The Barsby Bulldogs knew their pre-season was going to be tough, and it was.
John Barsby Secondary School’s AA varsity football team lost 26-14 to the Vernon Panthers in exhibition action Saturday at Merle Logan Field.
Barsby had a 14-13 lead going into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t stop the visitors from coming up with a couple of drives down the stretch.
“I think they played a cleaner version of football than we did,” said Rob Stevenson, Barsby coach. “In a big game, there’s four or five plays that define the outcome. Vernon, to their credit, made those plays and we did not and we have to gain some wisdom from this game and go back and get better this week.”
Kyle Gach and Dominic Bertrand scored rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Matthew Cooley led the way defensively with six tackles and Colin Nutting had an interception.
Look for a Bulldogs season preview later this week in the News Bulletin.
GAME ON … The Bulldogs start the regular season with their annual Border Battle rivalry game against the Ballenas Whalers on Friday (Sept. 23) at 7 p.m. at Merle Logan Field.
sports@nanaimobulletin
