The junior bantam Cowichan Bulldogs and three of their rival teams got together at Duncan's Rotary Park last Sunday to get the fall football season underway with a jamboree.
Joining the Bulldogs were the Victoria Spartans, Oceanside Titans and Fairview Outlaws. Each team played the others once over the day, in games consisting of two 15-minute halves on half fields, starting each new possession at the 40-yard line.
Scores weren't kept as the teams used the jamboree as a learning experience.
"The whole event was basically a kick start to the season," head coach Tim Maertz said. "My coaching staff and I were very pleased with how our squad played. There was some caution at first, but after a couple of plays it seemed our young men remembered how it feels to play football, and they were off to the races - I mean the end zone."
As strong as his team was when they had the ball, the Bulldogs defence was also up to the task.
"Our defence was solid, and with a little more tweaking our offense will be tough to stop," Maertz said.
The entire event was well received by the visiting organizations.
"I've gotten feedback from the other coaches, and they were very happy with the jamboree and how well it went," Maertz said. "We all had a great time. I'd like to thank our president, Loretta Copley for helping organize, coach Jeff [McDonald] for the officials, and to all the volunteers who made it a great success."
This is Maertz's first experience as a football head coach, and he's anxious for the season to begin. The junior bantam Bulldogs will play their first game of the fall this Sunday at McAdam Park against Fairview, kicking off at 12:30 p.m. "I'm looking forward to watching these young men develop their skills, and become better players and people from it," Maertz said.