Sackville, NB - The final week of the AUS regular season provided a showdown for first place and the game did not disappoint, with the visiting StFX X-Men coming away with a 24-18 win at Mount Allison.
Both teams finish the season with 5-3 records but the Mounties clinch first place on point differential. The Mounties will now host the 2015 Subway AUS Loney Bowl at Alumni Field on Saturday, November 14th at 2PM. StFX finishes second and will host the Acadia Axemen in the AUS Semi-Final game next Saturday, November 7th, also at 2PM.
StFX opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when Jonathan Heidebrecht recorded a single point off a missed field goal. The Mounties responded on their next drive, marching 75 yards before freshman Josh Hicks caught a 13 yard touchdown pass from Brandon Leyh. This is the second straight week Hicks has had a touchdown reception. The Mounties extended their lead to 9-1 when StFX conceded a safety late in the first quarter.
The lead became 12-1 for the Mounties when Ryan Lambert struck from 30 yards out. Heidebrecht then kicked consecutive field goals for the X-Men from 27 and 40 yards to bring the score to 12-7 with six minutes remaining in the half. Lambert, the AUS points leader, hit from 27 yards out with two minutes remaining to extend the lead to 15-7 for the Mounties. Heidebrecht collected another single point to leave the score at 15-8 at halftime.
Ryan Lambert kicked his third field goal of the afternoon from 32 yards out to give the Mounties an 18-8 lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Lambert finished the season with 22 field goals, a Mounties school record and one short of the AUS record of 23 field goals. Heidebrecht hit from 21 and 43 yards to trim the lead to 18-14, then a Mount Allison conceded safety brought the score to 18-16 with six minutes remaining.
StFX took the lead two minutes later when AUS leading rusher Ashton Dickson scored a touchdown from two yards out. With a successful two-point conversion the X-Men went ahead 24-18. This is how the game would end, giving the X-Men the win, but the Mounties first place as StFX needed an 11 point margin of victory to claim top spot.
Brandon Leyh was 17 of 32 for 166 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Quinn LeBlanc rushed for 87 yards on 18 carries, while Josh Hicks led all Mounties receivers with six catches for 68 yards.
For the X-Men quarterback Tivon Cook was 19 of 32 for 235 yards. Dickson had 41 carries for 228 yards and one touchdown, while Donald Tabor had eight catches for 99 yards.
The Mounties will now host the Subway AUS Loney Bowl for the second consecutive year. They await the winner of the X-Men and Axemen who kick off in semifinal action on November 7th at StFX Oland Stadium. The playoff game will be a re-match of 2014, a game that saw the X-Men pull off a dramatic 18-17 come-from-behind victory.
Courtesy Mount Allison Sports Information