Axemen send StFX home winless

(Wolfville, NS) Improving to 3-0 with a 33-14 win over the StFX X-men, the Acadia Axemen have posted their best start of the regular season since 1995, when Acadia slipped past StFX in the Conference Championship to then play in one of the highest scoring CIS Bowl games on record against Western (55-44 Western win).

With 218 net yards in rushing combined with 241 yards passing, the Axemen doubled the X-Men offensive output. StFX finished with only 45 yards rushing but boosted their offensive output with 192 yards in passing.

Acadia pulled out to a 19-0 lead that started with a Zach Clarke two yard rush for the first major of the night that capped off a three play, 34 yard drive that was highlighted by a 31 yard reception by Mike Squires.

A 29 yard Ryan Begin field goal; a team safety and an A.J. Durling six yard reception for a touchdown positioned the Axemen for a 19 point halftime lead.

StFX answered the call early in the third quarter when Jordan Catterall pulled in a 25 yard pass from Jahmari Bennett for the X-Men's first of two majors in the game.

The Axemen added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to pull out to a commanding 33-7 lead. Fourth year pivot Kyle Graves scored his first major of the season on a trick play that began as a toss to running back Zack Clarke who reversed the ball to senior receiver Stu Clow who then tossed the pigskin down field to Graves who scored the 29 yard touchdown reception.

Clow scored his first touchdown of the 2011 season on a 28 yard reception late in the third quarter to end the Axemen's scoring for the evening.

StFX added a late fourth quarter 20 yard pass reception by Damone Williams for their second and last touchdown of the night.

Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins had mixed feelings about the game. "We played inconsistent but we did run the ball well which is what we set out to do. I was a little concerned about turnovers but all said and done we had a good overall team effort."

Acadia's Zach Clarke added 102 rushing yards on 21 carries while Mike Squires posted the most yards in receiving with 97 yards on 5 receptions. Senior quarterback Kyle Graves was 14 for 23, offering 201 yards in passing along with two touchdowns.

X-Man Jahmari Bennett was 15 for 22 pass attempts, airing out 119 yards in passing yards. Bennett was also the leading rusher for StFX with 27 net yards.

Defensively, Hugo Rajotte recorded a game high nine solo tackles for the X-men. The Axemen defense added four quarterback sacks to their season total, with senior defensive tackle Jake Thomas recording two of the four. Acadia posted two interceptions, one by Jack Rush for a one yard return while teammate Andrew Rowe returned his interception 59 yards before fumbling the ball over the StFX.

Cummins was happy with a good defensive effort. "We pressured well from a defensive stand point, forcing some tough throws downfield. We will have to fine tune some things this week in preparation for our next game."

The Axemen will spend this week preparing for the 2-1 Saint Mary's Huskies next Saturday afternoon, while the 0-3 X-Men will head home to host the winless Mount Allison Mounties next weekend.