NFC Week 7 Recap: Invaders continue to conquer new ground

The Ottawa Invaders travelled to Sault Ste. Marie Saturday June 7th , where the team was met by a Steelers franchise they have yet to defeat since entering the Northern Football Conference in 2009. Sitting at 4-1 the Invaders were looking to lock up home field advantage and keep their 4 game winning streak alive as the end of the regular season creeps up on the NFC.

Coming in to the game Ottawa’s offence, lead by quarterback Jeff Hildreth, had been punishing opposing team defences and Saturday’s contest was no different. Amassing 369 total yards in the victory, the Invaders were leading 14-0 by halftime thanks to strikes from Joe Doherty and Danny Mullins. Hildreth threaded the needle on both drives, while kicker Jeff Morris converted on the point-after-attempts.

Sault Ste. Marie made exceptional opportunities for themselves in the first half, breaching the Invaders 5 yard line twice. However the hard hitting Ottawa defence, lead by Mike LaFond with five tackles, held the Steelers scoreless as they registered a sack on the first attempt and forced a missed field goal on the second.

As the second half got under way the Invaders did not let their foot off the gas. Jeff Hildreth completed his third touchdown pass of the day to Bill Fletcher. The score made Fletcher the 15th different Invader to record a touchdown this season.

This was followed by an Adam Gourgon punch in from 9 yards out for Ottawa’s fourth successful drive of the day, before Maxim Lepage ended any chance at a Steelers comeback with a late game interception. Jeff Morris also added a field goal to seal the Invaders 31-9 victory.

Notable individual performances came from Jeff Hildreth, who has over 1400 yards and 14 touchdowns in his last 5 games, setting new franchise records for the Invaders. Danny Mullins’ touchdown reception also set an Invaders single season record with 7. Jeff Morris had 4 extra point conversions on the day, as well as registering his third field this season on four attempts tying him for the NFC lead.

Ottawa now sits in sole possession of second place and has not lost in 5 games since dropping their season opener to the Titans. The Invaders have a shot at redemption this week and a chance to knock off the Titans as the top seeded team heading in to the post season.

The Titans, who are undefeated in their 2012 campaign, will have to take one away from the surging Invaders on home turf if they wish to remain ahead in the NFC. The contest kicks-off at 7 pm, Saturday July 14th at Keith Harris Stadium.