AUS RECAPS: Ambursley propels Mounties into 1st place tie, Dickson guides X-Men to Homecoming win [stats]

The Mount Allison Mounties moved into a tie for 1st place at the half way point of the AUS season after a convincing 32-14 win over Acadia on Saturday afternoon in Wolfville.  The two-time defending AUS champions, who lost for the 1st time in 13 AUS regular season games two weeks ago, used a total team effort for the win.

The Mounties, with the wind at their backs for the first quarter, started quickly with a 5-0 lead after an Acadia team safety and a 28 yard Ryan Lambert field goal less than 5 minutes into the game.  Acadia took their only lead of the game when AUS MVP Brian Jones scored with a 4 yard touchdown reception to give the home side a 7-5 lead in the last minute of the first quarter.

The defending champs answered right back, driving 55 yards on the ensuing possession before Ryan Lambert hit from 17 yards to give the Mounties an 8-7 lead.  Halfway through the 2nd quarter the Mounties made yet another play on special teams, this time with Andrew Klain jumping on an Eli Prochnau fumble and giving the Mounties the ball on the Acadia 21 yard line.  Four plays laterBrandon Leyh called his own number and ran it in from 10 yards out to give the Mounties a 15-7 lead.

The Mounties extended their lead to 18-7 four minutes into the 3rd quarter when Lambert made his 3rd field goal of the game and 10th of the season, this time from 35 yards.  The score stayed this way until Eli Prochnau scored on an 11 yard touchdown reception with 11 minutes remaining.

With the Mounties lead cut to 18-14 and with the game starting to feel similar to Acadia’s come back two weeks prior, the Mounties dug in and took control of the game.  First the Mounties defense tightened up, resulting in good field position for the offense.  Leyh and his Mounties drove 51 yards in five plays, capping the drive off with a 9 yard touchdown pass to 3rd year Mountie Dakota Brush with 4 minutes remaining.

With the score 25-14 the Mounties defense held again and Leyh and the offense went back to work.  On the strength of several good runs by sophomore running back Kiel Ambursley the Mounties drove 61 yards and once again found the end zone.  Ambursley, responsible for 36 of the 61 yards on the drive, scored from 11 yards out to make the score 32-14 with 45 seconds remaining.  The Mounties last touchdown drive was kept alive by a fake field goal where Michael Bohan ran for 12 yards and a first down.

“We found ourselves in a similar situation to two weeks ago and it was great to see our team respond and close out the game this time,” offered Mounties Head Coach Kelly Jeffrey. “This week was an important step for our team and we continue to develop.”

Subway Player of the Game Kiel Ambursley led the Mounties with 134 yards rushing and 1 TD on 25 attempts.  Quarterback Brandon Leyh, who moved into 2nd place all-time in Mounties history for passing yards, was 19 for 29 for 145 yards with 1 passing and 1 rushing TD.  Dakota Brush, who leads the AUS in receptions had 6 more catches for 53 yards and 1 touchdown.  Fifth year linebacker Te Nguyen had 10.5 tackles for the Mounties while Sophomore Shaun Robinson had 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for losses.  The Mounties had 4 sacks on the day.

At 2-2 the Mounties now sit in a tie for 1st place with Acadia and StFX.  Saint Mary’s is in last place at 0-4.  The Mounties travel to Antigonish to play StFX next Saturday, October 10th at 2PM.  The game can be seen live on Bell Aliant’s TV1 (Channels 1 and 401).

Source: Mount Allison Mounties Sports Information

Mounties topple first place Axemen

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Subway Player of the Game Kiel Ambursley rushed for 142 yards on 25 carried to help the Mount Allison Mounties topple the first place Axemen 32-14 in front of an Acadia home crowd.

The Mounties jumped on the score board quickly with a team safety and a 28 yard Ryan Lambert field goal (Grimsby, Ont.), but the Axemen were the first to score a major when Brian Jones(Bedford, N.S.) hauled in his second touchdown of the season on a well-placed pass from Cody Cluett (Cole Harbour, N.S) to give Acadia the 7-5 lead.

Lambert would give the Mounties an 8-7 lead on a 17 yard field goal that capped off a 7 play 55 yard drive in the second quarter. Mount Allison would add to the lead following a fumbled punt return by the Axemen that would setup the Mounties’ first of 3 touchdowns.

