WOLFVILLE, NS – The Acadia Axemen (8-1) loosened the Saint Mary’s Huskies stranglehold on the Jewett Cup with a 39-20 win over the Huskies in the AUS Subway Loney Bowl. The win catapults the Axemen to the Uteck Bowl held in Moncton this Friday night and will be Acadia’s third Uteck Bowl in the last seven years.
Fourth year quarterback Kyle Graves rushed for three touchdowns as Acadia ended Saint Mary’s championship streak with a convincing win over the visiting Huskies in front of 2835 fans.
Striking first on a 10 yard run by Graves that was set up by a Zack Skibin’s 66 yard dash for open space, the Axemen took an early 7-0 lead after only two minutes expired in the game clock.
The Huskies responded quickly at 5:41 when Jameek Taylor hauled in a pass from Jack Creighton and posted a 51 yard run to tie the game at seven. Brett Lauther added a 10 yard field goal to take the first and only Huskie lead of the day.
Graves added his second touchdown run of the day on a 15 yard run to give Acadia a 14-10 lead and rookie kicker Ryan Begin added two rouges and two field goals to push Acadia to a 22-10 lead.
The Axemen, who avenged a 37-8 loss to Saint Mary’s in last year’s AUS championship match, led 22-10 at the half and never looked back en route to capturing their first title since back-to-back banners in 2005 and 2006.
Graves added his third touchdown of the day on a 10 yard run that was set up by reception of 17 and 25 by Mike Squires and senior Stu Clow respectively. Huskie Devon Jones capped off a 84 yard drive on a six yard touchdown run to make it interesting at 29-17 in the third quarter and Lauther added a 37 yard field goal to bring a cheer of support for the visiting Huskies.
Begin’s third field goal from 17 yards out at the mid-point of the fourth quarter and Zack Skibin’s late fourth quarter touchdown that began off of a Chris Cull interception return, nailed the coffin shut for the Huskies.
Graves, the AUS player of the year from Barrie, Ont., finished with 78 rushing yards on 10 carries and completed 12 of 16 passes for 170 yards, with no interceptions. Running back Zack Skibin also starred in the victory with 147 yards and one major on 27 runs as Acadia dominated 315 yards to 71 in the ground game.
Creighton racked up 251 yards on 17-of-30 passing but was intercepted twice. Taylor was his favourite target and finished with 108 yards on six catches.
Acadia had 25 first downs to Saint Mary’s 15. Graves’ found Stu Clow for four receptions and a team high 96 yards in receiving while AUS All-Star Zack Skibin led Acadia with 147 yards on the ground on 21 carries.
Head Coach Jeff Cummins was humble with the win. “We have played the Huskies four times this season and we have got to know each other pretty well. They are a good team and we took advantage of some opportunities were relentless on defense. I am very proud of our performance today and our assistant coaches deserve a lot of credit for their hard work. We will do our best to prepare a very hungry team for the Uteck Bowl.”
The 8-1 Axemen will prepare to meet the 9-1 McMaster Mauraders this coming Friday night in Moncton for the CIS Uteck Bowl starting at 7:30pm. McMaster defeated the Western Mustangs 41-19 in the OUA championship game.
Eric ‘Cedsy’ Cederberg
Pictures: Mona Ghiz
www.ghizphotos.ifp3.com
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