Mounties Remain Undefeated With 33-5 Win at Acadia

The Mount Allison Mounties continue to go places they have never been.  On Saturday afternoon the Mounties used a dominant second half to dampen Homecoming at Acadia by defeating the home Axemen 33-5.  With the win the Mounties have now started the season 7-0 for the first time in the school's history.  All in, the Mounties have now won 11 straight AUS regular season and playoff games dating back to October of 2013.  It's also the fourth straight win for the Mounties over the 3^rd place Acadia Axemen.

Mounties first year kicker Ryan Lambert flashed his strong leg with a 47 yard field goal 12 minutes into the game to give the Mounties a 3-0 lead.  Acadia responded by forcing the Mounties to take a safety early in the 2^nd quarter to cut the lead to 3-2.  Immediately before the safety the Mounties defense stared down a 1^st and goal situation from their own 1 yard line and stuffed Acadia on three straight plays to cause a turnover on downs.  This is the closest Acadia would come to the end zone against a Mounties defense that has not allowed an opposition touchdown in four games.

Ryan Begin nailed a 29 yard field goal, his sixteenth in a row  - a perfect 16 for 16 this season to give Acadia a 5-3 lead but the Mounties pulled together a six play 81 yard drive that was capped by a 18 yard rush from freshman Chris Reid for the first of four Mountie touchdowns.  This gave the Mounties a slim 10-5 lead at halftime.

The CIS 7^th ranked Mounties struck quickly and with authority to start the 2^nd half. Following a Mount Allison rouge, the Mounties added their second major of the day after Michael Bohan returned a Begin punt 61 yards to the Acadia six yard line. From the second play of scrimmage, Leyh tossed a seven yard pass to Matt Rose to pull ahead 19-5 after the convert.

Mount Allison would add an additional rouge and then two touchdowns in the final quarter to end the game with a convincing 33-5 win. Emmanuel Musangu had a two yard run for seven points at 0:42 in the fourth, while teammate Rodreke Joseph scored the final touchdown just over a minute after Musangu's touchdown. Joseph's major was setup when 3^rd year Mountie Kyle Horsman forced and then recovered an Acadia fumble on the ensuing kickoff after Musangu's touchdown.

Mounties quarterback Brandon Leyh was impressive once again in victory, going 14 for 23 for 223 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.  Chris Reid continued to run well for the Mounties, gaining 113 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown.  Senior running back Emmanuel Musangu had 72 yards and 1 touchdown on 12 carries.  Defensively, Andrew Klain and Matt Montgomery had 7 tackles each to lead the way for the nation's number 1 defense.

Mountie head coach, Kelly Jeffrey, was humble with the win over the Axemen. "Acadia has a great defense and their new quarterback was very accurate. I give them a lot of credit for playing well as a team", pointed out Jeffrey. "We were able to gain some momentum in the second half and capitalize on turnovers."

When asked about his team's clinching of hosting the AUS Championship with a win last weekend, Jeffrey was excited about his team's opportunity to host. "We're excited to host the Loney Bowl. It's a great reward for our fans and community who have supported us over the years. Our players are looking forward to playing at home in such a big game."

The Axemen will finish off the regular season on the road as they play the winless Saint Mary's Huskies in Halifax while the Mounties host StFX in Sackville, NB. The Mounties have a chance to post an 8-0 record, a first in the AUS since the Saint Mary's Huskies went undefeated in 2001.  Saturday will also be NFL on Campus day in Sackville.