Washburn: the Bombers then and now

Christopher Cameron – Sports Editor of The Brunswickan - September 29, 2010

It was the fall of 1978 when Oromocto native, Mike Washburn took to the football field for tryouts for the UNB Red Bombers.

Already in his third year of university, Washburn had no prior football experience, but knowing a few players and the coach he figured he would tryout. Although not much was expected from him, he was a natural and an instant success on the field. He credits his athletic abilities to his dad.

“I was pretty lucky my dad was a gym teacher,” said Washburn. “I also played a lot of hockey, soccer, tennis and volleyball. When you do that you start to become fairly coordinated. Playing hockey allowed me to be used to the contact and I played softball so my hand-eye coordination was pretty good. I took some of those skill sets and incorporated them on the football field.”

Washburn continued to play for the Bombers into his fourth and fifth years of university, when he was drafted into the CFL by the BC Lions. He played four years in the league, playing a year with the Lions and three with the Montreal Alouettes, then the Montreal Concordes.

After suffering a neck injury, he returned home in 1986, ready to start another life. When he returned, UNB was “Bomber-less” as the program was cut after his last season. A few years before he finished with the Red Bombers, there were talks of dropping the program, and that was what had happened. Although in recent years when the wrestling team and others were cut there were uproars, Washburn says back then there was no students arguing football leaving campus.

“When they cut the program it was when exams were finishing in April or May, so there was not a lot of student body around the university,” he said. “There was no groundswell against it. If it had of been done over the Christmas holidays then it would not have happened possibly. There was always a good feeling with the football program on campus.”

Although the club was sitting around a .500 record, it was generally known amongst the players, coaches and community that the program had to improve or it needed to be stopped.

That being said, Bombers football is back on campus. It is no longer a varsity sport, but with the newly formed Atlantic Football League there is now a team to rally behind. Washburn believes this is great for UNB, the students and the Fredericton community.

“I think it is really good, right down to the grassroots level,” said Washburn. “I think that if people really drilled down and looked at what football will do from a commerce perspective there are kids at UNB right now that would not be there without this club football team. It is a step in the right direction. It is positive for the whole brand of athletics and academia at the university.”

This weekend the Bombers will take on the UNBSJ Seawolves in the campus matchup. This will be the first all UNB homecoming football game in the history of the school. Aside from this being on homecoming weekend, this is also the first time these teams have met since last year’s league final. Washburn sees this as being a momentous game for the league and UNB homecoming history.

“It is going to fun,” he said. “I imagine the crowd will be a good size and the neat thing about the football crowd is unless it’s pouring rain, you’re still going to have a big crowd. People just like to go and take part and get into it. Both teams will want to win that game with all the stories surrounding it being on homecoming and the rematch of last years final. It should be a good game all around.”

Tigers drop Red Bombers in AFL season opener

Christopher Cameron – Sports Editor The Brunswickan September 22, 2010

The UNB Red Bombers are pleased with the way they played in their season opener, but not with the result.

Taking on Dalhousie Tigers in the first game of the AFL’s second season, the Bombers came up short losing 22-19.

UNB had the victory in their clutches as they went 19-15 after a pretty reverse play that left the Dalhousie defence baffled. A defence, which held the Bombers most of the game, did not see this coming.

Quarterback Brendan Cornford took the snap handing it off to wide receiver Jeff Madsen.

After two laterals across the field, Cornford had the ball back in his hands and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hubbard.

Hubbard gives credit to his offensive teammates in making such a great play.

“(Cornford) made a nice throw,” said Hubbard. “We saw a breakdown in coverage and went for it and it worked out.”

The 1,200 at Chapman Field erupted in approval only to be silenced moments later.

On the kickoff, Tigers star Greg Pelly was ready to upset the fans. Pelly received the ball in the Dalhousie end zone with 6:41 remaining in the fourth quarter taking it 106 yards to the house. Aside from the roar of the Tigers team, every fan was silent as the Bombers trailed again with minimal time left. Hubbard knows Pelly’s play made a significant difference in the result of the game.

“He was electric,” said Hubbard. “That is a game changing play right there and we need to learn how to respond to that and come back stronger.”

