DeMerchant looks to lay down the law on ‘Canes

Published Thursday October 28th, 2010 by Bill Hunt of the Daily Gleaner

Justin DeMerchant says he has “a pretty terrible football record” over his 10-year career.

But he’s still trying to change.

The 24-year-old law student at the University of New Brunswick is in the latter stages of his final season as a player with the University of New Brunswick Red Bombers, the local entry in the five-team Atlantic Football League.

The 2-3 Bombers play their final regular season home game Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Chapman Field against the Holland College Hurricanes – the same team they beat 52-48 in Charlottetown a couple of weeks ago in a game that was an affront to defensive football.

They turned around and lost last week, a 5-3 defeat at the hands, or more correctly, the feet of the UNBSJ SeaWolves on a late field goal by UNBSJ kicker John Phillips, so they need this win to get back on an even keel heading into the playoffs. The hope is that DeMerchant and friends can recreate history. They won the AFL’s inaugural championship a year ago, defeating the SeaWolves 3-1 in the championship game.

It was a particularly sweet win for DeMerchant, a stalwart on the Bombers’ defensive unit.

“It was a really low-scoring game, but the offence didn’t make any mistakes and the defence played the game we needed to, so it meant a lot. It was the first championship I think I’ve ever won in anything.”

Football has taught him a lot, going back to the days when the Rusagonis resident finally talked his mom into letting him play junior varsity football for the Oromocto Junior Blues.

The OHS Blues teams he played with “were terrible,” he said. “I think we won one game my senior year…we lost 82-0 to FHS…I played wide receiver and defensive back and I can’t catch to save my life.”

But he kept coming back for more. He’s played with the Capital Area Gladiators. He’s coached in the Capital Area Minor Football Associaton program.

He’ll remain with the Bombers in some capacity – as a coach, or a member of the executive, or something – after he hangs up the gear.

“I enjoy the game,” he explained. “I think I have a probably terrible football record…I’ve coached some teams that haven’t done so well, But I think I’ve really learned how to lose gracefully and take things away from games besides purely winning and losing. Obviously, winning is nice.”

The thing about this year’s Bombers is, you never know. Their scores have been somewhat schizophrenic this season, from a 30-0 loss to the Seawolves in their homecoming game one week, to a 52-48 barnburner victory over the Hurricanes a couple of weeks ago to…well, who knows?

“It’s got to be somewhere in between,” said DeMerchant. “It’s too bad we couldn’t have pulled it out against Saint John (last week). That would really have characterized how our team is. It was a heartbreaker, but coming back after losing to them 30-0 earlier in the season, it was almost a victory.”

DeMerchant doesn’t expect the defensive unit to be so generous against the Hurricanes Friday.

“We’ve made some adjustments to take care of what they like to do,” he said. “They want to get their quarterback out of the pocket. If he does that this week, he’s going to get planted on his butt a few more times. We know what to expect from their receivers now.”

DeMerchant played a single quarter in that contest. He’s been sidelined since breaking his left thumb in the first meeting of the season against the SeaWolves, but returned for a quarter against the Hurricanes a couple of weeks ago and played the entire game with his thumb wrapped up last week.

DeMerchant isn’t getting sentimental about his football career just yet.

“We’re focused on one thing right now…going 3-3 and getting a revenge game against Dal. We have to beat PEI this week to get that revenge game against Dal. And we proved last year that once it gets to playoffs, the regular season goes out the window.”

For Demerchant, who will graduate with a joint LLB-MBA degree next spring, it’s been, and will continue to be, a labour of love.

“Some sports are really one-on-one and some are team sports. Football is the ultimate hybrid. You’ve got one guy you’re lined up against and it’s your job to beat him. And you have 12 guys on each side of the field trying to do that. It’s a great game.”

Last-minute field goal gives Seawolves win over Red Bombers Sunday

Published Monday October 25th, 2010 BY JEFF DUCHARME CANADAEAST NEWS SERVICE

SAINT JOHN – It was ugly, but the UNBSJ Seawolves pulled out a 5-3 win over the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton Red Bombers with just seconds on the Canada Games Stadium clock Sunday to remain perfect at 5-0 in Atlantic Football League action.

