Bulldogs running back Sterling Bilz (#23) is pulled down after a decent run in the first quarter. Photo by Chris Dawson. It was a gorgeous evening at the West Ferris Alumni Complex for the North Bay Bulldogs home opener.
Bulldogs running back Sterling Bilz (#23) is pulled down after a decent run in the first quarter. Photo by Chris Dawson.
It was a gorgeous evening at the West Ferris Alumni Complex for the North Bay Bulldogs home opener. But the weather, a large crowd, and a solid defensive performance were not enough on this night. A lackluster offensive performance, turnovers, injuries, and penalties were too much to overcome in a 29-0 defeat at the hands of the rival Soo Steelers.
The defence set the tone early forcing the Steelers to punt on their first two possessions. However the offence was not able to capitalize. Although they were able to move the ball on their first drive going 53 yards in five plays, it ended in a missed field goal. The next Bulldogs drive was limited to three plays before they were forced to punt.
It was on the ensuing drive that Steelers starting quarterback Darrell Wood put together the games first scoring drive. Wood passed for 42 yards and ran for 15, ending the drive with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Noah Rushon with 12:52 left in the first half, and the Steelers were up 7-0. The Bulldogs were again able to have some success on their next possession getting the ball inside the Steelers 15, but a sack resulting in a 15 yard loss and a second missed field goal left the Bulldogs without any points on the scoreboard.
The Soo Steelers seemed poised for three points on their next drive but North Bay’s Chris Bowes blocked the field goal and returned it all the way to the Steelers 35 yard line. However, after an incomplete pass, Kurt Morrison picked off Jason Ferreira and returned it all the way to the Bulldogs 28. Three plays later the Steelers were up 14-0 as Darrell Wood found Matt Premo for a 10 yard touchdown pass to end the first half. Bulldogs coach Marc Mathon said the Steelers drag play was the difference, and knows that his offence needs to pick things up.
“They were running a drag with the backside receiver and he was wide open. It’s a little bit more difficult of a read. Offensively we just have to find our groove, find our base, something to get our rhythm in and then we can play off of that,” said Mathon.
After some halftime adjustments the Bulldogs were able to hold the Steelers to under 50 yards in the second half. The Steelers first three possessions of the half were three and out’s and resulted in only 9 yards of offence. However, the problem was that the Bulldogs offence was putting up similar stats. The Bulldogs first possession resulted in a second interception by Kurt Morrison at the Steelers 16, and their second possession of the half was a turnover on downs.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt on their next drive and Dan Leduc returned it 50 yards to put the Soo up 21-0. The Steelers punted through the end zone on their next possession to grab a 22-0 lead. After another interception gave the Steelers great field position, Noah Rushon hauled in his second touchdown of the game and we had our final score of 29-0.
The Bulldogs then took the field with Sterling Bilz under center, but coach Mathon put to rest any questions as to whether or not he had done that because of Ferreira’s performance.
“The idea was Jason’s. It wasn’t a discouraging thing; we were looking to see if we could get Sterling rolling out there, and get some yards on the outside. It was also a chance to give Jason a series on the sideline and see if there was something he could pick up from there,” said Mathon.
Steelers cornerback and defensive captain Wade Kraft was pleased with his team's performance and the way they bounced back from last week’s loss.
“It was a big step forward from last week’s performance. The offence played very well. They got on their blocks and played until the whistle, things are just going to get better from here,” said Kraft.
Kraft however admitted that although the Bulldogs were not able to score, this year’s passing game is much better then what it has been in the past.
“They are definitely getting better. They made us think out there in the secondary, they were stretching the field. That offence made us work real hard.”
Injuries also played a major role in the games outcome for the Bulldogs, and the coach did seem discouraged by what took place.
“We are not deep in terms of backups," Mathon admitted.
"We had a couple of guys get dinged up. Serious injuries to me are when a key guy misses a couple of series and that happened today. Serious to me is any time we don’t have our best guys out there. It’s something that just sucks.”
Mathon also was not pleased with the penalties that were taken.
“Penalties hurt us today," he said.
"Penalties are an issue of discipline, but at the same time there were a few penalties that should have been called against them that weren’t, and a number of penalties that were called against us that were pretty border line.”
The Bulldogs will take the field again next Saturday when they face the Toronto Maddogs. It has yet to be determined whether the game will be played in Toronto or in North Bay, so keep checking back to Baytoday for updates on the location and start time.
