Despite late charge, football Mounties fall to X-Men 27-21

It was a new and vastly improved performance here Saturday afternoon as the Mounties rebounded from a humiliating defeat the previous week to go nose-to-nose with the powerful St. Francis Xavier X-Men before losing by less than a touchdown, 27-21, at MacAulay Field.

After being blown away last weekend 58-15 by Acadia Axemen, the Mounties were given little hope of making it a contest. But what fans were treated to was a defense that stepped up several notches and an offense that, while sputtering through most of the opening half, showed some potential and managed to put three touchdowns on the scoreboard.

The huge turnout of alumni, students and local fans again saw what all-Canadian Gary Ross can do when the opportunity presents itself and also what a week of regrouping can do.

The X-Men followed the example of most teams by refusing to punt the ball in Ross' direction but late in the game they took a chance and ultimately paid the price. Curling his arms around the pigskin with opponents all around, the Windsor Whiz jived and jazzed until some field opened up and he covered 80 yards before dropping on the X-Men 10.

"I tripped myself," Ross said after the game. "I caught my foot on one of their people's shoe and lost my balance and went down in the shadow of the goal."

But he was lauditory of the defense that kept his team in the game but cautioned that the offense still has quite a way to go before it reaches its potential.

While statistics of the game were unfinished when this column was being prepared, one thing was certain. With Akwasi Antwi all over the field and with the line getting some push, the vaunted running game of James Green was blunted to the point he ended with negative yards. Considered the top running back in the conference, Green was stymied by a fired-up defense. However, Don Davis, former head coach of Fredericton High and currently on staff with the X-Men, said Green had been shaken up the previous week and appeared not to be up to par.

His successor Sean Atkins had a little more success but was not a serious threat. However, a pair of huge plays more than spelled the difference.

Midway through the third quarter, quarterback Steve Snyder hooked up with Nic Guest and the receiver slipped off his lone tackler and went 68 yards to the Mountie end zone to up the score to 20-7. Then lightning struck again in the final session when Snyder combined with Paul Foster for a 99-yard run after the Mounties had been pounding on their door.

An indication came early that the defensive unit had changed as they limited the X-Men to a trio of field goals after the winners had driven into the red zone. Anthony Alix connected from 19, 18 and 14 yards after being denied the end zone.

Then the Mounties made it interesting as Jason Bertrand hit Adam Molnar with a 39-yard completion and Scott Brady struck for his third touchdown of the season with a one-yard dash to the end zone.

Olivier Eddy struck for the extra point but was wide with a 35-yard field goal attempt that would have given his team a 12-9 bulge at the break.

The third quarter was a bit of a disasater for the hometown crew as they were forced to concede a pair of two-point safeties and then Guest did his 68-yard dance to increase their margin.

After Foster's 99-yard gallop down the sidelines, the Mounties regrouped, gaining impetus from Ross' huge return followed by Ben Stehr's seven-yard end zone reception at 13:54. Then, with just nine seconds to go, Ross pulled in a 20-yard toss from Bertrand and put another major on the boards.

Aaron Harper, leader of the offensive line, said the Mounties need to improve their running game and predicted this week's coming matchup against McGill Redmen will be a classic. He said he believes the defensive unit is quickly gelling and is confident his team will enjoy some good days before the season is over.

Meanwhile, coach Kelly Jeffrey agreed his defense kept his team in the game early and believes that if Eddie had connected to put his team up at the half, things may have been different.

"They (X-Men) got away from us in the third quarter as we made too many mistakes," he said. "Even though they bent, the defense never broke."

He said McGill has a great running back and love to throw so Saturday's matchup should provide a challenge.

Jeffrey agreed the DL and linebackers had improved greatly but added the secondary is the true strength of the unit as Luke Ekoh, Jeremy Snyder, Jermaine Oram and Brad Daye along with safety Matt Thompson rose to the occasion.

Sackville linebacker Justin Richard got the start at outside linebacker and teamed with Ben Halpern and Akwasi Antwi to provide a strong blanket.

Results from the weekend provided oddsmakers with some serious questions. St. Mary's dumped Acadia 38-10 after losing to the X-Men the previous week. Then the performance by the Mounties after a poor opener posed some interesting scenarios.

Jeffrey may have more decisions to face - it's expected lanky Jake Hitchkiss will be healthy enough to take his job at quarterback but after the gritty performance by Bertrand, that could prove difficult.

This week's matchup with McGill is scheduled for 2 p.m. at MacAulay Field.

Au Revoir, Jack!

Jack Drover was sent packing here Saturday night as former players and friends by the hundreds gathered to say farewell to the man who devoted 35 years to the athletic department, 17 as athletic director.

The event was initiated by his sons Steve and Scott and adopted by the university's alumni who turned it into a fund raising opportunity to create a scholarship for a needy and deserving varsity athlete. University vice-president Gloria Jollymore announced that in excess of $25,000 has been raised and the figure is still growing. During the evening, Anna Mann announced that Joey's Restaurant will be providing a $1,000 scholarship in Drover's name for the next 35 years to mark his tenure of service.

Rev. Bill Brennan, a former right-winter on the Mounties hockey team and currently Parish Priest in Woodstock, served as host for the event. He used the occasion to both pay tribute to the guest of honour and also to evoke some laughs at his expense. Several former players and friends paid tribute by video during the event.

Drover, emotional at times, recalled highlights of his career - some high and some low - during his time at the podium.