After John Phillips missed his last two field goals from less than 20 yards, the coaching staff sat him down for a couple of series to calm his nerves.

With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Phillips trotted out onto the field with the Seawolves down 3-2 and split the uprights from 35 yards out to eke out the win.

“We just needed to make it,” said Phillips amidst the hooting and hollering of supporters. “A 35-yard field goal, go out there and beat the bloody ball through the uprights. No questions asked, that’s all it was.”

Phillips had no problem that the Seawolves perfect season was left resting squarely on his shoulders. “Winners want the ball,” Phillips said as the sun began to set and the players meandered towards the dressing room.

With just 30 seconds left in the game and the Bombers leading by a point, quarterback Jeremy McAuley flipped the ball to Andrew Hamilton who launched a pass to Justin Cavan. The wide receiver brought the ball to the Bomber’s 15-yard line and gave the Seawolves sputtering offence new life.

McAuley then tried to hit Cavan inside the five-yard line. Both players went up for the ball, but it was Cavan who came down with the offensive pass interference penalty. Much to the shock of the Seawolves’ bench, they found themselves back at the 31-yard-line and facing third and long. The penalty set up the dramatic 35-yard field goal for the win.

While the Seawolves defence was solid, the offence struggled and was sluggish. McAuley fumbled a number of snaps and his receivers seemed to have hands and feet made of clay.

Seawolves head coach Dave Grandy said his offense wasn’t crisp.

“That’s just lack of timing and execution,” Grandy said. “I don’t understand what happened today. We’ll go back to the drawing board and take a peek at it.”

Sunday’s game marked the first time this season the 5-0 Seawolves were kept scoreless in the first half.

“Defensively they played another fantastic game,” Grandy said.

The Seawolves pulled in seven interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. Defensive back Alex McGarvey accounted for two of the interceptions.

“That’s nine turnovers and you win 5-3? You have to go back to the drawing board on that. That’s a chance to score 56 more points in the game if you have nine turnovers.”

While the Seawolves defence handed the ball to its offence on a number of occasions, the Bombers defence made the Seawolves pay for their sloppy play.

“They gave our offence a lot of issues today,” Grandy said. “We caused a lot of issues for ourselves on offence as well.”

Red Bombers (2-3) head coach Mike Dollimore said his defence showed its true colours Sunday. “Tremendous intensity,” Dollimore said.

Red Bombers outlast Holland College Hurricanes Football Club in exciting game

Monday, October 18, 2010 from the Holland College Website

Charlottetown, PE – The UNB Red Bombers outlasted the Holland College Hurricanes 52-48 in Atlantic Football League action in Charlottetown on Sunday afternoon. The 1,200 spectators who braved the damp weather conditions were treated to a tremendously exciting game that left ‘Canes supporters disappointed but dazzled by numerous great plays by both teams.

The two teams, fighting for playoff positions and home-field advantage, traded touchdowns in the first quarter, which ended with the score tied at 7-7.

In the second quarter, however, the Red Bombers unloaded on the ‘Canes, scoring four touchdowns, a single on a missed field goal, and safety. The ‘Canes answered with two touchdowns of their own: a 20-yard pass from quarterback Nick Hunsley to Jason Mitchell, who rose above a crowd of defenders to pluck the ball out the air, and a pass and run from Hunsley to Jeff Hillier that covered 70 yards.

When the scoring barrage ended at the half, the score was 38-20 in favor of the Red Bombers.

The Hurricanes turned to their ground attack in the third quarter. Two big gains by Dave Clark, including a 24-yard touchdown run, provided a momentum shift for Holland College. A minute later, ‘Canes defender Richard Lush recovered a fumble at midfield. Hunsley quickly found Mitchell in the end zone again, bringing the Hurricanes roaring back to within 4 points of the Red Bombers.

