Bulldogs lose season opener (updated)

Bulldogs quarterback Jason Ferreira reflected earlier in the week what it was like to be involved in the North Bay Bulldogs first ever franchise victory over the Sudbury Spartans back in 1993.

The Bulldogs now can relate to the '93 Spartans as they fell 43-20 at the hands of the Sarnia Imperials who won their first game in franchise history Saturday night in Sarnia.

Despite the loss, quarterback Jason Ferreira had a solid game through the air completing 25 of 41 pass attempts good for 302 yards and three touchdown passes. Wide receiver Matt Gordon had a big day hauling in 10 passes for 139 yards and three scores.

However Ferreira's big game was tarnished by six interceptions. Head coach Marc Mathon felt the offensive line gave Ferreira a lot of time, but since they played from behind most of the game the Bulldogs were forced to go to the air which made things tough for a guy coming out of retirement.

"I'm sure Jason didn't expect his comeback debut to include 6 interceptions, but Jason is a competitor and demands alot from himself," said Mathon.

"I'm sure he feels terrible about this game as we all do, but as a team we will work together to make each other better prepared for the next game."

As for defence the Bulldogs were caught off guard by Imperials rookie running back Matt Browning who ran for 230 yards on only 7 carries.

"Once this kid got past the line of scrimmage, he was a threat to score," Mathon said about the small and shifty Browning.

"He is a player you need to game plan around and without scouting reports, we were unprepared. He scored on 3 and the other was a 58 yard game to bring them inside the 5 yard line. I'm glad this happened to us in the first game of the season and not later. We can fix this in practice and tighten up our contain issues to limit those breakdowns."

Last year the Bulldogs avoided a winless season by hammering the winless expansion Imperials 41-6 on home soil. That would be the Bulldogs lone victory of the year in a 1-7 season.

The Bulldogs will have a week to lick their wounds after the disappointing loss as they host the Sault Ste. Marie Steelers at West Ferris Secondary School on Saturday, June 9th at 5 p.m.