Saturdays are usually reserved for college football, but local fans have another team to cheer for in the St. Tammany Steelsharks.

The Steelsharks, who belong to the Southern American Football League, are a minor league football team based out of Slidell that plays their five home games at William Pitcher Junior High School in Covington.

St. Tammany is in the midst of a 10-game season with the playoffs beginning Oct. 4. Going into the weekend, the Steelsharks were 2-0 after a 30-6 win over the Hammond Headhunters and a forfeit victory over Houston.

St. Tammany Steelsharks quarterback Dustin Moreau, a Slidell High graduate, hands off to Salmen graduate Corey Hurt during Thursday'€™s practice held at Possum Hollow Park in Slidell. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

The Steelsharks began a three-game homestand yesterday and will play the next two Saturdays against the Louisiana Blazin Bulldogs and the New Orleans Gladiators respectively.

The ticket prices are $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12 and those 5-under get in free.

The SAFL is made up of 20 teams, featuring squads from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas. The Steelsharks’ division has 12 teams.

Steelshark general manager Lee Hillman has had the team for seven years. During that time, St. Tammany has made it to the postseason five times and the semifinals twice. The idea of the team is to help give players a chance at making it in higher leagues like the Arena Football League, Arenafootball2, the Canadian Football League and others.

“We’re promoting people going to the next level and doing something positive in the community by giving people a second chance to play football,” Hillman said.

So far, two kickers have gone on to higher leagues. Charlie Hebert moved up to the CFL, while L.J. Daughtry got to the AF2.

Hillman said the squad features 35 players and an estimated 30 are local. Some of the other non-local schools represented include Bogalusa, Hahnville and St. Augustine.

Most of the competitors come from Pearl River, Salmen and Slidell. Some of the participants from Pearl River include Dusty Crowe, Darren Harrison, Brian Jenkins, Jeremy Jenkins, Sam Rogers, Steven Sylves, Cameron Tarleton and E.J. Wells. Sylves rushed for two touchdowns in the opening day victory.

The starting quarterback is 2007 Pearl River graduate Jesse Williams, who is in his first season of minor-league football.

Williams said the Steelsharks have a strong team.

“We’ve got a lot of veterans, but a lot of rookies new to minor league football. We have a lot of depth and one of the best receiving corps,” Williams said. “We’ve got a real good offensive line. In two games (including the jamboree), I haven’t been touched.”

Some of the Salmen graduates include Sam Heart, Bubba Hotard, Corey Hurt and Chris Leonick and Jamien Simms, who had four sacks against Hammond.

Steelshark first-year defensive lineman Lyle Turner, a Salmen graduate, talked about how he got started with the squad.

“I live out here in Slidell and one of my friends asked me if I wanted to play football, so I came out and started playing,” Turner said.

He added the Steelshark linemen are a good group.

“We’ve got some big boys on the line,” Turner said. “We’re pretty good, athletic and fast.”

Some of the Slidell graduates are Jerry Mcmasters, Antoine Mills, Dustin Moreau and Devon Short.

The head coach is Corey Warren, who also leads the offense.

Chris Caye coaches the defense and Fred Brink is the defensive-line coach.

The Steelsharks players and coaches are all volunteers. Hillman said he does what he can for the team because he likes football so much.

“I enjoy doing it. I played for the first three years. I love watching the game and the kids that get involved,” Hillman said.