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Midget Bulldogs come within a rouge of upsetting league leaders

Cowichan football team shocks North Langley
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A quirk of the game unique to Canadian football spoiled an otherwise fantastic afternoon for the midget Cowichan Bulldogs on Sunday.

The game at McAdam Park went down to the final play. The visiting North Langley Kodiaks — a powerhouse that has gone unbeaten all season — marched the ball down the field over the last three minutes to get into field-goal range. Head coach Tim Maertz called a timeout, both to admittedly ice the North Langley kicker and to rally his own troops. When play resumed, for the second time that day, the Kodiaks kicked the ball wide of the uprights, but long enough to get it through the end zone for the rouge — the single-point play particular to the northern game — just enough to get the win for the visitors.

“The lovely rules of Canadian football reared their ugly head again,” coach Tim Maertz joked.

Regardless of the heartbreaking result, the game was a massive statement by the Bulldogs, who lost 56-0 last time they faced North Langley.

“It was a bit of a heartbreaker,” Maertz said. “But it was a well-played game.”

Beyond nearly upsetting the league leaders, the Bulldogs had several other accomplishments in the game, scoring only the second touchdown the Kodiaks have given up this fall, and sacking the North Langley quarterback not once, but twice, both courtesy of Nicholas Young.

“Their quarterback hadn’t been sacked all year long, and Nicholas got to him twice,” Maertz said. “Their offensive line is so big and hard to move, for Nick to get to him and get his hands on him was pretty impressive.”

The teams went back and forth in the first half, with first downs at a premium. The only point of the opening 30 minutes came on a rouge by North Langley shortly before halftime. It was clear that the Kodiaks were in unfamiliar territory in such a close contest.

“It was enough to really put fear into Langley. Last time we played them, they were up 46-0 at the half. For our guys to hold them to one point at the half was great.”

North Langley opened the second half by returning the Cowichan kickoff for their only touchdown of the day to go up 8-0. It wasn’t enough to faze the Bulldogs, who came back from a much bigger deficit a week earlier.

“In Surrey, when we were down 20-0, the guys never really got too down on themselves,” Maertz said. “It was just one score. There was still a lot of football left.”

The second half was similar to the first in terms of back-and-forth play. Eventually, the Bulldogs struck back when Aidan Taylor picked off a North Langley pass and ran it more than 95 yards to score. It was the first interception of the season for Taylor, and only the second touchdown the Kodiaks have surrendered all season.

“He’s been wanting something like that for a long time,” Maertz noted. “To see him get that was nice.”

The Bulldogs’ two-point convert was successful, and the teams were even at 8-8. That score held until the last play of the game when the Kodiaks scored their second rouge.

“For our guys to come out and show them how much they’ve improved since we played them last, it’s a big tribute to how hard the guys have been working,” Maertz said.

The Cowichan offence struggled to get things going on Sunday, although quarterback Dakota Cullum did complete a few passes, including two to Carson Maertz for first downs, and Damian McCuaig-Jones had another good game at running back. The Cowichan defence picked off North Langley passes at least three times, but only one was recorded as an interception. The others, including a big one by Kilion VennRyan in the first half, were called back on penalties. All-in-all, there was much for the Bulldogs to be pleased with.

“I told the players, ‘A lot of great things happened in that game,’” coach Maertz said. “‘Don’t dwell on the loss.’”

The Bulldogs have a bye this weekend as the other teams wrap up the season. The following weekend, they will almost certainly face none other than the North Langley Kodiaks in the first round of the playoffs, knowing that a win is not out of the question.

“We have a group that knows it’s in our grasp,” Maertz said. “They’re ready and willing to work hard and get it.”



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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