The improbable third-quarter turnaround was capped by an exhilarating 50-yard punt return by the speedy Hiller, and Holland College took over the lead for the first time in the game, 41-38, after the convert by Sebastian Ayangma. Hillier had 276 total yards on the day and three touchdowns.

As the fourth quarter opened, the Red Bombers were intent on launching a counter offensive of their own when cornerback Demetrius Ferguson, who was playing both ways for much of the game, picked off a UNB pass in his own end zone and returned it all the way to midfield. Ferguson remained in the game and Hunsley hit him with a 45-yard touchdown pass that seemed to put the ‘Canes in control of the game at 48-38.

On their next possession, however, the Red Bombers answered with a rushing touchdown by quarterback Jeffrey Madsen. Minutes later, the Hurricanes had a chance to put the game away, but just failed to connect on another long pass. With two minutes left to play, Madsen scored again, on a keeper, and it was UNB that was back on top, 52-48.

Holland College tried valiantly to stage another comeback, but a UNB interception killed one drive and then the expiring clock ended last-ditch efforts to pull out the win for the hometown crowd.

The loss leaves the Hurricanes at 2-3, while the Red Bombers even their record at 2-2. The injury-riddled ‘Canes will enjoy a bye next weekend before heading to Fredericton for a rematch with the Red Bombers on Saturday, October 30th.

Mustangs drop third straight

Published Monday October 11th, 2010 Times & transcript staff

Dan LeBlanc of the Moncton Junior Mustangs runs for a 23-yard gain during an Atlantic Football League game against the University of New Brunswick Fredericton Red Bombers Saturday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. The Red Bombers won 24-3 to improve their record to 1-2. The Mustangs dropped to 0-3. Moncton visits the Dalhousie Tigers Oct. 23.

Reviving the gridiron tradition

Contributed by Sarah Ratchford.

Last year, after a long hiatus, the University of New Brunswick was finally ready for some football—and this year, the only goal is to get better.

Last fall marked the inaugural season of the Atlantic Football League, and both UNB Fredericton and UNB Saint John started a team—the Red Bombers and the Seawolves respectively. Between the two teams there are over 100 athletes.

The second season of the AFL, which now has five teams, will see both the Seawolves and the Bombers strive to build up their rosters and their skills.

“We wanna win the whole championship,” Lee Maloney, one of the Seawolves captains, says excitedly. “We’re recruiting players all the time and getting better. We just wanna win the whole thing. That’s our goal.”

“We’ve been recruiting, we’ve been going around and doing the local high schools, making everyone aware,” agrees Fraser Boldon, a fourth year business student who will act as president of the Bombers team. Boldon sounds just as confident in his team’s skills as Maloney, which should make for a super-charged rivalry between the campuses.

Avoiding the homesick blues

Maloney, who has played football since he was a child and has played at other universities, is excited to play in his hometown.

“It was kinda like a no brainer,” he says when asked why he chose to stay in Saint John. Maloney, who plays half back, has known head coach Dave Grandy since “back in the day,” and he says the football community in Saint John is something he wanted to stay a part of.

Ogden agrees that football games add a lot of spice to UNB Saint John’s largely commuter campus, weaving some excitement and atmosphere in for the school year.

“This has been a boom for attracting local students. We have a base of local players. Homecoming proved that people will come out and watch local players. We had 2,300 people out at the game; it’s a great way to kick off the school year.”

Boldon, too, was happy for the opportunity to stay in his hometown—with the help of Wisniewski, that is, who had been his coach since high school.

“I’d been sort of flirting with the idea of going away to play football when I graduated and he sort of roped me into the whole UNB football thing,” he jokes.

A true community builder

Both the Seawolves and Bombers are organized as club teams, which means that spots on the team aren’t restricted to just UNB students—students from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick Community College, and members of the community at large can feel free to try out as long as they’re between the ages of 18-24.

However, sports are something that not only players can enjoy, but the community as well. Larry Wisniewski, who helped get the Bombers up and running, played a part in establishing the league and is acting general manager, says sports are an integral part to drawing a university town like Fredericton together.