Starting on Acadia`s 21 yard line, the Acadia defense stifled any offensive progress but an unnecessary roughness call moved the ball to Acadia’s 10 yard line where Mountie pivot Brandon Leyh (New Westminster, B.C.) rushed 10 yards for the major.

With a 15-7 lead into the halftime, Mount Allison padded the lead to 18-7 on a third quarter Lambert field goal from 35 yards out. The score would remain 18-7 until the 10 minute mark of the final frame when Acadia’s Eli Prochnau (Cochrane, Alta.) pulled in an 11 yard pass from Cluett to close the margin to 18-14. The Acadia touchdown was setup by a blocked punt and recovery by Axeman Aaron Bourdages at the Mountie 11 yard line.

With a stiff wind at their backs for the final quarter, the Axemen faultered with a 12 yard punt from their 39 yard line to setup a 51 yard, five play Mountie drive that would put the game out of reach for Acadia. Leyh completed a nine yard pass to Dakota Brush (Brantford, Ont.) to push the Mountie lead to 25-14 with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

The Mounties scored on an 11 yard run by Ambursley with 45 seconds remaining in the game after a faked field goal extended the drive setting up the final points of the day.

Mount Allison edged the Axemen in total offense with 288 yards compared to Acadia’s 218 yards. Cluett was 18 for 28 and 140 yards passing, while Mountie counterpart Leyh threw for 19 receptions on 29 attempts for 145 yards.

Acadia’s Thomas Troop picked up 78 yards on 19 carries but left the game early in the fourth quarter. Ambursley averaged 5.4 yards per carry for 134 total yards on 25 carries.

Ambursley credited the win with being focused throughout the game. “It started with a good week of practice and we came off the bus fired up. We stayed focused and it allowed for our success later on“

In the air, Brian Jones led the field with 57 yards on six receptions and Mountie Dakota Bush pulled in six passes for 53. Axeman Sabastian Robinson (Saskatoon, Sask.) grabbed 56 yards on five receptions.

Penalties played a role in limiting the Axemen’s impact on the field with a game high 13 penalties for 125 yards. Senior Linebacker Drew Morris (Ottawa, Ont.), who was named the Acadia Subway Player of the Game, had 10 solo tackles, 5 assisted tackes, while Mountie Te Nguyen (Mississauga, Ont.) had 10 tackles and 1 assist.

The Mounties and Axemen are tied for first place in the AUS standings along with StFX with 2-2 records. Mount Allison picked up wins against Saint Mary’s and today’s win over Acadia, while Acadia has recorded wins against Mount Allison and StFX.

Next weekend`s scheduled games will break the deadlock between three teams and will feature the Axemen visiting Saint Mary’s for the first meeting in the regular season and the Mounties head to Antigonish to take on the StFX X-Men.

Source: Eric Cederberg, Acadia Axemen Sports Information

X-Men earn Homecoming win over Huskies

Antigonish, NS – Ashton Dickson (Ottawa, ON) made his final StFX Homecoming game a memorable one in leading the X-Men (2-2) to a 31-15 win over the Saint Mary’s Huskies (0-4) Saturday afternoon at Oland Stadium.

More than 2,100 fans braved windy and rainy conditions as the fifth-year running back earned Subway player-of-the-game honours with a 27-carry, 128-yard performance.

“The O-line is always the key to my success,” Dickson said after the game, when asked about his effort. “They make the holes and I just run through them.”

Powered by a 25-point surge in the second quarter, the X-Men took a 28-2 halftime lead.

“We got off to a good start in the first half,” Dickson said. “In the second half, we could have done a lot better, but I think – at the end of the day – it just came down to who wanted it more in the last few minutes of the game.”

StFX opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 38-yard field goal from freshman placekicker Jonathan Heidebrecht (Camrose, AB).

From deep in their own zone, X-Men quarterback Tivon Cook (Scarborough, ON) connected with fifth-year wide receiver Randy Roseway (Ottawa, ON) on a bomb to midfield, but the completion was negated by a holding call.

The Huskies trimmed the X-Men advantage to 3-2 on a conceded safety by punter Jeremy Ford (Halifax, NS).

