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.