A strong second half wasn't enough to salvage victory for the road-weary midget Cowichan Bulldogs in a 50-0 loss on the road against the Langley Stampeders last Sunday.
"This was our fourth road-trip game and our third to the Mainland," head coach Opie Williams noted. "I think it was starting to take a toll on all of us."
The Bulldogs found themselves down 44-0 as they headed to the locker room after a difficult first half.
"Langley came out strong and firing on all cylinders," Williams said. "We made mistakes on defence and are correcting them for this week. Our offence didn't move the ball well; we had fumbles and dropped balls. You cannot have missed opportunities against a strong team like Langley."
Williams knew that coming back against the Stampeders was an impossible task, but still didn't want his troops to surrender.
"At this point the game was over," he said. "I just wanted the boys to come out with pride and finish the game strong."
The Bulldogs were able to move the ball and stop Langley's offence in the second half, with the Stampeders' only points coming on a pick-six touchdown.
Linemen Tyler Hudson and Justin Young played iron-man football, not coming off the field once, while linebacker Mitch Hinton did everything he could to keep his teammates fired up.
After starting the season with four consecutive road games, the Bulldogs will finally play their home opener at McAdam Park this Sunday, squaring off against the Chilliwack Giants at 2:30 p.m. Chilliwack is undefeated, but just managed to steal their last win from Nanaimo.
"We have watched film on the Giants and we are full prepared to take advantage of their weakness and shut down their strengths," Williams said. "It should be a very exciting game and we are looking for all the support from the community."