Bulldogs win second straight

The North Bay Bulldogs went in to their game Saturday wanting to push their record to 2-2 and they got what they wanted. Another strong game by the defence was aided by two rushing touchdowns by the offence, giving North Bay a 15-13 victory Saturday afternoon. A shorthanded Bulldogs club gave a gutsy performance against a Marauders team whose 0-3 record is no indication of how good they are according to Bulldogs head coach Marc Mathon.

“They (Milton) are better then what they’ve showed,” said Mathon in regards to the way the Marauders played.

“They were much better then what they’ve been over the last two weeks. They are a big team. They have a big offensive line and fullback which lead the way for their very quick and talented running back. They were the first team we’ve met that was a big, strong, hard running team. We had a bit of a hard time slowing them down in the third quarter but we made some adjustments on the sideline and they worked. Milton is going to win some games this year though, they are a good team.”

The Bulldogs were a wounded bunch coming into the game, and things looked to have gotten a whole lot worse. Already without starting running back Sterling Bilz, who missed the game due to injury, starting quarterback Jason Ferreira dislocated the middle finger on his throwing hand on the Bulldogs first play of the third quarter. Although he is not expected to miss any games thanks in part to the upcoming bye week, the injury hindered the Bulldogs in the second half.

“It really grounded our offence,” said Mathon regarding the injury to his quarterback.

“They (Milton) had switched to a run blitz which was leaving their corners one on one and on an island with our receivers. We really thought we could have a good game passing in the second half. We tried to tape it up and put a glove on the hand but it just didn’t work. I think we could have had a couple more touchdowns if Jason was healthy.”

The coach was once again pleased with the play of his defence. Starting with the second half in week two versus the Soo Steelers, the defence has been on quite a roll this year. Dave Boyd got his league leading sixth sack of the season Saturday afternoon, and the rest of the defence including first year players Jamie Parolin and Matt DesRosiers who were filling in for an absent Scott Brown, played very well.

“Overall our defence played great. We did have some breakdowns but we were able to focus and make the necessary adjustments to be effective. We had two first year players playing corner who did a great job. They did get beat a couple of times, but they adjusted and played well. It was great to get them some game experience.”

The North Bay Bulldogs used their running game to put their points on the board. Running back Kevin Ramakko, playing his first game of the season, had one touchdown, and Kyle Seibert had the other. Matt Gordon also scored a two point conversion and kicked an extra point. The kicking duties would normally fall to the feet of Rick Thompson; however Thompson was yet another regular who was unable to play in Saturday’s contest.

Although the results from other week four contests have yet to be posted, a 2-2 record may be enough to put the Bulldogs into the top half of the standings. Heading into the bye week the Bulldogs are extremely happy with the position they are in, and are also looking forward to some rest. With so many wounded bodies the bye week could not have come soon enough for North Bay.

“It’s a huge uplift for us,” said Mathon with regards to being .500 going into the bye week.

“This is going to give us two weeks to really prepare for the teams we are going to be facing in our home stand. We have three straight games at home and getting in two good weeks of practice is a key to our success. We are going to practice hard and plant some seeds to be successful in the upcoming games. The time off will also give us a chance to heal up and rest some of our injured bodies. We have a lot of regulars who are either out of the lineup or not a hundred percent and this bye week will help.”

The North Bay Bulldogs will once again lace up their cleats Saturday July 7th. The Toronto Raiders come to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff, and the first of three consecutive games at Rollie Fischer field.

Siebert heading out west

North Bay Bulldogs running back Kyle Seibert may have played his final game of the season for the Bulldogs. Seibert, who scored a touchdown against Milton, will be heading out west to play in the Canadian Junior Football League. Seibert was picked up by a team from Regina and will be missed by the Bulldogs.

“He did a great job,” said Mathon regarding Seibert’s play in the first half of the season.

“He really helped us through the first half of the season. He really stepped in and played well for us. With Sterling Bilz being injured he was able to play the majority of the snaps and he did an excellent job. Although we are upset to see him leave the team, we also want to wish him the best of luck and hope to see him have great success out there.”