Mt. A outlasts Saint Mary’s on MacAulay field.
With the lights shining over the field and fireworks in the background on a beautiful, late summer night, the Mount Allison Football Mounties picked up their first win of the season over the Saint Mary’s Huskies (SMU). This moved them into a tie for second in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS), just one game back of Saint Francis Xavier (St. FX). Acadia, SMU, and Mt. A all stand at one win and two losses. This was Mt. A’s second consecutive win over the Huskies at MacAulay Field, and they were able to get revenge for last year’s AUS semifinal where Saint Mary’s manhandled the Mounties 49-11.
“We knew they don’t like playing on grass, so we ran the ball early and adjusted as the game went on.” Mounties offensive lineman Jonathan Graves said.
Graves was happy that his team got their first win of the campaign. “I can’t even express it right now. It’s just such a way, you feel like you represent your campus on the football field and when you’re not doing well you feel like you’re disappointing. The effort we put in during the offseason is finally paying off,” Graves said, adding, “the fan support was immense and we truly truly appreciate the turnout, it helps more than anyone knows. This is the first of many wins!”
For the second straight game, the Mounties came out with a quick start. This time they scored on their second possession of the game. Brandon Leyh, back after missing one game with a knee injury, connected on a fifteen yard throw to wide receiver Matt Rose. This was after a deep throw downfield was caught by rookie Rodreke Joseph, who has been a dynamic addition to the offence, to get into the red zone.
The Mounties extended their lead to 10-0 before the end of the first quarter after Troy Trentham blocked the Huskies’ punt and recovered the ball at the twenty yard line.
The second quarter saw Donovan Saunders get his first interception of the season. On the ensuing possession, the Mounties drove down the field at the end of the quarter, resulting in a five yard Jordan Botel touchdown. SMU was able to get a score back before half, but going to the third quarter the score was 18-7 for the Mounties.
Turnovers were the story of the third quarter. SMU was able to get an early field goal off of a turnover. Devonte Sampson, who had fumbled the punt which led to the Huskies’ field goal, redeemed himself with an interception that he brought back for a sixty-yard touchdown to make the game 25-10.
This would be it for the Huskies, as the game was out of reach. The Mounties won by a final score of 29-15.
The Mounties defence made the difference in the game, pressuring SMU’s offence all night. Jordan Redding and Dylan Cossar had three sacks each and the secondary had three interceptions. Brandon Leyh threw for 195 yards and one touchdown while getting intercepted three times. Jordan Botel ran for only forty yards but did score one touchdown. Rodreke Joseph was once again impressive and led the game with seventy-two yards receiving.
The Mounties are on the road next Saturday night against Acadia, playing at 7 pm. Acadia has gotten off to a slow start, as they were the favourite by many to win the AUS at the start of the season.
