Skip to content

Bulldogs roll into playoffs

Peewees and junior bantams win regular-season finales
9194966_web1_171103-CCI-bulldogs_2
Peewee Bulldog Cody Williams finds his way through an opposing defence during a recent home game. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

A thoroughly dominant regular season wrapped up for the junior bantam Cowichan Bulldogs with a 31-8 win over the Ladysmith Steelers at McAdam Park last Sunday.

Not only did the Bulldogs finish the season unbeaten and atop the Vancouver Island Canadian Football Association junior bantam standings, they were also the top scoring team on offence, and allowed the fewest points on defence.

Cowichan moved the ball down the field methodically and consistently, scoring in every quarter of the game. Drake Spong had three touchdowns in a breakout performance and Finn Shea also scored.

Lineman Jayden Strzok had an outstanding day on defence, leading a crew that also got strong performances from Dillon Wilson and Jaxson Jones.

“We did a lot of great things, especially on defence,” Cowichan head coach PJ Shea said. “Jayden Strzok was an absolute beast; he really set the tone for the line. The ceiling for a lot of these athletes is incredibly high. What they have already accomplished this year is outstanding. This game gave us a different type of adversity, something that we were not, and should not, be expecting from another team. Our athletes kept their focus and their composure. I am incredibly proud of all of them.”

Unfortunately, the game took a negative turn in the final minutes as Finn Shea and receiver Jesse Kwasny were taken out with targeted hits to the head, leading to the ejection of two Ladysmith players.

The JB Bulldogs will open the playoffs this Sunday as they host Oceanside at McAdam Park at 1 p.m.

Also emerging victorious on Sunday were the peewee Bulldogs, who defeated Ladysmith 26-6.

“We struggled a bit in the first half, but I think the morning dew on the field played a part,” Cowichan peewee coach Opie Williams said. “The football was slippery.”

The Bulldogs fumbled the ball on their second offensive play of the day, but Aiden Muth got the ball back for Cowichan with a fumble recovery of his own, and Ryder Maertz finished off that possession with a 25-yard run. Ladysmith answered back, and the teams went to halftime tied at six points apiece.

“In the locker room, I asked the players if they had the mistakes out of their system,” Williams recalled. “And said we were going to go out, play hard and have a fun second half. They stepped up their game.”

The defensive line answered the call: Maertz and Bradley MacRae had sacks in the opening series, and Cody Williams made a tackle that forced the Steelers to punt. Maertz broke two tackles on a 76-yard touchdown run, then recovered a fumble on Ladysmith’s next possession.

A couple of possession changes and a penalty later, the Bulldogs found themselves at second and 35, but Muth ran the ball back to the original line of scrimmage, and Maertz sprinted 65 yards to score. Switching positions, MacRae took the ball at fullback and carried it for another 65-yard touchdown.

The peewee ‘Dogs finished the season fourth in the nine-man division and will visit the first-place Greater Victoria Renegades at Copley Park this Saturday to open the playoffs.

The midget Bulldogs closed out their regular season with a rare loss, falling 34-0 to the White Rock Titans in the battle for first place.

“We struggled against a physical, more dominant team,” Cowichan midget head coach Mike Williams said. “We were beaten in all aspects of the game. We were not prepared for what White Rock was about to give us.”

As the score would suggest, the Bulldogs couldn’t get anything going on offence.

“As expected, they loaded up and had everyone preventing the run,” Williams said. “And we weren’t able to get our passing game on track until the third quarter.”

Cowichan’s defence was never able to get on track, either. The Titans had success with a read-option game with their quarterback and strong, physical running back, which Williams felt “showed that we were lacking discipline in our defensive positioning.”

It didn’t help that the Bulldogs lost a couple of players before the game, including offensive powerhouse Damian McCuaig-Jones, to an injury, and an unnamed defensive starter to a disciplinary issue.

“From a mental game perspective, that threw us off right from the very beginning,” Williams said.

The Bulldogs have a week off before hosting Pemberton on Nov. 12 for a semifinal showdown. The teams were scheduled to play a regular-season game earlier this fall, but a mix-up with the officials forced them to hold a controlled scrimmage instead.

“We are looking forward to regrouping over the next two weeks, coming out strong and being able to compete on the championship weekend on Nov. 19,” Williams said.



kevin.rothbauer@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
Read more