Category: Team News

2023 NFC All Stars & Award Winners

LEAGUE AWARDS
Most Valuable Player Jordan Heather (North Bay)
Offensive Player of the Year Jacob Steringa (North Bay)
Defensive Player of the Year Lowhya Lako (Sarnia)
Offensive Lineman Tome Bailey (Tri City)
Defensive Lineman Micheal Livingston (GTA)
Rookie of the Year Jordan Heather (North Bay)
(Leo Troy Memorial)
Coach of the Year Marc Mathon (North Bay)
(Sid Forster Memorial)
Special Teams Player Jacob Steringa (North Bay)
(Mike Jackson Memorial)
Leading Scorer Jacob Steringa (North Bay)
(August Kangro Memorial)
2023 FIRST TEAM OFFENCE
ALL STARS
Quarterback Jordan Heather (North Bay)
Running Back Brandon Metz (Tri City)
Alanzo Clarke (Sault)
Receivers Jacob Steringa (North Bay)
Nick Laporte (North Bay)
Kevin Walsh (GTA)
Dylan Mhlanga (Sarnia)
Offensive Line Andrew Carbillo (Tri City)
Tom Bailey (Tri City)
Connor Davis (Ottawa)
Nick Belanger (Ottawa)
Rily Vandehogan (Tri City)
2023 FIRST TEAM DEFENCE
ALL STARS
Defensive Line Derek Mulder (Tri City)
Micheal Livingston (GTA)
Damian Dziadosa (Tri City)
Zach Sewell (GTA)
Linebackers Lowhya Lako (Sarnia)
Dustin Murray (Hamilton)
Michael Reid (Sault)
Defensive Backs Richard Gillespie (GTA)
Tyler Storie (Sarnia)
Holden Drouin (North Bay)
Jake Skrinda (Tri City)
Zach Wilkinson (North Bay)
2023 FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
ALL STARS
Punter Ova Coca (GTA)
Punt Return Archelaus Jack (Hamilton)
Kicker Adam Pallet (Hamilton)
Kick Return Brandon McCraney (Sarnia)
2023 SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
ALL STARS
Quarterback Spencer Bollman (Tri City)
Running Backs Alex McFarlane (GTA)
Jonathon Cimankinda (Ottawa)
Receivers Esaie Mboko (Tri City)
Deshawn Greenway (Hamilton)
Andre Laundry (North Bay)
Andre Bailey (Hamilton)
Offensive Line Rashad Hafzi (Ottawa)
Jordan Fryer (Sudbury)
Drake Morin (North Bay)
Josh Hardy (Sarnia)
Nik Blake (GTA)
2023 SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
ALL STARS
Defensive Line Joe Shyminsky (Sudbury)
Ethan Barnes (Sarnia)
Austin Garlow Henry (Hamilton)
Miguel Allard (North Bay)
Linebackers Jaydon Lawson (Tri City)
Jonathon Cimankinda (Ottawa)
Anthony Edwards (Sarnia)
Defensive Backs Nicolas Cartagenise (GTA)
Jordan Wright (Sarnia)
Kory Benoit (North Bay)
Mykal Reid (Tri City)
Connor Boudreau (Sault)
2023 SECOND TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
ALL STARS
Punter Adam Pallet (Hamilton)
Punt Return Kevin Walsh (GTA)
Kicker Jacob Steringa (North Bay)
Kick Return Alanzo Clarke (Sault)

Congratulations Coach Darrell Adams

The Northern Football Conference along with the Longhorns organization are happy to congratulate Coach Darrell Adams. Coach Adams is a class act professional with a wealth of knowledge that the young Longhorns team has had the opportunity to learn from.
Coach Adams led the best Winter camp in Longhorns history and assisted during some of the toughest times for the organization.
We wish Coach D.A an amazing future in the OUA.

https://varsityblues.ca/news/2024/1/5/football-adams-named-varsity-blues-football-head-coach.aspx

The Bulldogs roll past Ottawa in NFC quarterfinal

The North Bay Bulldogs overran the Ottawa Sooners in a Northern Football Conference playoff game at Mike O’Shea Field Saturday night.

Author of the article:Greg Estabrooks | North Bay Nugget
Published Jul 29, 2023

The North Bay Bulldogs outslugged the Ottawa Sooners 24-13 to move to the Northern Football Conference semifinals.

It was a tougher night than usual for the Bulldogs offense who faced the Ottawa defence for the third time this weekend. North Bay led 7-3 after the first quarter and then 14-3 at the half.

Ottawa broke through with a field goal then North Bay answered back with touchdowns from Heather to Jacob Steringa and Will Laporte.

North Bay scored on another passing play as Heather hit Andre Landry for a score and it was 21-3.

North Bay was up 24-6 and had the ball until Heather was stripped of the ball and Anthony Noel of the Sooners took it back for a touchdown. That made the score 24-13 and that was the final.

Ottawa did not score on offence and Bulldogs coach Marc Mathon said stopping the run was vital.

“We found ourselves in a bad situation as we looked at the stats and we were giving up over 200 yards a game rushing,” says Mathon. “We had to take our defence and shored things up. The guys came to practice and really focused on that.”

“Once we were able to stop the run and force them to pass our defence backs were able to make plays and we have the advantage,” says Mathon.

Mike Van Damme had a big game for North Bay. Van Damme is a defensive end who has played exactly four games of football in his life.

