The Barsby Bulldogs beat the Carson Graham Eagles in a rough and rowdy affair.
Barsby handled the Eagles 34-12 in AA varsity football action Friday afternoon at Merle Logan Field.
“We played perhaps our most complete game yet, attitudinally, fundamentally and the way our three phases of the game meshed together,” said Rob Stevenson, Bulldogs coach.
Barsby’s rushing attack led the way as tailback Justis MacKay-Topley ran for four touchdowns.
“I thought it was a great team win,” said Carson Vos, Bulldogs lineman. “Our line was firing on all cylinders … opening great holes for our running backs, and our running backs went north and south.”
There was a lot of rough stuff and chippy play between the divisional rivals, especially once the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
“At Barsby we’re always known as a bit of a feisty team, but I think we handled it great,” Vos said. “I think they had a lot more penalty yards than we did.”
Stevenson said his team resisted engaging with the opponent in those situations.
“One of the enduring lessons of playing football is there’s a time to be physical, which is in between the whistles, and there’s a time to exercise some self-control when the play’s over,” he said.
Topley finished with 105 rushing yards as well as 49 receiving yards. Alex Bonnetplume caught a TD pass and Johnson Nguyen had 56 receiving yards. Quarterback Nathanael Durkan was 10-for-17 for 180 yards.
On defence, Kieren Carreck and Cory Fletcher had seven tackles each, Matt Cooley and Austin Olson had interceptions and Parker Bowles and Ethan Xin Wei Hong had fumble recoveries.
GAME ON … The Bulldogs travel to play an exhibition game at Holy Cross next Friday (Oct. 30).
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