Part of the problem the Bombers had in stopping the Dalhousie offense was the great field position on kickoff returns. Head Coach Mike Dollimore knows his kickers Zac Cann and Alden Pezerovic are skilled kickers, but this also posses a problem.

“Part of the problem with our kicking game is we have such phenomenal kickers,” said Dollimore. “If you look at it closely, Alden is outkicking his coverage by about 10-15 yards. The same thing is happening with Zach Cann. We have to be a lot more strategic because when you put the ball in the hands number (Pelly) or (James Green) and you don’t have the coverage down tight on them, they’ll start picking the angles on you. It’s great to have kickers who can boom it, but we have to be more strategic where they put the ball.”

Coming into the game the Tigers were an unknown team in the league as a new team. UNB knew they would be good, but knows they can match any team in the league, that has lots of parody.

“There is a lot of parody in the league. I mean a three-point game, back and forth, back and forth,” said Dollimore. “It was very entertaining to watch from a coaching standpoint.”

“We knew DAL would be tough. They have a tremendous coaching staff and there is a good history of football in Halifax at the high school level. We knew they would have some good solid players out there.”

Dollimore is not worried about the result. They started off last season similarly, losing their opener and eventually winning the Moosehead Cup. He knows there are a few little things that need to be worked on in order to succeed, but knows the team is ready to work on them.

“The league is very tight and we were in the same position last year,” he said. “You make a mistake and you pay for it big time. That happened to both teams. Both teams paid for it. It comes down to a three point ball game and we weren’t able to punch home our field goal in the first quarter and there’s the difference in the game.”

The Red Bombers have a bye week next weekend and will be back in action Oct. 2 against the UNBSJ Seawolves at home.

Pelly’s TD makes for successful grid debut for Tigers

Published Monday September 20th, 2010 in the Daily Gleaner by Bruce Hallihan

Greg Pelly is one quick cat for the Dalhousie Tigers.

Pelly’s 104-yard kickoff return with 6:41 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Dalhousie Tigers to a thrilling 22-19 victory over the UNB-Fredericton Red Bombers in club-level Atlantic Football League action on Saturday night.

The back-breaking run before 1,200 fans at Chapman Field lifted the Tigers to a ground-breaking win: it was their first football game since 1976.

“This is really exciting,” Pelly said. “Taking that kick back felt really good. To be part of the school’s first game in 34 years is special. We knew it would be a battle. UNB wanted it bad, too, but there’s a sense of pride to get the job done on opening night.”

The league’s other expansion entry, the Holland College Hurricanes, also won their debut Saturday, downing the Moncton Junior Mustangs 44-33 in front of 2,100 fans in Charlottetown.

The defending champion Red Bombers had just taken a 19-15 lead on a reverse flea flicker pass, with Jeff Madsen pitching the ball back to quarterback Brendan Cornford, who hit a wide-open Andrew Hubbard for a 35-yard touchdown strike. Cornford overthrew Hubbard on the two-point conversion attempt.

That set the stage for Pelly, a former Halifax West star who gathered in Zac Cann’s booming boot at his own six and took off.

“I almost stopped in the centre, waited for them to come at me, then just turned on the jets on the outside,” Pelly, 20, said. “I saw the hole and took it to the house.”

Hubbard tipped his helmet to Pelly: “He was electric. That was a game-changing play right there.”

“Part of the problem with our kicking game is that we have such phenomenal kickers,” Red Bombers head coach Mike Dollimore said of Cann and Alden Pezerovic, who unleashed long punts all game. “Alden is outkicking his coverage by 12-15 yards -the same with Zac – so we have to be a lot more strategic. When you put the ball in the hands of No. 24 (Pelly) or No. 27 (former St. FX all-star RB James Green), if you don’t have that coverage down tight on them, they’ll start picking the angles on you. They’re really hard to contain.”

After two defensive stands deep in their own territory, the Red Bombers took over at their own 11-yard line with 39 seconds left. But Cornford’s sideline pass intended for Andrew Guest was tipped into the waiting arms of free safety Bryce Wade, who hauled it in for his third interception.

Wade, whose brother Cameron plays CIS football at Acadia, was an all-star in 2007 for Bernice MacNaughton High in Moncton.