“A campus has to have a focal point, a place that brings it together. Athletic fields, sporting events etc., that’s what constitutes the hearth. That’s where you find the fire burning.”

Barry Ogden, who’s been coaching Fundy Minor Football in Saint John for 36 years, agrees, saying the football field is an ideal place to bring people together and unite for one cause: school spirit.

“I think one of the reasons why football is so important is it’s a social event, it’s an experience.”

The other great thing about football, Ogden says, is that it’s inclusive. It appeals to more than one type of athlete since there are so many different positions requiring different skills.

Ready for kickoff

Both the Seawolves and the Bombers have been training for the season since the end of August.

The Seawolves opened their schedule Oct. 2 in Fredericton with a win over the Bombers. They will host the Holland College Hurricanes on Monday, Oct. 11, which marks the Seawolves home opener at the newly renovated UNB Saint John Canada Games Stadium.

The next home game for the Red Bombers is also against the Hurricanes on Saturday, October 30th on the Chapman field.

Moncton junior football team hosts UNB Fredericton tonight

Published Saturday October 9th, 2010 By Sean Hatchard of the Times & Transcript

The Atlantic Football League regular season has only reached the halfway mark, but these are already desperate times for the Moncton Junior Mustangs.

The Mustangs have started the season at 0-2 and considering teams only play a six-game schedule, they will need to right the ship quickly.

An opportunity comes tonight when Moncton hosts the University of New Brunswick Fredericton Red Bombers at 6 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

The Red Bombers are also 0-2 on the season and will also be looking for their first win of the season.

“This is a huge game for us. With such a short schedule, almost every game has playoff implications. I would think the loser of (tonight’s) game has an almost impossible road to make the playoffs after starting 0-3,” Mustangs head coach Peter Comeau said last night.

“I expect Fredericton to be in the same frame of mind as we are. This is a time of desperation and we both want to get a win and keep our playoff hopes alive. It should be two teams putting it all out there and trying to get their first win under their belt.”

The UNB Saint John Seawolves top the five-team league at 2-0, followed by the Dalhousie Tigers (2-1), Holland College Hurricanes (2-1) and then both Moncton and UNB Fredericton at 0-2.

The Mustangs opened the season with a 44-33 loss to Holland College on the road, blowing a lead in the final minutes, and were hammered 53-13 by the Seawolves in their last game two weeks ago.

The Red Bombers lost 22-19 to Dalhousie and 30-0 to the Seawolves.

“Fredericton is a team in their second year in the league and has the same coaching staff,” said Comeau. “I expect them to have a strong running game and they have some talented receivers with speed they’ll try to get the ball to.”

Comeau is expecting a much better effort from his club than it showed in its last outing.

“I told our players on Tuesday that our game basically starts tonight in practice. We’ve got to be better at being mentally prepared and we definitely have to be prepared to sacrifice ourselves physically. We need to play more blue-collar football,” the coach said.

“We also have to be much better at special teams. We’ve given up valuable real estate on punt and kickoff returns and we’ve got to come prepared to play better in that part of the game. If we do that, I think we can be successful.”

UNB Saint John hosts Holland College on Monday. Dalhousie has a bye this week.

Bombers drop the ball against Seawolves

Christopher Cameron – Sports Editor of The Brunswickan

After a week one loss, the Red Bombers were back in action after a bye hoping to get in the win column. The only thing in their way was the UNBSJ Seawolves.

The Bombers knew they were in for a tough test, but did not expect what happened. UNBSJ brought their best as they rolled over the Bombers 30-0 in front of a crowd of 2000, including many Bombers alumni in attendance.

The trouble started early as the Bombers offence struggled to complete any passes. The Seawolves had no trouble stringing together successful plays, as late in the first quarter Justin Blizzard pushed into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.

UNBSJ kept the pressure coming as they used their strong offensive presence to put together multiple first down plays and with 7:21 remaining in the first half they ended their drive with a seven-yard TD run to go up 14-0.

