WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Acadia Axemen remain undefeated and improve to 7-0 with a 28-18 win over the visiting Saint Mary’s Huskies in front of an Acadia Homecoming crowd.
Subway Player of the Game Dale Wright compiled 108 yards rushing on 22 carries while teammate Hunter Guenard was posted with 18 completions on 33 attempts for 297 yards
“We had a good week of practice, we just prepared, prepared, prepared. We are looking forward to the postseason, so we got to keep driving every day and not give up. Don’t let up. Don’t let people compete with us,” said Wright following the game.
The Axemen got on the scoreboard first at the 13:13 mark of the second quarter when Wright dove in for the 1-yard touchdown – the first of two for Wright on the day. The major capped a five-play, 34-yard drive to give the Axemen a 7-0 lead.
The Huskies replied just under five minutes later with a Josh Henry reception for a nine-yard touchdown that ended a long nine-play, 85-yard drive.
Tied at seven, Acadia’s Ben George punched in two field goals late in the second quarter from 29 and 32 yards out to give the Axemen a 13-7 lead as the opening half wound down.
With one second remaining on the clock before halftime, Cordell Hastings hauled in a ‘Hail Mary’ pass for a 38-yard touchdown, giving Acadia a 20-7 lead into the locker room.
Brian Hope added a 29-yard field goal for the Huskies to close the gap to 20-10 at the 13:46 mark of the third quarter.
After Ben George’s rush with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Acadia’s 21-10 lead quickly shrank to 21-17 with Joshua Sim diving in for the two-yard touchdown with three minutes left in the third frame.
A Hope rouge with 12 minutes remaining in the game, was answered six minutes later by Wright’s second major of the day on a three-yard run that ended an 83-yard drive and solidified the win.
Huskie Joshua Shim recorded 12 completions on 17 attempts for 152 yards before leaving the game in the mid-point of the third quarter. Avery Clayton replaced Shim and was 6 for 15 for 61 yards. Saint Mary’s was led offensively by Josh Henry’s 150 yards on eight receptions.
Cordell Hastings led all Axemen receivers with 96 yards on five catches that included one touchdown, Jacob Fenchak pulled in three passes for 68 yards.
Offensively, the Axemen dominated the statistics with 26 first downs compared to the Huskies’ 18. Acadia posted 451 yards on offense including 297 in the air and 154 on the ground. Saint Mary’s had 310 net yards.
The Axemen will complete the 2019 season at Mount Allison this Saturday afternoon and then will have two weeks off before hosting the AUS Loney Bowl Football Championship on Saturday, November 9 at Acadia’s Raymond Field. The Axemen will be shooting for an undefeated season as they remain in first place in the AUS standings with a 7-0 record.
The Huskies will hope for a win this Saturday afternoon at home against StFX to remain in the playoff picture.
NOTE: Dale Wright scored his 20th Career rushing TD today, breaking Brian Walling’s record of 19. Congratulations Dale.