“It’s exciting to finally get to put on the pads again,” Wade said. “It’s competitive football. Both teams battled. Special teams were pivotal, especially when Pelly took off to give us the lead for good.”

“Both teams played great, it was tough,” Hubbard said. “It’s unfortunate to come out on the losing side of it, but there are some mistakes that we’ll fix in practice and come back stronger.”

Hubbard wasn’t surprised by the Tigers’ solid showing.

“We heard they had 80-to-100 guys out for tryouts, so they have a big pool to choose from. We knew they were going to be tough.”

The Tigers scored their first points of the 21st century late in the first half when QB Brendan Festeryga hooked up with former Mount A receiver Darko Stasevic for an 85-yard pass-and-run play.

Wade’s point after made it 7-0. UNB, with Jeff Madsen replacing Cornford for a spell, drove down to Dal’s 21-yard line in the final minute, but Cann was wide right on the field goal attempt.

The Red Bombers tied it early in the third quarter, though. Hubbard’s 30-yard punt return to Dal’s 26 was followed up by Randy Madsen scampering into the end zone. Cann’s convert tied it 7-up.

The Tigers went back in front with 5:32 left in the third quarter. Pelly’s 24-yard run took it to UNB’s 39. Festergya, who was picked off three times but was 18-of-23 for 254 yards, completed a 14-yard pass to Andrew Adamczyk, a nine-yarder to Cody Hollohan and a 16-yard TD strike to Stasevic to make it 13-7.

Wade alertly picked up the ball on a botched snap and ran it in for a two-point convert and a 15-7 lead.

After a string of strong runs by Tommy Broad, UNB started the fourth quarter at the Dal 11-yard line. Electing to go for it on third-and-6, Cornford zipped a TD pass to Pat Forbes to cut the deficit to 15-13. Cornford couldn’t connect with Guest for the tying two-point convert, but the the Bombers were back in business.

A Pelly 50-yard kickoff return, UNB penalty and a seven-yard run by Green had Dal down to UNB’s 33. But DB Ryan Soles picked off a Fertergya pass to give the Bombers the ball back at their own 23 with 12:40 remaining.

The key plays in UNB’s go-ahead drive were Cornford’s 24-yard pass to Forbes and, of course, the aforementioned trick play to give the Bombers their first lead.

“I think it’s going to be (tight) like this all year long from all teams,” Dollimore said. “This was very entertaining. As a coach standing on the sidelines, it was fun to watch.”

The Red Bombers are idle until hosting the UNBSJ Seawolves as part of homecoming weekend Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. – a rematch of last year’s final, won 3-1 by UNB.

Dal opens AFL season with win over Bombers

Published Monday September 20th, 2010 in the Telegraph Journal

FREDERICTON – Greg Pelly is one quick cat for the Dalhousie Tigers.

Pelly’s 104-yard kickoff return with 6:41 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Dalhousie Tigers to a thrilling 22-19 victory over the UNB Red Bombers in Atlantic Football League action on Saturday night.

The back-breaking run before 1,200 fans at Chapman Field lifted the Tigers to a ground-breaking win: it was their first football game since 1976.

“This is really exciting,” Pelly said. “Taking that kick back felt really good. To be part of the school’s first game in 34 years is special. We knew it would be a battle. UNB wanted it bad, too, but there’s a sense of pride to get the job done on opening night.”

The league’s other expansion entry, the Holland College Hurricanes, also won their debut Saturday, downing the Moncton Junior Mustangs 44-33 in front of 2,100 fans in Charlottetown.

The defending champion Red Bombers had just taken a 19-15 lead on a reverse flea flicker pass, with Jeff Madsen pitching the ball back to quarterback Brendan Cornford, who hit a wide-open Andrew Hubbard for a 35-yard touchdown strike. Cornford overthrew Hubbard on the two-point conversion attempt.

That set the stage for Pelly, a former Halifax West star who gathered in Zac Cann’s booming boot at his own six and took off.

“I almost stopped in the centre, waited for them to come at me, then just turned on the jets on the outside,” Pelly, 20, said. “I saw the hole and took it to the house.”

Hubbard tipped his helmet to Pelly: “He was electric.

“That was a game-changing play right there.”

