Steelsharks come up short against Bulldogs

The St. Tammany Steelsharks, a minor league football team based out of Slidell, suffered their first loss of the season with a 20-12 setback against the Louisiana Blazin’ Bulldogs Saturday at William Pitcher Junior High School in a battle of undefeated teams.

The loss put the Steelsharks at 3-1, while the Blazin’ Bulldogs improved to 4-0. St. Tammany also fell into fourth place behind Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Riverboat Bandits (4-0-1) and the New Orleans Gladiators (3-0-1). Teams will have an opportunity to either stay at the top or drop, as the top-four squads will be playing each other this weekend. The Steelsharks host the Gladiators, while Baton Rouge and Louisiana face off.

The Baton Rouge Riverboat Bandits are coming off a 35-8 win against the Central Louisiana Red River Raiders, while the Gladiators won by forfeit over the Beaumont Bayou Buccaneers.

St. Tammany got off to a bad start and trailed 6-0 after the first quarter and 20-0 by halftime. With about one minute remaining in the first half, the Blazin’ Bulldogs scored on a 35-yard pass that was tipped and caught. The successful 2-point conversion sent the Steelsharks into the break with a big deficit.

But things changed in the second half. Former Pearl River quarterback Jesse Williams entered the game and played most of the second half, taking over for former Slidell signal caller Dustin Moreau.

Williams gave the offense a spark by throwing two second-half touchdowns. The first one came in the third quarter when he hooked up with Antoine Mills for a 45-yard scoring strike, which capped off an 80-yard drive. The unsuccessful two-point attempt made the score 20-6.

As the game came to a close, a pair of former Pearl River Rebels teamed up for a touchdown as Williams fired a 15-yard pass to E.J. Walls to get the score closer at 20-12. The defense also stepped up in the second half by allowing just two first downs.

Williams said he was happy the way the Steelsharks rebounded in the second half after struggling at the beginning.

“We started off slow,” Williams said. “In the second half, we started to pick things up. We got the defense off the field. Charles Forbes made a few key catches to extend drives.”

Williams added the game was a learning experience for the Steelsharks. He said the team learned they couldn’t underestimate anybody.

St. Tammany general manager Lee Hillman said it was a tough loss to take, but said he is looking forward to the second contest between the two squads.

“Our guys played their hearts out, but we just came up short,” Hillman said. “The first half, we were caught sleeping and at halftime, the coaches made some excellent changes to shut down their offense. I have to say if we would have play both halves like the second half, there is no doubt we would still be in the top seed. My hat goes off to the adjustments the team made. I know we will be ready for the second time these two teams meet on Sept. 26 in our rematch.”

For now, the St. Tammany Steelsharks will turn their attention to tomorrow’s home game against the New Orleans Gladiators. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets are $7 for those ages 13-older, $5 for 6-12 and 5-under get in free.

For more information, visit www.slidellsharks.com or call Hillman at 774-3121.

After tomorrow’s game, the Steelsharks will have one more regular-season home game on Sept. 13.