawks defeated the Wolverines with a 28 – 21 win on September 11th.
What do you feel has been the biggest strength through the first four weeks?
At 3-1, your team has shown flashes of strong play, the biggest strength of our game through the past four weeks has been resiliency and playing complimentary football. We like a lot of the simple things we are beginning to do day in and day out.
What lessons have the players learned from the one loss that you think can help them moving forward?
We faced a steep learning curve in week 3’s loss, we learned a lot about ourselves in terms of alignment and execution, practice habits, preparation, team discipline. Our loss left us with adversity that we had to face as a team which continues to make us better.
How do you keep the team motivated and focused on improvement as you head into the second half of the season?
We need to take one day at a time. We are focused on improving our discipline, game readiness and execution as a cohesive unit. If we can trust ourselves to execute efficiently in all 3 phases of the game we like our team.
Looking at week five, what adjustments or changes are you hoping to see on the field to help get back in the win column?
Looking ahead to week five we are focused on consistency… We need to be consistent for a full four quarters to secure a win. We need to be consistent on our strengths, flashes of a very good football team and make routine plays routinely. Our opponent is a very good team and is relentless in their attack, they will be well prepared. We will have to match that readiness and play a full four quarters to come away successful.
____________________________________________________________________
Tom Annett (Korah Colts)
On Thursday, October 2nd, the Korah Colts will square off against the St. Mary’s Knights in a highly anticipated Week Five senior high school football matchup at 7:30 p.m. at Superior Heights Field, home of the Steelhawks.
The two teams met earlier this season in Week Two, when the Colts edged out a thrilling 31–24 win over the Knights in what has been their closest contest of 2025 so far. That battle showed the competitive fire on both sidelines, setting the stage for another hard-fought matchup under the lights.
Your team is off to a strong 4-0 start — what’s been the key to maintaining that consistency week after week?
Our Team focuses on the process of improvement, not the outcomes. We strive to improve each week with highly detailed and efficient practices that include competitive periods.
Additionally, much of our success so far should be credited to the great Player led Leadership in our Program.
As you prepare for week five, what areas of the game do you feel the team still needs to improve on despite the success so far?
We strive to improve our fundamentals each week. We like to tell our Athletes that they need to be obsessed with the mundane. Things like getting off the ball fast & low, tackling, blocking, etc. Additionally, we have been very happy with the growth of our pass game over the last 2 games and we are hoping to continue to grow in that area.
How have the players handled the pressure of being undefeated, and what do you do as a coach to keep them focused?
In our Program, we believe pressure is a gift. It is a mindset shift. We consider it a great privilege to have the opportunity to compete in high pressure situations. We like to say, “no pressure, no diamonds”. So, in short, our Players have embraced the “pressure”.
What challenges does this week’s opponent bring, and how is your team preparing to match up against them?
So far this season, our closest game was against St. Mary’s in week two. They have some dynamic athletes and a balanced attack on offense. Our Team is excited to compete this Thursday!