Going into the half the score stayed at 14-0, but the halftime break was the only break the Red Bombers had from a relentless UNBSJ offence. The Bombers did not help themselves out at all either.

They may as well have handed over the third touchdown as after their possession the Seawolves started their drive on the Bombers 46. A 30-yard run followed by three more runs put the Seawolves in a first down situation on the five yard line.

After the next snap they walked it in for a touchdown, missing the point after leaving the score at 20-0.

The Seawolves finished off their scoring with an early field goal in the fourth quarter and a late touchdown pass with 1:32 remaining in the game.

It was as if the Bombers were not present for the game as they lacked consistency and the ability to adapt when Saint John changed their defensive coverage.

Coach Mike Dollimore says he is not sure why they struggled to put together any offensive plays.

“We sure had trouble getting unraveled,” said Dollimore. “I don’t know what the problem is there, but we have to work on it and sort it out next week. It seems like our passing game cannot connect.”

He did recognize that early on they succeeded on the run plays, but could not keep it going when the Seawolves changed their coverage.

“We came out with a couple nice runs at the start,” he said. “Then they put a lot of pressure on the play. We couldn’t get our running game unraveled in the second half, so we have some work to do.”

Aside from the Bombers now sitting tied for last place with Moncton at 0-2, last in the third quarter receiver Andrew Hubbard had to be helped off the field. Hubbard was hit by two UNBSJ players and remained down for five minutes in pain.

Coach Dollimore was unsure of the severity of the injury, but felt that he should be fine. He continued to say it would be a major hit to their offence if Hubbard is unable to play.

“We were trying to get Andrew the ball more in the second half to make him more of an impact player,” said Dollimore. “We have him out as a wide receiver and can’t get him the ball as much. We would like to get him back in as slot-back into the running game, but that just did not happen after his injury. You can’t lose an impact player like Andrew. It alters and changes your offence.”

Looking to next weekend’s matchup in Moncton, Coach Dollimore knows they have to regroup and get back on track.

“We have to regroup mentally too. I mean, when you suffer a loss like this people get down on themselves,” he said. “We have to come back and look at some of the positive things in the game and just keep their spirits up and work on their technique more than anything.”

In other AFL action on the weekend Holland College dropped the Dalhousie Tigers 23-21.

Seawolves blank Fredericton rivals in capital

Published Monday October 4th, 2010 by Chris Fox of the Telegraph Journal

FREDERICTON – The University of New Brunswick Red Bombers had their first homecoming game ruined by a Blizzard on Saturday night.

UNB Saint John Seawolves running back Jordan Blizzard racked up more than 100 yards rushing and had two touchdowns as the Seawolves made up for a loss to the Red Bombers in the inaugural Moosehead Cup last year, with a 30-0 pasting in Atlantic Football League regular season action at Chapman Field.

“That was our plan all along. We wanted to come in and spoil their homecoming and get some revenge,” said Blizzard, who wasn’t around for last year’s rain-soaked 3-1 loss in the final.

“Ever since we started practice in the summer time this game has kind of been on our radar. It was a chance to make up for the way things ended for the guys last year.”

On a night in which former Red Bombers filled the stands to see the modern day incarnation of the squad in action, they weren’t given very much to cheer about.

The fact that the ceremonial kickoff drew the loudest applause of the night should back that up.

Simply put the Red Bombers were awful.

They didn’t complete a pass until late in the first quarter, had trouble stopping the Seawolves potent ground attack and at times looked like boys among men.

Just 10 minutes in Saint John took advantage, as Justin Cavan broke a 30-yard run down the left sideline allowing Blizzard to break a tackle at the line of scrimmage and punch it in from four yards out.

The Seawolves then went ahead 14-0 midway through the second quarter when Cavan scrambled left and ran the ball in from seven yards. Early in the second half Seawolves quarterback Jeremy McAulay delivered a 25-yard pass to Ryan Crouse to put his team back in the red zone. Blizzard then finished the job off, leaping over the Bombers defensive line for a two-yard rushing major.

