X-Men trounce Axemen in Homecoming football action
No. 6 StFX 60, Acadia 7
In front of a large Homecoming crowd of over 5300 at StFX Oland Stadium on a sunny Antigonish afternoon, the CIS ranked No. 6 hometown StFX X-Men did not disappoint their alumni and fans as they improved to 4-0 on the season with a 60-7 thumping over the visiting Acadia Axemen.
A strong StFX offensive attack, a 35 point third quarter combined with 6 Acadia turnovers resulted in the lopsided score.
In first quarter action the X-Men jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after Acadia conceded a safety and Dylan Hollohan returned an intercepted ball for a 35 yard StFX touchdown run.
The X-Men increased their lead to 16-0 in the second half after quarterback Steve Snyder ran the ball in for an 11 yard touchdown play.
Acadia scored their first and only major of the game with 6 minutes left in the first half as quarterback Keith Lockwood hit Josh Pearsall with a pass and he found an open seam to run in for the major score on the 44 yard play.
StFX kicker Anthony Alix finished off the second quarter with a late field goal for a 19-7 StFX half-time lead.
The X-Men gained momentum in the second half, scoring on their opening drive as Synder converted for a 64 touchdown play to wide receiver Peter Giannikopoulos. Alix kicked his second field goal of the game and running back James Green scored the X-Men’s fourth major of the game, running in for a 14 yard score.
Still in the third quarter, Snyder hit Akeem Foster with 33 yard pass who was right on the goal line and fell into the end zone for his first major of the game and third on the season. Another Acadia turnover resulted in a pick by X-Men Reilly Penner who ran the ball in for a 28 yard touchdown.
A pair of rouges and a safety by the Axemen increased the StFX lead to 54-7 after three quarters of play.
The fourth quarter brought two more StFX field goals from Anthony Alix, who scored a total of 14 points in the game, including 4 field goals. X-Men pivot Steve Snyder was 16 for 29 in pass attempts for 270 total yards in the air, and threw one interception while Corey Wensley held the X quarterback duties in the 4th quarter and was 3 for 4 for 20 yards.
Peter Giannikopoulos hauled in 4 catches for 101 total yards for StFX while Akeem Foster had 5 catches for 67 yards.
Leading rusher in the game was James Green for the X-Men who had 65 yards on 11 carries. The X-Men tallied 159 yards on the ground while the Axemen were held to 63 net rushing yards.
Acadia quarterback Keith Lockwood was 13 for 28 in passing with 2 interceptions for a total of 97 yards. Josh Pearsall led Axemen receivers with 4 catches for 59 yards.
A strong StFX defense led by veterans Dave Skillen and Yahia Dalloul put up a solid effort on the defensive side of the ball en route to the 6-07 win.
StFX defensive back Dylan Hollohan, who had 2 interceptions including one for a 35 yard touchdown return, was named the Subway Player of the Game.
The X-Men improve to 4-0 on the season and remain the only team in the AUS conference without a loss. The last time they had a 4-0 start to the season was back in 1979. They will meet the Axemen, who fall to 1-3 again next Friday, Oct. 9th in Wolfville, NS to finish off the home-and-home series.