The Red Bombers are idle until hosting the UNB Saint John Seawolves as part of homecoming weekend Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. – a rematch of last year’s final, won 3-1 by the Red Bombers.

Tigers return to football with win over UNB

The Chronicle Herald

Sun, Sep 19 – 4:53 AM

The Dalhousie Tigers have won their first football game since 1976.

Dalhousie made its debut in the club-level Atlantic Football League with a 22-19 win over the UNB Red Bombers on Saturday night in Fredericton.

Greg Pelly’s 104-yard kickoff return with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter brought the Tigers back from a 19-15 deficit. Pelly played at Halifax West.

Receiver Darko Stasevic, formerly at Mount Allison, had a pair of touchdown catches covering 84 and 17 yards.

Former Citadel Phoenix quarterback Brendan Festeryga completed 18-of-23 passes for 254 yards. He had three interceptions.

Bryce Wade, once a high school all star in Moncton, led the Dalhousie defence with three interceptions. Wade also booted two converts and ran in a two-point convert off a fake.

Ex-St. F.X. all-star running back James Green had 34 yards on six carries.

Dalhousie visits Holland College next Saturday before hosting the P.E.I. school the following Saturday in the home opener at Wickwire Field.

Bombers set to defend Atlantic football crown

Published Friday September 17th, 2010 by Bill Hunt

The University of New Brunswick Red Bombers are all revved up to defend their Atlantic Football League championship.

The Bombers, who won the fledgling circuit’s first championship last season with a 3-1 victory over the University of Saint John Seawolves, begin the quest to repeat when they host the Dalhousie Tigers, one of the two expansion entries in the now five-team loop, Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Chapman Field.

The Holland College Hurricanes of Prince Edward Island are the other new entry, joining the Moncton Junior Mustangs, the Seawolves, and the Bombers in a six-game regular season schedule.

Bombers coach Mike Dollimore has a Bomb Squad of 52 at his disposal – 45 may dress for a particular game – and while he still needs to see everything work, he figures this year’s edition of the Bombers is bigger and better than the squad that went 1-3 last year.

“We’re having a lot of trouble deciding who are going to be our starting 24.”

There are, of course, some obvious choices. Andrew Hubbard, the dynamic wide receiver, is a lock to be one of the targets for veteran quarterback Brendan Cornford, the former Leo Hayes High signal caller, and understudy Jeff Madsen.

“They can both throw the ball very well,” said Dollimore. Andrew Guest and slotback Pat Forbes – his dad Bob was a Bomber in the 1970s and will be in to watch his son play Saturday – are other potential targets.

“I think we’ll be using our slotbacks as an attack tool, with both the run and the pass,” said Dollimore.

The Bombers will platoon an array of running backs over the first couple of games at least. Candidates fighting for field time include returnee Eric Smith, Tommy Broad, Randy Madsen, Rame Zeid and Nick McEachern.

“I think we’re going to try to establish the run,” he said. “Hopefully, that will help establish our passing game.”

Dollimore likes the size and speed of an offensive line which includes Zack Cann, Dylan Sullivan, Andy Ouellette and newcomers Dave Giddings and Andrew Gillingham, among others.

Tackle Tyler Doak returns as “the heart and soul of our defensive line,” Dollimore said.

Jory Smith moves from linebacker to defensive end after playing “brilliantly” in the playoffs last year. Punter Alden Pezerovich – “he basically won the championship game for us last year,” said Dollimore – returns in that role and will play on the D-line as well.

Matt Flosse and James Wilde anchor the linebacking corps. Veteran Justin Demerchant returns to anchor the defensive backfield at free safety. Ryan Soles and Mike McSorley return as veterans in the defensive backfield as well. Brian Gilliland, Dustin Pond and Joey Ley will be part of the mix in the defensive backfield as well.

Dollimore is still putting it all together.

“We’re getting very strong competition, fierce competition among the defensive backs, the receivers, and linebackers,” said Dollimore. “I don’t know yet that we’re any better. We haven’t proven it yet. We have to prove that Saturday night, and hopefully by the end of November. We’re bigger, and it appears we’re every bit as quick.”

Competition and experience ought to bring out the best in the Bombers, too.

