Bantam Bulldogs play to scoreless tie, clinch first place

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

It was one of the best football games you’re likely to see - at any level – and there wasn’t a single point scored.

The Valley Bantam Bulldogs and the Halifax Chargers played to a scoreless tie, arguably the rarest result in football, Oct. 25 at Kinsmen Field in Canning.

The result allowed the Bulldogs, who needed a win or a tie to clinch first place in their division, to end the regular season 7-0-1.

Timberlea finished at 7-1 and the Chargers at 6-1-1 in an extremely close race for first. A Halifax win Oct. 25, and there would have been a three-way tie for top spot, requiring a coin toss to determine the final order of finish.

The Valley defense made sure that didn’t happen. Led by defensive linemen Adam Melanson (two quarterback sacks), Jacob Gee and Andrew-Jennings Lindsay; the defensive unit prevented the Chargers from even coming close to scoring.

Three times, through, Valley was forced to settle for field goals. Jennings-Lindsay, who had a tough day subbing for injured placekicker Mitch Getson, missed all three, including one partially blocked on the second-last play of the game. The Valley special teams unit downed the Chargers’ runner in the end zone for what appeared to be the winning point but, under Canadian football rules, were called for “no yards” after the blocked field goal passed the original line of scrimmage. Halifax, given the choice of conceding the point or taking the ball for one final play, naturally chose the latter option, but their pass attempt fell incomplete. “Our offense was able to move the ball against them the whole day, we just weren’t able to score,” head coach Larry Priestnall said after the game. Fortunately, he added, “our defense was outstanding, and didn’t allow them any points either.”

The Bulldogs will now host fourth-place Truro Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. in Canning in a playoff semifinal.

The Peewee Bulldogs, who had last weekend off, finished the regular season with four wins and four losses, and will host Fall River in a Tier 2 playoff semifinal Nov. 1 at noon, just prior to the bantam game.

The Atom Bulldogs, meanwhile, were eliminated with a 39-20 loss to Fall River in playoff quarterfinal action on the weekend. Chase Hancock ran for two touchdowns, Ben Best had a touchdown and a convert and Alex Hazel added a single point to round out the Valley scoring. The Atoms finished the regular season with a 3-3 record.