Mounties Beat StFX 27-17 for 2nd Straight Road Win

Antigonish, NS -The Mount Allison Mounties found an unconventional way to win on Saturday in Antigonish as they beat the home StFX X-Men 27-17.  Relying on the efforts of the top defensive unit in the CIS in 2014, the Mounties defense scored 21 points in victory for the two time defending champs.  Win the win the Mounties move to 3-2 and remain in a tie for first place with Acadia.

The X-Men opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 46-yard field goal from freshman placekicker Jonathan Heidebrecht (Camrose, AB).

The Mounties took their first advantage when veteran defensive lineman Christian Plante (Dartmouth, NS) recovered an Ashton Dickson (Ottawa, ON) fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. With a Ryan Lambert (Grimsby, ON) point-after, the Mounties led 7-3.  The X-Men started from their own 1 yard line after Mounties punter Kyle McLean downed the ball at the 1.

Just over one minute later, Subway player of the game sophomore defensive lineman Shaun Robinson (Halifax, NS) forced a fumble by X-Men quarterback Tivon Cook (Scarborough, ON), which Andrew Klain (Dartmouth, NS) recovered for another Mountie defensive touchdown, also in the end zone. With the second point-after of the game from Lambert, Mount Allison took a 14-3 advantage.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Lambert capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal to give the Mounties a 17-3 edge.

Less than five minutes into the third quarter, the X-Men sliced the disadvantage in half, when Cook connected with junior wide receiver Keon Hughes (Mississuaga, ON) in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. With a Heidebrecht point-after, StFX trailed 17-10.

Lambert, the leading scorer in the AUS, connected for his 12th field goal of the season and second of the afternoon, this time from 20 yards out to give the Mounties a 20-10 lead in the 3rd quarter.  On the first play of the 4th quarter the X-men cut the lead to 20-17 when Ashton Dickson scored from two yards out.

With 7 minutes remaining in the game the Mounties pushed the X-Men back to their own 7 yard line to start their drive.  On the first play from scrimmage fifth year Mountie Matt Montgomery picked off a Tivon Cook pass and scampered 15 yards untouched for the major for the Mounties 3rd defensive touchdown of the afternoon.  This gave the Mounties a 27-17 lead, a lead they would hold until the final whistle.

For the Mounties, AUS All-Star Brandon Leyh was 13 for 19 for 78 yards.  Idahosa Yorke (Bowmanville, ON) led the Mounties with seven catches (28 yards), while Dakota Brush (Brantford, ON) corralled two Leyh throws for a team-high 31 yards.  On the ground, Quinn LeBlanc (Calgary, AB) churned out 88 yards on 24 carries for Mount Allison.  LeBlanc filled in for sophomore Mountie Kiel Ambursley who was injured on the game's opening kickoff.  Ambursley is expected to play next week.

For the Mounties, Plante led the way with 6.5 tackles, along with 1.5 of his team's four sacks of Cook, who was under pressure throughout the game. Plante added 3.5 tackles for loss, along with nine yards on two carries late in the fourth quarter.  In the end, the Mounties defense had 4 sacks, 11 tackles for losses, 2 fumble recovery touchdowns and 1 interception return for a touchdown.  The Mounties defense also held AUS leading rusher Ashton Dickson to 63 yards on 16 carries.

Te Nguyen (Mississauga, ON), with six tackles, along with Devante Sampson (Mississauga, ON) and Dylan Cossar (Darmouth, NS), with 5.5 and five, respectively, helped lead the Mounties defensively.

Mount Allison returns to action Saturday, Oct. 17, when they travel to Wolfville for a first-place battle with the Acadia Axemen (3-2)

On the same day, StFX will be on the road in Halifax to face the winless Saint Mary's Huskies (0-5).

Kick-off for both match-ups is 2 p.m.