“What we’re seeing this year is a much higher level of experience than we did last year,” he said. “The core 40 we had last year were solid football players, but we had 30 or so who had never played the game before or played a long time ago. Those guys kind of cut themselves early this year. I think we’ll probably end up platooning people where we can over the first couple of games to see who fits best in the situation. We’ll probably narrow in on starters in several positions as the season goes along.”

Dollimore is excited about expansion within the league.

“It’s absolutely essential for the success of this league,” he said. “If we had more teams to give us a little more balanced schedule, that would be even better. But there’s not much need to expand beyond five or six teams because the season is so short.”

While the Bombers draw from a cross-section of the community, with “60-70 per cent” UNB students, but others from St. Thomas, New Brunswick Community College and the community at large, the Tigers will be made up entirely of students from the university. Dollimore is familiar with members of their coaching staff, “who are going to be able to put things together quickly, I’m sure,” he said.

Dollimore found the first year of the circuit “an incredibly close league. I’m not expecting anything different. Any game can go either way, I believe.”

Dollimore said it’s not the goal of the Bombers to become a Canadian Interuniversity Sport program.

“To do that, there needs to be a much broader commitment base by everyone, including the university and the alumni. But we have an opportunity now to have a program on the field with about 95 per cent local talent from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the Maritimes. That includes the players, the coaches and the officials.

“It’s a great thing to see after having spent close to 40 years promoting and working in football. As soon as you go to a CIS model, it’s going to be very expensive, but it’s also going to bring our local talent down to about three to five per cent. This suits our needs at this point in time. If someone wants to refocus down the road, that’s up to them. It’s certainly not my intention at this point.”

Saturday nights are game night on campus for the Bombers. They’ll face the Seawolves in a rematch of the league final Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at Chapman. They’ll also host the Hurricanes, the Holland College entry, Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.

The top four teams advance to the post-season with fourth place playing first and third meeting second at the home of the high finisher Nov. 12 or 13.

Winners pair off at the home of the high finisher in the Nov. 20 championship game.

Bombers up to the challenge

Josh Fleck – The Brunswickan - September 8, 2010

Last year the AFL faced questions concerning how a three team league would work out, but after a successful first season the league is back and now bigger and better.

During the 2009 season, the eventual Moosehead Cup Champion UNB Red Bombers struggled in their regular season posting a 1-3 record. The Bombers stepped up their play in the playoffs making it past the Moncton Junior Raiders to face the undefeated UNBSJ Seawolves in the championship game. The Bombers defeated the Seawolves by a narrow 3-1 margin, with a final minute scare when the UNBSJ kicker missed a field goal wide to lose the game.

If the Red Bombers intend to be champions again this year, they will have to pull up their socks since the league is expanding. Joining the AFL this season are Holland College and Dalhousie University, pushing the league to a total of five teams. With the league expanding, having one more team than the AUS football conference, Commissioner Pat O’Brien has high expectations for the success of this season.

“I believe that the number of players that each team has will be great,” said O’Brien. “There were players in the stands last year who didn’t know how the league would fair, but now that they have seen the level of play, they will probably be more willing to participate. Adding those teams makes the league more interesting.”

Preparing for an extended season and more teams, second year Bombers cornerback Brian Gilliland does not feel the weight of being reigning champions on his shoulders.

“There is absolutely no added pressure when you are trying to repeat as champions,” said Gilliland. “We have the talent on this team to win it all and I would be disappointed if we were not there in the finals again. I am really looking forward to playing the Seawolves because I have played with a lot of their players growing up, so there has been some friendly jawing going on.”

The main concern defensive backs coach Terry McIntyre has for the upcoming season is not knowing what to expect from the Dalhousie and Holland College offences.

“We roughly know what to expect from Saint John and Moncton,” said McIntyre, “but the expansion teams are different. Dal is the real wild card because of the coaching staff they brought in, as well as, the numbers they are getting for try outs.”

The Bombers kick off the AFL season on September 18 playing host to the Dalhousie Tigers at 6 p.m. on Chapman Field.

Red Bombers go into Year 2 with more to kick about

Published Wednesday August 25th, 2010 by David Ritchie

More teams, more games and a more concerted promotional plan marks the beginning of Year 2 in the second coming of Red Bombers football at the University of New Brunswick.

