(SACKVILLE, N.B.) – The CIS No. 6-ranked Mount Allison Mounties defeated the StFX X-Men 29-7 Saturday afternoon in front of 2,922 fans at MacAulay Field to claim their second consecutive Subway AUS Loney Bowl title.
The victory marks the sixth Atlantic conference championship banner for the Mounties program. The Mounties have run the table in the AUS this year, going 8-0 in the regular season and capping it off with the Loney Bowl victory on Saturday.
Mount Allison's Josh Blanchard was awarded the Don Loney Memorial Trophy as the Subway player of the game for the Mounties after catching a touchdown pass and throwing a touchdown pass, both in the first quarter.
After StFX's Jeremy Ford missed a 37-yard field goal on their opening drive, the Mounties went to work right away.
Mount Allison moved the ball 40 yards on three plays and then used a flea flicker as the Mounties quarterback hit game MVP Blanchard from 35 yards out to electrify the hometown crowd.
Two possessions later, the Mounties defence held StFX deep in their end, causing them to take a safety, bringing the score to 9-0.
On the ensuing possession, the Mounties drove 38 yards before using some more trickery, this time with receiver Josh Blanchard taking a pass in the backfield and then hooking up with Rod Joseph for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
This brought the score to 16-0. The Mounties would add a rouge before the end of the first quarter to make the score 17-0.
With the wind in the second quarter, StFX responded with a 76-yard drive of their own, capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass from Tivon Cook to Jordan Catterall, bringing the score to 17-7. The score would remain that way heading into halftime.
The Mounties added to their lead in the third quarter when kicker Ryan Lambert split the uprights from 36 yards out to stretch the lead to 20-7.
StFX surrendered another safety with three minutes left to play in the third quarter, leaving the score at 22-7 with 15 minutes to play.
StFX had the wind in the fourth quarter but the Mounties defence shut the door.
Two minutes into the quarter, Jacob LeBlanc sacked Tivon Cook, knocking the ball loose and allowing the Mounties to recover on the StFX five-yard line.
Two plays later, Leyh found Rod Joseph for his second touchdown of the afternoon. This gave the Mounties a 29-7 lead and ultimately, their second straight Loney Bowl victory.
Mounties quarterback Brandon Leyh was 15-for-24 for 212 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Tivon Cook was 28-for-49 for 231 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions for StFX.
The Mounties defence also had one fumble recovery and five sacks on the day.
Chris Reid led the Mounties on the ground, going 90 yards on 26 attempts while Ashton Dickson had 75 yards on 15 carries to lead the X-Men.
Rod Joseph had four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns for the Mounties.
Donald Tabor had nine catches and 93 yards for StFX while freshman Ben Hnatiuk had 8 receptions for 75 yards.
The Mounties were led defensively by Michael Bohan who had 7.5 tackles on the day, while Shaun Robinson (2), Jacob LeBlanc, Dylan Cossar and Jordan Redding all had sacks for the Mounties.
Nate Rostek had two interceptions while all-Canadian Kwame Adjei also had a key fourth-quarter interception in the end zone for the champions.
Ron Omara led the X-Men with 7.5 tackles on the afternoon while James Menzies had 7 tackles and one sack.
The Mounties will now get a week off before advancing to play in the CIS Mitchell Bowl on Nov. 22nd in Ontario. They will play the OUA champion, either Guelph or McMaster, at their school.
The winner of the CIS Mitchell Bowl will advance to face the winner of the CIS Uteck Bowl in the 50th Telus Vanier Cup being played at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, Que. on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. EST.
Source: Mount Allison Sports Information