The Seawolves ended up scoring three of their four touchdowns on the ground, the lone exception being a 20-yard Kurtis Bonnevie touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

“They have some very good runners and tremendous athletes period,” Red Bombers head coach Mike Dollimore said. “Most of their significant runs or plays we had them stopped in the backfield and then all of a sudden they would make a cut back, find a seam and that was it.

“The problem is they have guys that can do that and just get space and create yards themselves once they get into the secondary,” Dollimore said. “We struggled stopping them tonight.”

In other action, the Dalhousie University Tigers, playing their first home game in 34 years, dropped a 23-21 decision Saturday to the Holland College Hurricanes before 2,500 fans at Wickwire Field.

The Hurricanes are in Saint John to face the 2-0 Seawolves Monday, Oct. 11. the game marks the Seawolves home opener at the newly-renovated Canada Games Stadium on the UNB Saint John campus. Game time is 4 p.m.

Cornford right at home at Red Bombers controls

Published Saturday October 2nd, 2010 by Bill Hunt of The Daily Gleaner

It’s Homecoming Weekend on the campus of the University of New Brunswick – and quarterback Brendan Cornford feels right at home at the controls of the University of New Brunswick Red Bombers.

It wasn’t always that way for the 20-year-old Fredericton native, who was actually cut by the St. Mary’s Leo Hayes Lions when he tried out for the team in Grade 11.

“They cut me for MacKenzie Washburn,” he said. “Then, in the first game against Hampton, he broke his arm. Tommy Broad was the backup, and in our second game against Saint John High, he messed up his shoulder. So halfway through the second game against Saint John, they asked me to go in. I was so nervous…all season long, really.”

But he learned and he improved – and, lo and behold, last year he and the Bombers captured the Atlantic Football League’s first championship.

Tonight’s Homecoming Game – a 7 p.m. kickoff under the lights at Chapman Field – is a rematch of that game and a duel between the UNB campuses: the hometown Bombers against the University of New Brunswick in Saint John Seawolves.

Some 1,200 fans watched the Bombers’ home opener, a 22-19 loss to the Dalhousie Tigers.

“I love the atmosphere,” said Cornford. “It’s one of the best feelings you could ever feel to get on the field and hear the crowd go nuts.”

As they did a couple of weeks ago, for instance, when Cornford and company concocted a reverse flea flicker play and connected with Andrew Hubbard on a 35-yard touchdown play that gave the Bombers a 19-15 fourth quarter lead and had the crowd buzzing. Alas, it didn’t last long: Dalhousie returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and held on for the three-point victory.

There may be more where that came from, but Cornford, cagey quarterback that he’s become, isn’t tipping his hand.

“That might have to be for you to see,” he said, chuckling. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Cornford has clearly come a long way from the kid who was summoned in an emergency. He attended instructional quarterback camps at St. Francis Xavier, in Maine, and at home in the summer between his Grade 11 and Grade 12 seasons at Leo Hayes. He also played summer football with the Capital Area Gladiators and has now been around the block with the Bombers a bit.

And while he recognizes there’s room for improvement in the areas of reading plays, to knowing the playbook to being in better shape to leading the team – “there’s always room to grow,” he said – he also recognizes how far he’s come.

“In my mind, I’ve developed a lot better techniques,” he said.

“At the camps, I worked mostly on footwork, and reading defences to find out where the coverage is going to be…how to read the field when you get to the line instead of snapping the ball and then you see where the players are going. It’s basically second nature to me now. Sometimes it’s a little confusing, but I can basically see what’s going on. You need to know what players are doing at all times. It’s mentally challenging. But there’s nothing that compares to being able to play quarterback.”

Cornford says the calibre of the Atlantic Football League – expanded to five teams this season from the three charter members a year ago – is “10 times better” than the ball he played in high school.

