The Cowichan Bulldogs’ midseason turnaround continues.
After rough starts to the spring football season for both the peewee and junior bantam teams, things have started looking up, and both teams rolled to victories on the road against the Sooke Thunderbirds last Sunday.
With peewee head coach Tim Maertz away on a football-related road trip, his assistants stepped in and guided the Bulldogs to a 40-0 win over Sooke.
“To say that the peewees played their best game of the season would be an understatement,” Maertz said after watching video of his team’s decisive win.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs got into good scoring position immediately, and thanks to runs by Davin and Aiden Reithaug and Nico Harris, scored just four plays later with Aiden Reithaug taking the ball over the line.
The Cowichan defence had an excellent day, holding the Thunderbirds to just two first downs for the game. Not long after their first score, the Bulldogs took the ball back when Sebastian Tait recovered the ball after a forced fumble.
“We were able to get a lot of pressure into the backfield and create havoc for the Sooke offence,” Maertz said.
Nico Harris finished off the next series with Cowichan’s second touchdown. Another great defensive series led to Sooke punting the ball, and Aiden Reithaug ran it back 70 yards to score.
“What was really impressive about the play was the number of teammates running with Aiden all the way to the end zone,” Maertz said.
The coaches switched things up after that, giving some different players opportunities to carry the ball and it paid off in positive yardage.
“It was great to be able to switch players around and have them contribute,” Maertz said.
The junior bantam Bulldogs defeated their Sooke counterparts 33-22.
“It was a complete team win,” head coach PJ Shea said. “With every player doing their part to secure the victory.”
The Bulldogs used their running game to great effect against Sooke, which led to opportunities for the passing game as well. The offensive line created great holes for the running backs, who were led by a strong performance from Brock Lamont.
“The game could have slipped away from us very early, but the team showed a lot of resiliency,” Shea said. “We have turned a corner, and that has led to some much needed confidence.”
The Bulldogs will look to keep winning when they host Comox at McAdam Park this Saturday, the peewees taking the field at 11 a.m. and the junior bantams at 12:30 p.m.