Bulldogs looking for first win

The North Bay Bulldogs don’t have a lot of positives to build on after being demolished in their first three games in the new NFC season and being outscored in the three losses 95-13.

The Bulldogs were blasted 26-7 last weekend by the visiting Toronto Maddogs at the club’s home opener at Rollie Fischer Field.

This Saturday the Bulldogs are on the road looking for that elusive first victory as they visit the Longhorns in Oakville. One of the very small bright spots so far was a solid fourth quarter last Saturday in which the Bulldogs outscored their Toronto counterparts 7-0. It doesn’t seem like a lot but Bulldogs head coach Marc Mathon has to try and find some positives in what has been a dismal start for the local club.

“Probably the toughest things to deal with are the frustration,” said Mathon.

“We’ve got a great core of players who are used to winning and we’re having a tough time with turning our success into wins. The guys really want to win so badly, there is no lack of heart we just need to technically get our game back.”

To have any chance at making the playoffs Mathon believes the Bulldogs need to win at least three of their final five regular season contests. He believes a win on the road in Oakville could turn the season around.

“They’ve got a lot of new players just like us and we are going to prepare for them, at least we know how to prepare for them and if we can steal a game from the Longhorns that’s something that’s going to be really big for us,” said Mathon.

“The Soo were able to take away the pass against the Longhorns in week one so we’ll be looking to do the same.”

The Bilz Factor

Mick Bilz is the defending NFC rushing champion, but after three games the elusive back has only 133 total rushing yards.

“Everybody knows there going to try and get me the ball here in North Bay, if we could spread the ball around a little bit more it might loosen things up for us a bit I think,” said Bilz who is among the many veterans frustrated with the poor early results.

The Bulldogs have a bye week on the Canada Day weekend and will return to action on July 8th when they host the Sault Ste. Marie Steelers at 7 p.m. at Rollie Fischer Field.