Marauders maul Bulldogs

North Bay Bulldogs quarterback Mark Mcleod rolls out for a pass in the 3rd quarter in a lopsided 39-0 whitewashing at the hands of the NFC defending champions from Milton. Photo by Chris Dawson.

The Bulldogs offence continued to struggle on home field Saturday night and mistakes again cost the Bulldogs dearly. The Bulldogs fell behind early and were down 25-0 at the half as the Milton Marauders cruised to a 39-0 win.

A costly mistake early was an interception thrown by Mark Mcleod that Marauders DB Jason Nunez returned for a touchdown that gave the visitors a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and a turnover that was devastating for the sputtering Bulldogs offence.

"The ball was thrown before any blocking was able to set up there," Bulldogs head coach Marc Mathon said about the errant Mcleod pass.

"It was not a bad call, it was a mistake and we paid for it with seven points."

The Marauders added a couple more scores in the second quarter to put the game pretty much out of reach, however in the third quarter the Bulldogs were able to keep the Marauders off the scoreboard, however they couldn't muster any points either. But on the final play of the third quarter Mcleod fumbled the ball off a snap and it was recovered by the visitors who on that next possession to start the fourth quarter scored thanks to a deep pass from Marauders QB Josh Spanik to Andy Taylor who was brought down on the three yard line. Two plays later Steve Lubin rushed for another Marauder score and with the extra point it was 32-0.

The Bulldogs offence gave away the last touchdown as a fumble inside the Bulldogs 10 yard line was recovered again by the Marauders, this time in the endzone and with the extra point it was 39-0.

"When you play this group you are going to have to make fewer mistakes if we can get to that point by the time playoffs come we'll be okay," Mathon said about the now 5-0 Milton club that has now outscored its opponents 154-42 this season.

The lopsided loss drops the Bulldogs record to 2-4 on the season. Mathon believes the key to the Bulldogs success down the stretch will be their offensive line which struggled again on this night.

"Our offensive line was a little bit thin, because of injuries," Mathon said.

"If we can get to the playoffs with a healthy offensive line I feel good about how we are going to make out."

Up next for the Bulldogs is a meeting with Quinte next Saturday at Rollie Fischer field. The Quinte Limestone were an even 2-2 on the season coming into their Saturday contest against the Sault Ste. Marie Steelers.