The atoms finished second in their division with a 5-2 record and will host the Timberlea Titans in a Tier 1 playoff game Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m. in Canning.
In their final regular season action, a Nov. 1 exhibition game in Canning against Fall River, the Bulldogs won 20-0 in rain and wind on an increasingly sloppy field.
Valley opened the scoring on its first drive of the game, with Preston Arsenault scoring the touchdown on a 60-yard run. After that, according to head coach Paul Arsenault, “the weather and field conditions took over” for the next 30 minutes, as both teams had little luck moving the ball in the muddy conditions.
The Bulldogs managed to regain their footing on their last two drives of the game, both of which ended in touchdowns.
Emmit Mailman scored the Bulldogs’ second touchdown on a five-yard plunge, and Elias Jones added the third major on a 40-yard scamper. Mailman was good on the final extra point to round out the scoring at 20-0.
Bantams finish season in third
The bantam Bulldogs, meanwhile, finished the regular season with a 4-3 record, in a three-way tie for third place with eight points.
After winning the tiebreaker, the Bulldogs were awarded third place and will travel to Bedford-Sackville this weekend for a Tier 1 playoff semifinal against the Saints.
In their final regular season action, the bantams also took on Fall River, and when all was said and done, came away with a 26-0 win in similarly weather conditions.
“With high winds and driving rain, the primary focus was the ground game,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Kevin Hayes.
Royce Gloumeau led the way with a strong performance overall, supported by Noah Tait, Alex Hayes and Ethan Clahane.
Despite the weather and the poor field conditions, quarterback Caleb Melanson was able to keep control of the ball and connect on two touchdown passes to Alex Hayes and one to Jack Hayes.
Clahane added a rushing touchdown. A safety conceded by Fall River rounded out the scoring.
The defensive line, including Kyle Chappus, Jayden King, Ben Lohr, Keegan Ward and Minkyu Woo, led the Bulldogs’ defence, which was strong the whole game, allowing Fall River only a handful of plays that gained yardage.
The peewee Bulldogs, who did not play Nov. 1, finished the regular season at 4-4, which left them fifth in their division and relegated to the Tier 2 playoffs.
The good news was, they were the top team in Tier 2 and will host the Cape Breton Panthers in a playoff semifinal on Nov. 8 in Canning, starting immediately following the atom game.
