Bulldogs ready for return to playoffs

There was a quiet confidence in the air Friday night at the North Bay Bulldogs special teams practice. The Bulldogs head for Oakville on Saturday where they will face the Oakville Longhorns in one of four NFC quarterfinals. The Bulldogs go into the playoffs with a 4-4 record but to a man know that they could easily be one of the top teams in the league. Head Coach Marc Mathon took a moment to reflect on the regular season that was.

“We started out rough,” said Mathon in regards to his teams 0-2 start.

“We were implementing a new concept on defence, so we expected it may take a couple of games to get going. Offence can sometimes take longer to get going. It really looked like things were starting to get going in that Milton game and then Jason (Ferreira) got hurt. Right now things are better, we are healthy, and we are becoming more consistent. We blew those first two games of the year, but are other two losses were to equal teams. I’m confident this team can beat anyone.”

It is, however, a confidence that is not shared in most circles around the league. Fans have been posting their playoff predictions on team message boards and there has been little to no chance given to the Bulldogs this weekend. Although the team was just a few plays away from being 7-1 on the season, there has always been a Southern Ontario bias against the Bulldogs. Mathon however is not worried about what others think about his team.

“We don’t care about that kind of stuff,” said the coach regarding message board predictions.

“We’re used to it by now. No one down south ever gives us a chance. We know that we can beat anyone in this league and that is what is important.”

It has been quite a turnaround for the Bulldogs to even get to the playoffs this season. After missing the playoffs last year and having a record of 1-7 most people had written off the Bulldogs before this season started. Mathon credits his teams turn around to his veteran players.

“Last year we had a lot of first year players. We were very competitive, we lost a lot of close games, but are main problem was our offence. This season our veterans have influenced a lot of our young guys, and the new guys were able to find success on the field,” said Mathon.

The Bulldogs will look to continue that success against Oakville Saturday. The Longhorns have consistently been one of the top teams in the league and boast one of the leagues top offences. The challenge for the Bulldogs will be to slow down the Longhorns passing game. Oakville quarterback Tom Denison led the league in passing yards, and touchdowns, while his number one target Vaughn Stewart led the league with nine touchdown receptions.

The Bulldogs defence, which carried the team most of the year, is one that possesses the ability to slow down the Longhorns attack. Linebacker Dave Boyd led the league with ten sacks, and Anthony and Mike Gauthier were among the league leaders in tackles. Most of the pressure Saturday will be on the Bulldogs secondary to contain the passing game. With veterans Chris Bowes, Brian Samson, and Russ Burns leading the way, the Bulldogs will be very confident in their ability to shut down the Longhorns.

Bulldog Updates

Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday in Oakville. Baytoday.ca is hoping to run a live game log during the game, so be sure to check back to get live updates as the game is played.

Also check back Sunday morning for a full game report.