The South African native wanted to try football when he moved to North Bay. So far so good for the first-year player.

“I’m just here to tackle, they tell me who to hit,” says Van Damme. “My understanding of the game is limited. They tell me who to tackle, and that is all I can do now,’ says Van Damme.

The run and gun Bulldogs offence played a very different style on Saturday. It was more conservative than usual. Quarterback Jordan Heather says that was the plan.

“In the second half we were trying to work on the running game and burn the clock,” says Heather. “The last time we played them we scored too quickly, and it gave them opportunities to get the ball back, so we tried to run the ball and play a little differently,” says the Bulldog quarterback.

North Bay will be off next week and will likely be on the road the week after that in a semifinal game.

Original Article

The Bulldogs face a familiar foe this weekend in North Bay

For the third time this season the North Bay Bulldogs square off against the Ottawa Sooners. This time it is a playoff matchup in North Bay Saturday night.
Author of the article:Greg Estabrooks | North Bay Nugget
Published Jul 26, 2023

Saturday will be the seventh game of the season for the North Bay Bulldogs men and it will be third time in those seven games they have squared off against the Ottawa Sooners.

The Bulldogs were thinking it was going to be five straight two weeks ago when they jumped out to a 21-0 lead in Ottawa versus the Sooners. North Bay ended up losing that game 35-33, however, after Ottawa scored a last-minute touchdown.

The game had its ugly moments, as two Ottawa players received one- and two-game suspensions, respectively, from the Northern Football Conference after Bulldogs coach Marc Mathon sent video of a couple of plays from the game to the league.

Mathon said he isn’t concerned, however, about any bad blood between the two teams. He is more focused on getting his defence and special teams right after a meltdown of both in the Ottawa game.

“The keys for us are trying to limit their quarterback and heavy run attack,” said Mathon. “We also need to keep working on special teams.”

Jordan Heather threw five touchdown passes and three for well over 400 yards in the loss to the Sooners.

Heather told his teammates it is a huge week of practice to get ready for round three with Ottawa.

The Bulldogs quarterback runs the offence and looks forward to another shot at Ottawa. He said he knows what is at stake this Saturday.

“It is playoffs so that adds pressure to go out there and win,” said Heather. “The more prepared I am by watching film, the easier it comes. It was the only team we lost to, and we had that game well, but things did not go well with special teams. We have corrected those issues, I believe, so we are looking forward to beating them this weekend.”

The game takes place this Saturday at Mike O’Shea Field with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Original Article

The North Bay Bulldogs reel off 28 points to beat Sudbury on Saturday night

The Bulldogs started slow but finished fast to end their Northern Football Conference regular season with a 5 and 1 record after beating the Sudbury Spartans 42-21.
Author of the article:Greg Estabrooks | North Bay Nugget
Published Jul 23, 2023

It was a little tougher than expected for the North Bay Bulldogs on Saturday night. The Sudbury Spartans may have been winless entering their game with the Bulldogs at Cundari Field, but they did arrive to compete.

Sudbury led the Bulldogs 21-14 late in the second quarter before the Bulldogs scored twice in the final three minutes to head to halftime with a 28-21 lead.

North Bay shut out the Spartans in the second half, scoring two more touchdowns, and cruising to a 42-21 win.

North Bay finishes the regular season with a 5-1 record. Ottawa handed the North Bay side its only regular-season loss after the Sooners rallied from a 21-0 deficit to stun the Bulldogs 35-33 on July 15.

Marc Mathon, the head coach and defensive coordinator, commented on his team’s ability to shut down the Spartans after a tough start.

“I think the guys just got caught a bit off guard,” said Mathon. “They were trying to corral (Sudbury’s offence) instead of attacking. We just changed it to a more attacking defence in the second half and that made a difference.”

Veteran defensive back Kory Benoit, who had one of three North Bay interceptions in the contest, talked about the change in approach.

“We just needed to buckle down and play our game of football,” he said. “Just do what the coaches asked us to do. We were a little concerned but knew if we did our jobs, we would prevail.”

The Bulldogs turned the ball over early in the game and that aided Sudbury, giving the Spartans a short field.

Quarterback Jordan Heather said a few things contributed to the sluggish start but it was good to see his teammates find their stride.

“We had a backup centre in the game, our normal centre has been away,” he said. “We had a snap go over my head, it happens. We also had a fumble in the first half. We had football plays that just didn’t go our way.

“They came to play, and you have to hand it to them for that,” said Heather. “It took us a little bit to wake up. Once our defence started to click, we held them scoreless in the second half and our offence was also able to do our thing.”

Heather threw a whopping six touchdown passes in the game as North Bay racked up 480 yards of total offence.

The Bulldogs quarterback had an animated talk with the team post-game and said the Bulldogs need to bear down, as the games are only going to get tougher.

“You got to be at practice; you got to commit,” said the Bulldogs pivot. “A new season is starting. We have a chance to do something good here. But we need to have a good week of practice to take it forward.”

Nick Laporte caught two more touchdown passes on five receptions for 136 yards.

Jacob Steringa scored twice himself, finishing the game with 125 yards receiving on eight catches.

Fisher Bilz caught his first touchdown pass of the season and rushed for a season-high 75 yards.

The Bulldogs host the Ottawa Sooners next Saturday back at Mike O’Shea Field, with the kickoff set for 7 p.m.

Original Article