On the strength of 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the StFX X-Men defeated the Concordia Stingers 35-18 in CIS interlock football play Saturday afternoon in Montreal.
With the win, the X-Men improve to 2-0 on the regular season, moving into sole possession of first place in the AUS early in the season.
The blue and white extended a 19-18 lead with a pair of long touchdown connections between quarterback Clay Masikewich (16-28-279) and wide receiver Jordan Catterall (6-157).
Their first major score of the fourth quarter capped a three-play, 60-yard drive, with Catterall corralling a 50-yard reception at 12:01.
On that TD, the X-Men extended their lead to 26-18, including the Jeremy Ford convert.
With 2:18 remaining in the game, Catterall scampered 85 yards after hauling in a Masikewich throw.
In a stellar effort, Catterall also collected 65 yards on seven punt returns.
A safety with 1:59 remaining wrapped up the scoring for the visiting X-Men.
In an afternoon filled with electrifying plays on both sides of the ball for the blue and white, defensive back Demetrius Ferguson opened the scoring with a 103-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Ferguson snagged two interceptions on the day.
The Stingers tied the game on a Jamall Hyman (12-90) 27-yard TD run with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
With a safety and a Keegan Treloar 38-yard field goal, the home team took a 12-7 lead in the second quarter.
The X-Men trimmed the lead to 12-8 on Jeremy Ford rouge with 1:54 left in the first half.
With his first of three TD passes in the game, Masikewich connected with Devon Bailey (3-70) to give the blue and white a 16-15 halftime lead.
The X-Men amassed 362 yards in total offense, including 83 on the ground. Ashton Dickson led the X-Men rushing attack with 72 yards on 17 carries.
Freshman Keon Hughes added to the passing attack with two catches for 46 yards.
For the Stingers, Reid Quest completed 26 passes for 297 yards, with three interceptions.
Hyman rushed for 90 yards on 12 carries, while Shayne Stinson (5-77) was the leading receiver for the home team.
On defense, the X-Men sacked Quest seven times, including 2.5 apiece from Samni Adereti and Scott Holmes. Ron Omara, who also contributed an interception, and Hugo Rajotte also recorded sacks.
Adereti led the blue and white with 9.5 tackles, while Hayden Peters and Omara chipped in 7.5 and 6.5, respectively.
Brett Hubbeard and Holmes had 5.5 tackles each. Rajotte added a fumble recovery.
The X-Men return to action Friday, Sept. 20, when they host the defending AUS champion Acadia Axemen (0-2). The Axemen dropped a 26-14 decision to CIS ranked No. 1 Laval Saturday afternoon in Wolfville, NS.
Game time on Friday night is 7 p.m. at Oland Stadium. StFX will celebrate and honour 60 years of X-Men football during the game.