The teams traded interceptions in the first quarter, with both defensive plays coming off deflections. Saint Mary’s defensive back Clay Matthews-Reid (Oshawa, ON) picked off Cook, while StFX freshman linebacker Brandt Kolybaba (Lacombe, AB) did the trick against Trevor Erdmann (Ardrossan, AB).

“In the first half, we knew we were against the wind to start, so we tried to kind of keep it close and we were able to take a little bit of a lead,” X-Men head coach Gary Waterman said. “We thought we could explode in the second quarter and we did; we jumped to a big lead.”

In the second quarter, junior linebacker Daniel Tshiamala (Kinshasa, Congo) extended the X-Men edge with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown. With a Heidebrecht point-after, StFX led 10-2.

On the ensuing kick-off, Heidebrecht booted a rouge to make it 11-2.

Dickson completed a seven-play, 95-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown scamper. Another Heidebrecht point-after gave the X-Men an 18-2 lead.

After the X-Men pinned them deep in their own zone, the Huskies conceded a safety, making it 20-2.

With 34 seconds remaining in the first half, the Cook-Roseway duo combined on a 40-yard TD pass, with no penalty flag coming on this occasion. Heidebrecht booted the convert to make it 27-2.

Cook finished 15-for-25 for 179 yards, while Roseway led the X-Men receiving corps in yardage, with 52, on two catches.

Ten X-Men caught passes from Cook, with freshman Tyler Wilson (Edmonton, AB) leading the balanced offensive attack with three receptions, while collecting 33 yards.

On his eighth point of the game, Heidebrecht gave the X-Men at 28-2 halftime lead on his second rouge of the game.

In the third quarter, with the Huskies starting to rally, the X-Men stopped the visitors on second and third down from their own five yard line.

Unable to move the offense after the defensive stand, X-Men punter Ford took a knee for another safety, cutting the home team’s edge to 28-4.

On their best drive of the game – five plays, 105 yards – the Huskies scored on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Erdmann to Rick LeMoignan (Edmonton, AB), who caught the ensuing pass for a two-point conversion, which brought Saint Mary’s to within 16 points (28-12).

Erdmann finished 19-for-36 for 235 yards, while LeMoignan topped Saint Mary’s receivers with six catches (59 yards) and D’Shawn Miller (Brampton, ON) amassed the most yardage through the air (61), on three receptions.

At 12:36 of the fourth quarter, the Huskies continued their comeback when Ideen Samadi booted a 22-yard field goal to make it 28-15 for the X-Men.

After the defense held, the Huskies attempted to build on their second-half momentum, but Kolybaba forced and recovered a fumble by Jacob Gesse (Laval, QC), who led the Saint Mary’s rushing attack with 65 yards on 10 carries.

The X-Men capitalized on the turnover, with Heidebrecht converting from 26 yards to give his team a 31-15 lead and round out the scoring.

“At halftime, I talked to the kids about playing a complete game, and just mentally sometimes it is difficult for them – especially with some younger guys – to really understand that concept,” Waterman said.

“We battled the wind again in the third quarter – that gave them some momentum a little bit, once they scored. We just never re-captured the momentum, but we did enough to win the game.”

StFX outgained Saint Mary’s 371-326 in total net yards, while holding a 22-17 edge in first downs.

Defensively, Aiden Panchyshyn                (Edmonton, AB) led the Huskies with eight tackles, while Brad Herbst (Ottawa, ON) and Mandella Loggale (Edmonton, AB) collected 7.5 and six, respectively.

Kyle MacDonald (Lower Sackville, NS) chipped in a forced fumble for the Huskies.

Along with his interception, forced and recovered fumble, Kolybaba led the X-Men with 7.5 tackles, while veteran defensive back Hayden Peters notched six tackles.

Kyle Forde (Toronto, ON) and John Tewelde (Winnipeg, MB) combined for the only sack of the game for either team.

The Huskies next face the Acadia Axemen on Friday, Oct.9^th in a 7 p.m. evening match at Huskies Stadium in Halifax.

The X-Men will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 10, when they host the defending AUS champion Mount Allison Mounties. Opening kick-off is set for 2 p.m. at Oland Stadium.

Source: Krista McKenna, StFX X-Men Sports Information

Mount Allison vs. Acadia at Wolfville, NS 10/3/2015 at 2:05
Mount Allison 32	Acadia 14