Mount Allison opened the scoring five minutes in, forcing StFX to take a safety after being pinned deep in their own end. StFX responded quickly when Clay Masikewich connected with Jordan Catterall on a 44-yard touchdown play a minute and a half later. The Mounties responded with a 70-yard drive of their own, capped off with a four-yard touchdown run by Jordan Botel.
The Mounties defense then went to work on the X-Men’s next possession, forcing a fumble that was recovered by safety Kwame Adjei. Seven plays later rookie quarterback Brandon Leyh found Matt Rose in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown, making the score 16-7 for the Mounties. On the ensuing kickoff, Mounties’ special teams chipped in, recovering an Ashton Dickson fumble on the StFX 36-yard line. Jordan Botel scored his second touchdown of the first quarter moments later when he scampered 27 yards for the end zone. This put the score at 23-7 Mounties at the end of the first quarter.
StFX pushed back in the second quarter, first with a Jeremy Ford field goal at 11:07 and then with a one-yard touchdown by Ashton Dickson at 5:58. With the score 23-17, the Mounties defense once again pinned StFX deep in their own end, causing them to take another team safety before the end of the half. As the teams hit the locker rooms for shelter from the rain, the Mounties led 25-17.
The Mounties’ defense took over in the second half, not allowing StFX to score a single point. The Mounties picked up a single point on a rouge three minutes in. Nick Lauder, who had 120 yards of total offense on the day, posted his first touchdown of the day with a 14-yard TD run at 6:41 of the third quarter. From there on out, it was the Mounties who were able to protect the ball and play tenaciously on defense, picking up a single at the end of the third quarter and a safety with six minutes to play in the fourth.
The Mounties were led offensively by rookie quarterback Brandon Leyh, earning his first CIS win as a starting quarterback. Leyh was 10-16 for 186 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Rookie running back Jordan Botel had his best game as a Mountie with 154 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Botel’s longest run was 32 yards and he averaged 4.8 per carry. First-year Mountie Nick Lauder had five catches for 120 yards. For StFX, Masikewich was 20-33 for 295 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Ashton Dickson led the X-Men in rushing with 32.
Justin Richard once again led the Mounties defensively with nine tackles while sophomore Rich Deschamps had 7.5. Fifth-year Mountie Ryan Downe had 1.5 sacks, moving him even closer to the AUS record for career sacks.
With the win, the Mounties (1-2) move into a tie for second place with StFX. Acadia, who defeated Saint Mary’s for the second time in three weeks sits alone in first place at 2-1, while Saint Mary’s sits in fourth place at 0-3. The Mounties now hit the road for their first in conference road games when they visit Acadia on Saturday, September 29th at 2:00 p.m.
Source: Mount Allison Sports Info
Picture: Sue Seaborn
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