Mounties Win Fourth Straight With Convincing 37-6 Win Over Saint Mary's
The Mount Allison Mounties returned home to Alumni Field Saturday after three weeks on the road and treated home fans to a 37-6 win over the winless Saint Mary's Huskies. With the win, the Mounties move to 5-2 and hold onto first place in the AUS with one week remaining in the regular season.
The Mounties jumped on Saint Mary's early, breaking out to a 15-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. It was 22-0 at halftime and the two time defending AUS champions never looked back, adding to their lead in the second half for the eventual win.
The Mounties got on the board just two and a half minutes into the game when Ryan Lambert's field goal attempt missed wide right but sailed through the end zone. This gave the Mounties a 1-0 lead on the rouge point. Six minutes later the Mounties found the end zone for the first time as Quinn LeBlanc punched it in from 1 yard out after the Mounties had driven 62 yards on 8 plays.
The Mounties scored again before the end of the 1st quarter when Idahosa Yorke took a direct snap and rushed 7 yards for his second touchdown in as many weeks. The touchdown play was set up by an 85 yard interception return by Mounties' senior Dylan Cossar. Cossar picked off Saint Mary's quarterback Trevor Erdmann deep in Mounties territory and returned it all the way back to the Saint Mary's 7 yard line. A conceded safety and a Ryan Lambert 33 yard field goal rounded out the scoring for the first half.
Lambert, the AUS's leading scorer, made it 25-0 when he connected from 32 yards half way through the 3rd quarter. Mounties freshman Josh Hicks (Moncton, NB) then caught his first career CIS touchdown in spectacular fashion with a diving catch in the end zone to make it 31-0 for the home side. Lambert's convert brought the score to 32-0.
Saint Mary's picked up their first points of the day when Ryan Zawacki scored from 9 yards out on a play set up by Antoine Lyte-Myers' 46 yard punt return. Another Saint Mary's safety and Lambert's 3rd field goal of the day from 33 yards left the score at 37-6 for the Mounties.
Mounties QB Brandon Leyh was once again efficient, going 14-22 for 184 yards and 1 touchdown. The Mounties rushed for over 200 yards on the day, including 87 yards on 23 attempts by Quinn LeBlanc and 61 yards on 15 attempts by Robbie Rodriguez. Freshman Josh Hicks had 5 catches for 85 yards and 1 touchdown while Idahosa Yorke had 7 catches for 73 yards.
For Saint Mary's Trevor Erdmann was 14-34 for 115 yards and 2 interceptions. Leonardo Mantuila had 75 yards on 13 carries.
The Mounties host StFX next Saturday, October 31st in a showdown for first place. StFX sits in 2nd place at 4-3 after a last minute victory over Acadia on Saturday. If the Mounties win or loose by less than 11 points, they will clinch 1st place and host the Subway Loney Bowl for the 2nd year in a row. If StFX wins by 11 or more, they will finish 1st and the Mounties will host Acadia for the Subway AUS Semi-Final on Saturday, November 7th.