Huskies clinch first place, StFX eliminated from playoffs
Despite a late fourth-quarter comeback, the StFX X-Men dropped a hard fought 12-6 defensive battle to the Saint Mary's Huskies in AUS football action Saturday afternoon at Oland Stadium.
Quarterback Tivon Cook (9-16-81), who replaced freshman starter Dante Djan (9-18-89), engineered two drives in the final minutes, with the last one ending in an incomplete Hail Mary pass to Devon Bailey (5-68), which deflected off the leaping wide receiver's hands just short of the goal line.
On that final drive, Bailey made three consecutive catches to help set up the last second toss from Cook.
With the loss, the X-Men (3-5) finish fourth in league play and will not make the playoffs, while the Huskies (5-3) secured first place and the right to host the Loney Bowl, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 in Halifax.
In an opening 30 minutes dominated by the defenses, special teams' play and penalties, the X-Men opened the scoring on a 30-yard field goal from Jeremy Ford, who connected on two out of four attempts in the game.
The seven-play, 38-yard scoring drive was keyed by a soaring reception in coverage by Devon Bailey and back-to-back rushes by Ashton Dickson (25-109).
Djan (9-43) also converted a third-and-short on that march.
In the final minute of the first half, Huskies' quarterback Jack Creighton (12-24-155) connected with Mohamed Abdalah (5-86) to start a two -play touchdown drive culminated by a one-yard rush by Michael Dawes.
With the Chase Kodejs point-after, the Huskies took a 7-3 lead to the locker room at halftime.
In his first game action, X-Man Kyle Sovie blocked a Kodejs' punt in the opening half, but the blue and white could not convert the momentum changer into points.
The offense also stalled after a highlight reel 37-yard punt return by Randy Roseway in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the X-Men conceded a safety, giving the Huskies a 9-3 lead.
With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Huskies made it a two-possession game (12-3) on a Kodejs' 10-yard field goal.
Cook then led the X-Men on a 13-play, 59-yard drive, which culminated in a Ford 23-yard field goal.
The X-Men defense, which held the Huskies to 292 total yards, stiffened and gave the offense its last-minute possession.
Linebacker Ron Omara led the X-Men defense with 6.5 tackles, while Samni Adereti added five, along with a quarterback sack and a tackle for a loss. Brett Hubbeard and James Menzies each chipped in five tackles.
Nathaniel Fermin recorded a second-half interception for the X-Men.
With 3.5 tackles, defensive back Hugo Rajotte extended his all-time X-Men tackle total to 157.5. Second on the blue-and-white list, with his tackles against the Huskies, is Hubbeard with 152. Former X-Man and current Winnipeg Blue Bomber Henoc Muamba is in third with 149.5 tackles.
On offense, the X-Men gained 265 net yards, including 109 rushing and 170 through the air.
Donald Tabor, with 38 yards, joined Bailey with a team-leading five catches. Travis Rasch and Keon Hughes caught three balls, for 32 and 26 yards, respectively.
Dawes led a balanced Huskies' rushing attack with 54 of the team's 138 yards, while Melvin Abankwah and Dave Sabourin amassed 41 and 39 yards, respectively.
For the Huskies, Matt Lalande led with 11.5 tackles, while Marvin Golding collected 8.5 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss.
In other AUS action Saturday afternoon, the Mount Allison Mounties (4-4) scored a 23-14 home win over the Acadia Axemen (3-5).
In the league semi-final game, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 2, the Mounties will host the Axemen in Sackville, NB.
-30-