New teams based out of Dalhousie University and Holland College in Charlottetown gives the Atlantic Football League five teams for the upcoming season.

That means a little more variety for the charter members including the defending champion Red Bombers, the UNB in Saint John Seawolves and a club team out of the Moncton area which will be known as the Junior Mustangs this time around. They were the Raiders in Year 1.

In case you missed it, the Bombers edged the Seawolves 3-1 in the inaugural AFL championship game played in the muck and grime of Saint John’s Millidgeville Field.

Yeah, it sounds more like a baseball score than a football result. The weather was lousy, and the late date, Nov. 22, isn’t exactly conducive to the Greatest Show on Turf with our climate.

So maybe the final won’t go down in the annals of amateur football as one of the classics of all time.

But you know, the most important thing about last year was that there was a game to be played on that day, regardless of the weather.

It showed that when determined people with a passion for the game of football want to make something happen, it can be done, even when the obstacles seem prohibitive. They found the time, the energy, the money, the facilities and enough of a support staff to put together a three-team league.

These guys, and we’ll make mention of the respective managers, Barry Ogden in Saint John, Dan Fougere in Moncton and Larry Wisniewski in Fredericton, saw a void for kids graduating out of the extensive high school football system in the province and who, for whatever reasons, weren’t about to pursue the game at the CIS level.

Some might not have been talented enough to get a recruiting sniff from a CIS school. Some might have lacked the prototypical football body and didn’t feel it was physically in their best interests to play at a higher level.

Some simply didn’t want the hassles of committing to a rigorous CIS program, or leaving their hometown to play at that level. Others might have already made a commitment, saw the reality wasn’t what it was cracked up to be, and desire to play the sport at a less intense level.

Still others weren’t ready to begin their post-secondary educational pursuits, or didn’t feel equipped to do so, but yearned to keep playing a game they had come to love in their minor and secondary school years.

Ogden, Wiz, Fougere and countless others in on the planning at some point deemed there were enough of these players around, guys capable of playing a good enough brand of football that people would be willing to pay to see.

Thus, the AFL, a league geared for footballers between the ages of 18-24 and involving mostly university-based players with others from the community at large, became a reality.

How successful was it?

Enough that there’s two more teams on board so Year 2 is going to be even better. Guaranteed.

Are you ready for some football?

It had been 30 years since the UNB Red Bombers last ran onto the field at College Field to play a football game.

Watching the Red Bombers play their rivals from around the Atlantic Conference was the thing to do on a fall Saturday afternoon. You’d bring the wine skin, find a cozy spot in the bleachers, and get to watch quality players such as Donny Davis, Mike Washburn, Stewart Fraser, Chris Skinner, Terry Cripotos, Steve Corscadden, Chuck Proudfoot, etc., do their thing wearing Red Bombers jerseys on the gridiron at College Field.

For incoming students, there was no better way to “orientate” yourself with your new school than to spend Saturday afternoons at College Field. Orientation was as convenient as a walk down the hill. Football was first up, and people who live here all know about how great the climate is in September and October in these parts.

For any number of reasons, the UNB administration of the day saw fit to end that annual rite of fall. And football died a quiet death at the university level in this city.

When Wiz and a former Red Bomber, Mike Dollimore, decided to take the lead with the Fredericton entry into this new AFL venture, they were looking to tap into those memories with the resurrection of the UNB Red Bombers.

They were up front about what this league was all about…that it was a club team operating in a junior league with players from not only UNB but St. Thomas University, New Brunswick Community College and the city at large. And that was the mix head coach Dollimore, who returns, and his coaching staff worked with from the outset of training camp.

The hope and wish was that when those players rushed onto the turf at Chapman Field further up the hill (than College Field), the only thing that would resonate was the Red Bombers were alive and kicking, and that football for university-age youngsters was once again a going concern in this town.

So just imagine the rush for Wiz and Dolly – and all those behind-the-scene football enthusiasts who with their support, financial or otherwise, wanted to see the black and red of Red Bombers football again – when over 2,000 folks gathered under the lights for opening night.

And how exciting it was when the PA announcer first screamed: First down, Red Bombers!!! Touchdown, Red Bombers!!!

Are you ready for some football?