The Cowichan Timbermen continued their midget football resurgence last Sunday with their second victory of the season, beating the visiting Cloverdale Bengals 39-0 at McAdam Park.
Amish Dobson led the Cowichan attack with three touchdowns, only one coming on offence. Jake Borserio added two majors, and Kain Melchior caught a pass from quarterback Braemon Conville then ran 85 yards to score.
The teams struggled for the first quarter as the Bengals were able to run the ball against the Cowichan defence.
“They had lineman-sized running backs and just pounded the ball,” head coach Opie Williams said.
An injury to Scotty Kennedy forced the Timbermen to move Tyler Hudson to linebacker; with five defensive linemen after that, the T-Men were able to put a halt to the Cloverdale running game and start some ball movement of their own.
The Bengals punted from deep in their own end and Dobson returned the ball 47 yards to open the scoring.
“That sprung us to life,” Williams said.
Jonas Joseph stripped the ball from the Bengals to force a third and long. Mitch Hinton tipped a pass that he almost caught, and later had a pick that he ran in for a touchdown, but had that one called off on pass interference.
Garion Ferguson had a great outing at halfback, while slotback Wyatt Faickney had two blocked passes and three tackles. The hit of the game came from Malcolm Barr right in front of the Cowichan bench, springing Dobson for the T-Men’s second touchdown.
On the road against the Vancouver Trojans last Sunday, the bantam Cowichan Bulldogs lost 52-6, but did have a big breakthrough as they scored their first touchdown of the season on a 70-yard pass-and-run play from Carson Maertz to Dakota Cullum.
The strong offensive performance also included a third-and-goal at the one-yard line, and a chance at the 15-yard line that was intercepted.
“We had a few more missed opportunities than we had all year,” coach Mike Williams said. “On a positive note, we can at least move the ball.”
The Bulldogs’ offensive line also looked good, particularly Liam Simons, Nicholas Young and Evan McEwen, Williams said.
On defence, the Bulldogs’ tackling was better, but mental errors with regard to responsibilities caused some problems.
“Defensively, we gave up a lot of big plays,” Williams said. “That’s been our theme this year.”
The Bulldogs will play the Trojans again at home this Sunday as part of Cowichan Football’s 50th anniversary celebrations. The peewee Bulldogs will begin the day at home against the Victoria Warhawks at 10:30 a.m., followed by the bantam Bulldogs at 12:30 p.m. and the midget T-Men at 2:30 against the Langley Stampeders.
Former Cowichan players Al Wilson, Peter Wilson and Gerry Hornett, who went on to the CFL will all be at the games, and all alumni are encouraged to attend.
