Huskies drop home opener to StFX

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - In their first game on their brand new turf, the Huskies came out on the losing end, dropping their home opener 31-7 to the visiting StFX X-Men.

With three blocked punts and two interceptions, Saint Mary's had some costly mistakes that opened the door for the X-Men.  

In the first half, neither offence was able to get things going early as the teams traded punts.

A Saint Mary's mistake on special teams opened the door for StFX when Kodejs' punt was blocked by LB Brownlee and returned to the Saint Mary's 8-yard line. X-Men quarterback Tivon Cook then completed the 8-yard pass to wide receiver Donald Tabor for a 7-0 lead before the end of the first quarter.

A safety followed by a 77-yard touchdown drive by the StFX offence put the Huskies in a 16-0 hole early.

The Huskies responded by going 51 yards of their own including a 30-yard catch by Prot and 17 yards by Magee. But just a few minutes later, they would miss a 39-yard field goal. Saint Mary's would ultimately be unable to close the deficit. 

After an X-Men punt, Abankwah responded with a 38-yard rush into StFX half and Koedjs nailed a 32-yard kick to put the Huskies on the board.  The X-Men followed by kicking a 34- yard field goal of their own to make it 19-3 going into the half.

The second half saw the Huskies get off to a bad start as Rossong was sacked at Saint Mary's own 16. The following punt was blocked again by StFX and returned for the touchdown, increasing the deficit to 26-4. 

Running backs Abankwah and Gesse took matters into their own hands marching the Saint Mary's offence down the field into the X-Men's half. A crucial third down conversion on a completed pass to Magee kept the drive alive and put the ball within range for Kodejs to nail the 32-yard field goal to make it 26-7.

Down by 21 in the fourth, the Huskies were forced to put the ball in the air. Rossong promptly under threw a pass to WR Magee that was intercepted by DB Holland and resulted in a StFX field goal to make it 31-7.

With the game out of reach, coach Marchese turned to back-up QB Scott Borden who drove the ball 96-yards to the 9-yard line but failed on the last attempt.

The Huskies look to rebound next Saturday when they will be hosted by the Acadia Axemen at 2 p.m. at Raymond Field. StFX will host the defending champion Mount Allison Mounties at the same time in Antigonish. 

Source: Saint Mary's Sports Information