The junior bantam Cowichan Bulldogs continued to play winning football as they crushed the perennial powerhouse Victoria Spartans 36-0 at McAdam Park on Sunday.
Despite a number of injuries, both prior to and during the game, the Bulldogs demonstrated resilience by shutting down the Victoria offence with what coach PJ Shea termed “a suffocating display of defence.”
“This was a true team win for us,” Shea said. “Due to injuries, we had athletes playing in new spots and they did well. This is a special group who have embraced the importance of the will to prepare leading to success.”
No matter what the Spartans tried, the Cowichan defence was able to adjust, and prevented Victoria from establishing any rhythm.
The standouts on defence included middle linebacker Finn Shea, who added to his team-leading tackle total, defensive end Jaxson Jones, defensive back Gavin Kendrick, and lineman Jayden Strzok.
Quarterback Trekker James led the offence, which was able to score both through the air and on the ground. Running back Drake Spong had a strong game, and scored on a short dive. Finn Shea scored two rushing touchdowns, including one of over 60 yards. Jesse Kwasny caught two touchdown passes, one from James and one from Shea.
The peewee and junior bantam Bulldogs will play host to the Ladysmith Steelers this Sunday at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.
The nine-man midget Bulldogs were grateful just to have an opponent for their game last Sunday. Cowichan head coach Mike Williams thanked coach Jay Daniels and the Comox Raiders for making the trip to Duncan even though they had just 12 healthy players — two shy of the required minimum.
“It gave us an opportunity to move people around, get guys in positions they don’t usually play, and try different things,” Williams said.
The Cowichan offence relied on the running game throughout the 31-6 win. Brayden Doucette got the most carries, finishing with 58 rushing yards and one touchdown. Alex Marinakis ran for 81 yards and one touchdown, and Damian McCuaig-Jones had 35 rushing yards and one touchdown, as well as a 40-yard touchdown reception. Offensive lineman Liam Simmons got into the action with one carry in as a fullback, and went for a 28-yard run.
“It’s an offensive lineman’s dream to carry the ball as a fullback,” Williams said.
The Bulldogs’ air game wasn’t as successful, leading to several incompletions, including two interceptions.
“I’m O.K. with our running game, but we still need to work on our passing game,” Williams said. “We’re going to simplify our game this week. I want to have more success with the passing game than we’ve had this year.”
On defence, because of opportunities 15 players (out of 21 who dressed for the game) recorded a statistic on defence, led by Kilion VennRyan’s four tackles and two interceptions and Evan Kwasny’s seven tackles. Cowichan had three picks in total, including one by Aden Nettleton. Comox didn’t manage to score until the last play of the game.
“Comox is a young team,” Williams commented. “They’ve been getting beat up by Pemberton and White Rock, but we used it as an opportunity for our kids to get into different positions.”
The Bulldogs will host the White Rock Titans this Sunday at 2:30 in their regular-season finale, with the winner taking top spot in the nine-man league. The Titans will be looking for revenge.
“They’re still upset with us for going in and beating them 12-6 a month and a half ago,” Williams noted.