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

Special teams mistakes doomed the North Bay Bulldogs to their first loss of the season as they lost to the Ottawa Sooners 35-33 on the road Saturday night. Ottawa scored the game winning touchdown with two seconds left.
Author of the article:Greg Estabrooks | North Bay Nugget
Published Jul 17, 2023

The North Bay Bulldogs had a three-touchdown lead in Kanata on Saturday night but coughed it up, losing their first game of the season versus the Ottawa Sooners.

The Sooners scored a touchdown in the final seconds to stun North Bay 35-33. The Bulldogs are 4-1 on the year and Ottawa is 2-3.

North Bay lead 14-0 after one quarter. And 21-13 at halftime. The Bulldogs led 27-13 after three quarters but were outscored 22-6 in the fourth.

The loss spoiled another huge effort by the Bulldogs offence.

Jordan Heather put his hands a little tighter on the league Most Valuable Player award by completing 28 of 34 passed for 467 yards and five touchdowns.

Nick Laporte promised a big game and delivered one against the Sooners with 10 receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Jacob Steringa had two receptions for scores, catching eight passes for 113 yards. Andre Landry had 88 yards receiving and added a score.

Special teams were a killer for the Bulldogs as they gave up two onside kicks to Ottawa. Coach Marc Mathon says those failures, and some other mistakes, really hurt.

“We allowed one of our converts to be blocked, we gave them shorts fields after the onside kick recoveries,” says Mathon, who adds the Bulldogs needed more possessions in the second half, as they only had the ball three times.

“One more drive for us would have sewn up the win, just on time alone,” says Mathon.

Mathon was referring to the fact that Ottawa scored the go-ahead touchdown with only two seconds left in the game.

Heather said special teams need to be worked on this week with the playoffs approaching.

“It all comes down to giving special teams the time it deserves. Special teams are one-third of the game, and we need to treat it that way moving forward,” says Heather.

“Our offence played really well but we need to be able to extend our own drives. Late in games we need to manage the clock a bit better and score when time is more in our favour,” says the Bulldogs quarterback.

No matter how the Bulldogs do next week in their season finale against Sudbury, North Bay will host a playoff game the week after (July 29) and Mathon says it could be Ottawa coming to town.

The Sudbury game still has meaning for North Bay as the Bulldogs are trying to get as high a seed as possible for the league semifinals and finals if they advance that far.

The Bulldogs host winless Sudbury next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cundari Field.

Original Article

The North Bay Bulldogs are in Ottawa on Saturday night trying to win their 5th game in a row in Northern Football Conference action. North Bay enters the game at 4-0 while the Sooners have one win in four games.

Author of the article:Greg Estabrooks | North Bay Nugget
Published Jul 14, 2023

The North Bay Bulldogs express chugs into the nation’s capital this weekend trying to stay unbeaten.

The Bulldogs face the Ottawa Sooners for the second time this season. North Bay beat the Sooner 30-20 in the season opening at Mike O’Shea Field back on June 3rd.

The Bulldogs are the Northern Football Conferences’ only undefeated team, this after winning but one game in the last five years.

North Bay’s quarterback and a great receiving corps has a lot to do with that.

Jordan Heather leads the league in passing and North Bay had Nick Laporte in the lineup last week for the first time all season. Laporte caught two touchdown passes and went over 100 yards receiving.

The big receiver was not on the field practicing Thursday night at the Omischl Complex but will be playing Saturday in Ottawa.

“It (the lower body injury) is good enough to play with, but I am just taking week by week until I am back to 100 percent to prevent further injuries,” says Laporte.

Despite playing just that single game Laporte and Heather have established a lot of chemistry.

“It’s great playing with him. We worked together during the offseason in the winter. You can tell right away that he is a student of the game, takes it very seriously and has a great arm,” remarked Laporte who promises big things from himself and Heather on Saturday night.

As for the quarterback he gets to face a team the Bulldogs have actual tape on, of course that works both ways.

“It was five or six weeks ago (playing Ottawa) so it does help with game planning, but we still have to be ready for whatever they plan on throwing at us,” says Heather.

The Bulldogs quarterback is glad to have Laporte back on the field saying it makes a good group of receivers even better.

“We have a lot of guys making plays and having Nick just adds another dimension to offence with a guy who can stretch the field,” remarked Heather.

Jesse Shoults is a different kind of weapon for North Bay as he has made an impact on defence and is used for some tough inside run plays.

Shoults doesn’t care if the big plays come on offence or defence, as long as they happen.

“They ( plays on offence and defence) are both filled with adrenaline,” says the burly player.

“My goal when I am on the field is to boost the morale on the team and get everyone pumped up. Sometimes I get a little carried away, but it is what it is,” says Shoults.

Shoults offers this on why the Bulldogs are employing him on both sides of the ball.

“My physicality, I like to hit, and I try and make plays for the team and always try to flip the narrative,” says Shoults. “We are not the same old Bulldogs; we are here to make an impact on the league,” says Shoults.

So far so good on that count as North Bay is 4-0.

The Bulldogs are the Northern Football Conference’s only unbeaten team. Coach Marc Mathon says a win this weekend clinches home field through at least the semi-final.

Mathon is happy to have game tape on the Sooners from Week One.

“Anytime we play Ottawa or any of the southern (Ontario) teams it is always a key factor when playing them a second time,” says Mathon. “They are certainly going to change some things and we are preparing for them to change things in the offence that we know they have. It is not going to be an easy game,” remarked Mathon.

The 4-0 Bulldogs meet the 1-3 Sooners at Minto Field in Ottawa at 7 pm on Saturday.

Original Article