The StFX X-Men opened the AUS football season with a convincing 31-10 win over the Mount Allison Mounties Saturday night at Oland Stadium in Antigonish.
The blue and white outscored the Mounties 10-0 in the second half.
On the first offensive possession of the second half for the X-Men, third-year tailback Ashton Dickson (25-114) scored his second touchdown.
Placekicker Jeremy Ford wrapped up the scoring for the X-Men with a 14-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Dickson, who averaged 4.6 yards per carry in the game, also chipped in 25 yards receiving and 49 yard on kick-off returns, as part of a 188 all-purpose yard performance.
X-Men quarterback Clay Masikewich completed 23 of 36 passes for 304 yards.
StFX head coach Gary Waterman commented, "We were excited to get the win, we did a lot of really good things and I am happy about it, but there is still some work to be done. I think we had too many turnovers, and we have to make sure we secure the ball better as we missed some opportunities out there."
"Overall though we are happy with the win and it's a good start. I was happy with our players and how they stayed composed during the game and embraced the adversity and continued to play."
The X-Men opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 28-yard field goal form Ford.
The blue and white extended to a 10-0 advantage on a leaping 26-yard touchdown catch by Devon Bailey (8-123-1) of a Masikewich toss.
The Mounties responded with a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter from Donovan Saunders, which cut the X-Men lead to 10-3.
After the Mounties stopped the X-Men on a third-and-goal from the one-yard line, the StFX defense stiffened, forcing the visitors to punt from their own end zone.
The Mounties decided to concede a safety, giving the home team at 12-3 lead.
After punter Hayden Peters juggled a high snap, the Mounties recovered deep in the X-Men zone.
Mounties' quarterback Brandon Leyh, who completed only 14 of 34 passes for 84 yards, capped the ensuing drive with a five-yard touchdown run, cutting the X-Men lead to 12-10.
The X-Men stretched the lead to 19-10 on Dickson's first touchdown run of the season, a three-yard scamper.
Penned in their own zone, the Mounties conceded a second safety before halftime, which gave the X-Men a 21-10 lead.
Peters, who averaged 38.1 yards on eight punts, was named player of the game. From his play on defense and special teams, he also contributed 11 tackles.
Also, on defense, Hugo Rajotte contributed 6.5 tackles, while Charlton Elliot, Ron Omara and Brett Hubbeard added five apiece.
Samni Adereti and Mete Konya added 4.5 tackles each, while Konya contributed two sacks.
For the Mounties, Christian Plante and AJ Singh collected 9.5 and seven tackles, respectively. Plante and Jordan Redding each had a sack.
All-Canadian Jordan Botel led the Mounties' attack with 169 yards on 19 rushes, while Troy Trentham was the team's top receiver with five catches for 30 yards.
The X-Men amassed 416 yards in total offense, while the Mounties collected 231.
The X-Men (1-0) return to action Saturday, Sept. 14, when they play the Concordia Stingers on the road in interlock play, while the Mounties (0-1) host the McGill Redmen.
The next X-Men home game is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20 against the defending conference champion Acadia Axemen. Game time is 7 p.m. at Oland Stadium.
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