Antigonish, NS – The STFX X-Men clinched first place in the AUS standings with a commanding 46-0 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies Saturday afternoon at STFX Stadium.
With the win, the X-Men remain undefeated with a 5-0 record atop the AUS conference.
Subway Player of the Game Malcom Bussey (Hammonds Plains, NS) scored two touchdowns and had 14 carries for 162 yards for STFX who dominated in all three facets of the game against a Huskies squad that struggled on offense throughout the afternoon.
Saint Mary's managed nine first downs and 49 offensive plays for 176 yards, compared to the X-Men's 23 first downs and 61-454 total offense.
The lone scoring of the first quarter came from a two-yard touchdown run by Bussey with just under three minutes to play. His major came three plays after X-Men defensive back Nathan Cayouette (Strathmore, AB) recovered a Huskies fumble at the Saint Mary's 20-yard line.
The X-Men extended their lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter on a nine-yard field goal from Max Capriotti (Mount Hope, ON).
The home squad led 17-0 at halftime after a nice play with a minute left in the opening half. After setting up for a field goal attempt, X ball holder Isaac Fagnan (Bonnyville, AB) picked up the ball and instead ran it in for a 31-yard touchdown.
Capriotti's second field goal of the afternoon from 33 yards out gave the X-Men a 20-0 advantage three minutes into the third quarter.
Bailey Wasdal (Calgary, AB) took over for quarterback for STFX midway through the third quarter as Silas Fagnan (Bonnyville, AB) came out with a lower body injury after a hard tackle.
Fagnan was 12-20 with 145 passing yards during his stint.
Bussey's second major of the game came with just under two minutes left in the third on a nice 33-yard run, coming off a key block by Isaac Fagnan (Bonnyville, AB).
A safety conceded by SMU late in the quarter gave the X-Men a 29-0 lead heading into the final frame.
The X-Men special teams unit and defense then accounted for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter just over a minute apart.
After an X-Men punt into the end zone, the SMU returner was stripped of the ball by STFX defensive back Liam Wilde (Calgary, AB) who then recovered it for the major.
Fellow defensive back Tom Bentley (Dartmouth, NS) then had a pick-six for a 22-yard score as the X-Men held a commanding 43-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
STFX scoring rounded out with a Ben Hadley (Halifax, NS) 21-yard field goal as X closed out the 46-0 win.
Cayouette led the STFX defense with 4.5 tackles in the game and Alex Fedchun (Calgary, AB) had four and a sack.
Isaiah Okoli (Saint John, NB) had 6.5 tackles for Saint Mary's and player of the game Markus Jean-Loescher (Scraborough, ON) had six and one sack.
Huskies quarterback Kristian Stembridge (Calgary, AB) was 12-18 for 94 yards on the day. He also went 4-40 in rushing.
The game marked the final one in regular season play for the Huskies who wrap up the AUS season with a 1-5 record and out of AUS playoff contention.
The X-Men will host the Acadia Axemen next Saturday, November 6th at 2:00 pm to close out regular season play.
With their first place standing, STFX have secured home field advantage for the AUS semifinal game on November 13th and will await the fourth place finisher for their opponent at STFX Stadium.
The second and third place squads will meet in the other semifinal, also on November 13th, with the winners meeting in the AUS Loney Bowl Championship on November 20th in the stadium of the highest seeded team to come out of the semifinal games.
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Sports Information