“It’s night and day,” he said. “You have guys who are way bigger, you have speed like nothing you saw in high school. Just the game play, and the plays that you run and that kind of stuff…it’s completely different.”

He expects tonight’s game to be much different from the last meeting between the squads – a 3-1 victory for the Bombers in the championship game in Moncton last November.

“We’re going to put some points on the board,” promised Cornford. “They’ll probably put some points up too. But we plan to come out on top.”

Cornford has plans of his own. The six-foot-two, 190-pound signal caller hopes to go to the newly opened New Brunswick Community College opening on the UNB campus next season to become an engineering technician. The new building is only a few long bombs away from the Bombers’ Chapman Field home.

“I don’t know if the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport football) is calling my name, but I can keep playing UNB ball,” he said.

Atlantic Football League | All N.B. matchup for UNB Homecoming contest

Published Friday October 1st, 2010 by Bill Hunt of The Daily Gleaner

The University of New Brunswick Red Bombers hope to give the Homecoming Crowd something to celebrate Saturday night.

Homecoming Weekend, celebrating the 225th anniversary of the University of New Brunswick, will feature a clash between its’ two football teams — the reigning Atlantic Football League champion UNB Red Bombers, and the team they beat in last year’s championship game, the University of New Brunswick at Saint John Seawolves.

Game time is 7 p.m. Saturday night under the lights at Chapman Field.

“The homecoming should be a big deal for any campus, and with the return of football, we’ve got a focal point where we can bring some of the alumni back, and they can have a good time watching our football team and meeting some old friends,” said Bombers head coach Mike Dollimore, who was hoping to have former Bomber Tom Foulkes talk to the team at practice last night.

Some 1200 fans crowded in to watch the Bombers fall 22-19 to the Dalhousie Tigers of Halifax in the Bombers’ home opener a couple of weeks ago, an entertaining fixture ultimately decided by Greg Pelly’s 104-yard kickoff return with less than seven minutes remaining. Bombers had taken the lead seconds before on a reverse flea-flicker — quarterback Brendan Cornford to Jeff Madsen, back to Cornford, who connected with receiver Andrew Hubbard on a 35-yard touchdown strike.

“We had some real high spots,” said Dollimore. “We thought we moved the ball fairly well offensively, and we tightened up on the defence. We let a couple of big plays happen that hurt us. Those are obviously the things we need to stop. It’s youth…we’ve got a lot of young players, and you break discipline for a second, and there you go, all of a sudden, you’ve got a big play happening.”

They’ve had a couple of weeks to work out the kinks — Bombers had the bye in the schedule last week — and Dollimore says fixing mistakes and getting better is an ongoing process.

“It’s a game of mistakes, as all sports are,” said Dollimore. “The people who make the fewer and execute the best win the football game, the baseball game, the golf match. It’s standard through all sports…try to minimize your mistakes.”

Dollimore continues to be impressed by the development of quarterback Brendan Cornford, the second year quarterback out of Leo Hayes High School.

“I see a lot of new leadership skills coming out in Brendan every practise. He certainly has the skills and the talent to play at this level. We’ve got to get him some confidence. We’ve got to get some short passes completed early in the game and get him some confidence. Once we get his confidence established, we can get him moving forward in the game without nerves bothering him too much. He can certainly throw the football and he can move well too. So we have options in our offence that will allow him or Jeff Madsen, our other quarterback, to run the ball if they need to do that. They’re both big, strong guys who can lug the football.”

Andrew Hubbard is the top target as a receiver.

The league’s two expansion entries this season, the Holland College Hurricanes of Prince Edward Island, and the Tigers, meet Saturday in Halifax as well, the back half of their home and home series. Dal improved to 2-0 on their maiden voyage in the circuit, winning 56-40. The Moncton Junior Mustangs, the other team in the five-team loop, have the bye after absorbing a 53-13 loss to the Seawolves last week.

The all New Brunswick homecoming game will will mark the first meeting between the teams since the Bombers topped the SeaWolves 3-1 in last year’s championship game in Moncton and won the league’s first championship.