The Write Call -
The Mounties scored on the first opportunity and controlled all the momentum to open the game here Saturday. But suddenly everything went south for them as they were shocked in dropping a 28-11 decision to Acadia Axemen in a match-up that both players and coaches were reasonably confident of winning.
After stopping the Axemen, forcing them to punt, the Mounties took the ball on their own 35 and, six plays later, fans received their money's worth as Gary Ross took a short pass from back-up quarterback Jason Bertrand and scampered 62 yards to paydirt and Olivier Eddie added the extra to send them into a seven-point lead after just 5:56 of play
In their first meeting in Wolfville, the Mounties had been "brutal" in losing 58-15 but have improved immeasurably over the season. Some were even suggesting they could overcome the 43-point deficit to earn a playoff berth.
And there was a bit of hope as they again took the ball away from the visitors, marching it all the way to the Acadia one near the end of the first quarter. This was the turning point. Three cracks at the line - two by Bertrand ended with the ball being turned over on the eight as Taylor Sadgett burst through to throw Bertrand for a loss. By pinning the visitors deep, the Mounties were awarded a two-point safety when punter Will Tanner took a knee in the end zone to leave the hosts up by nine after the opening 15 minutes.
Coach Kelly Jeffrey did not necessarily think the big defensive play turned the game around but, from that point onward, it was mostly Acadia, especially when they exchanged quarterbacks - replacing starter Keith Lockwood with Kyle Graves.
By halftime the score had been knotted at nine as the Mounties conceded a safety at the 1:22 mark after being forced deep and, just two minutes later, Josh Pearsall teamed with Graves on a 44-yard touchdown as they moved the ball 70 yards in five plays.
With the opening kickoff taking place in a steady drizzle, it continued through a drenching downpour at times and fans and players were subjected to miserable conditions. The playing field deteriorated, making footing difficult and leaving the players difficult to identify as they soon became similar colour - muddy.
Will Godfrey put the Axemen ahead to stay in the dying seconds of the half with a 23-yard field goal and notched the only points of the third with a 21-yard boot to leave the Mounties within striking distance, especially after Acadia conceded their second safety to make the score 15-11 but that was it. Brett Hannei showed good speed as he cut outside to score from the 16 at 10:41 and Graeme Richardson put frosting on the cake at the end of the game, running back an interception into the Mountie end zone.
Due to an injury to his throwing shoulder, quarterback Jake Hotchkiss, considered a strong candidate for the Conference rookie-of-the-year honours, was unable to start. He did come in late in the game in a last-ditch effort to pull it out of the fire but lacked his usual zip and was picked off for the final score.
Jeffrey said after the game he isn't sure if Hotchkiss will be ready for this weekend when the Mounties visit the St. Francis X-Men in Antigonish in the final outing of the campaign.
It is their final bid to break into the win column as they now own a 0-7 record, following Acadia who stand at 2-5. St. Mary's seems to have first place locked up with a 6-1 mark while the X-Men are 5-2 after falling 41-8 to the Huskies on Friday.
Assistant coach Kevin Artichuk, who has tutored at St. F. X. and Calgary and is on his second tour with the Mounties, predicted that things will change for the better as the horde of first-and-second-year players mature with the Mounties and he is looking forward to better days. He thought the kicking of Eddie was outstanding and that Brad Daye had an "awesome" second half.
And Perry Kukkonen, another assistant, agreed the Mounties have the nucleus of a good team and all it requires is a few "blue chip" recruits in the off-season to propel the Mounties into contention.
Barely a couple of hundred fans braved Saturday's game, which was fairly close in many respects. The winners had more offenseive yards, 358-222, but only one more first downs (17-16). But nine big turnovers hurt the losers most. This included three interceptions, five failed third-down attempts and a lost fumble. The clock time was close and each team approached the 100-yard mark in penalties.
Eddie continues to head toward a punting championship as opposing kickers attempt to kick the ball out of bounds to prevent the explosive Ross from heading out on one of his patented sorties aimed at the opposing end zone.
As usual, it was Ross who was a constant threat and, as it turned out, about the only serious Mountie attacker. He accumulated 199 overall yards according to the statistic sheet. This included 61 yards of returns, 29 yards of rushing and 109 in receiving. He had 10 receptions to move into 12th place in CIS record books and fourth in the Atlantic Conference, just seven behind the current holder. His output on Saturday gives him the all-time lead with 2,411 in the conference. Should Ross return for a final year with the Mounties he could easily move into second place in the nation's annals.
This has been accomplished by a young man who was out of football for five years as he worked and supported his wife Tenicia as she completed her college training. The family includes three young children while he maintains an Academic All-Canadian average in school as they also operate a day care business at home.
Ross is being strongly touted for the Hec Creighton Award, which was won on two occasions by Eric Lapointe while playing as a Mountie. The greatest handicap will be that he has performed on a team that has seldom been successful in spite of his magic.
Linebacker Ben Halpern stepped up his game on Saturday as he put together eight tackles while Antwi continued his surge toward an All-Conference award with another 7.5 to lead the conference.
Daye also picked it up with seven to match Ryan Downe who got through for another quarterback sack. Peter Nicolajsen also picked up a sack for the Mounties.
The final game of the season for the Mounties will start at 7 p.m. on Friday on the new carpet at St. Francis University in Antigonish.
