Mounties lose 45-24 to No. 9-ranked Axemen, will face Huskies in the AUS semifinal

(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Mount Allison Mounties fell 45-24 to the CIS No. 9-ranked Acadia Axemen Saturday afternoon at MacAulay field in Sackville to wrap up the final week of the 2012 AUS football regular season.

The loss, combined with the Saint Mary's win over StFX, drops the Mounties into third place with a 3-5 record. The Mounties, with the same number of wins as the Huskies, lose the tie-breaker based on point differential between the two teams in head-to-head play.

The host Mounties drew first blood Saturday afternoon, using their opening possession from their 20-yard line to drive the length of the field and find the end zone, highlighted by a 61-yard run by tailback Jordan Botel.

On a third and goal from the one-yard line, Botel punched it in, his first of two touchdowns on the day. He finished the day with 143 yards rushing on 20 carries. Acadia's offense could only muster two single points in the first quarter, giving the Mounties a 7-2 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The Axemen took their first lead of the day when all-Canadian receiver Michael Squires caught his first of four touchdown passes on the afternoon, on a five-yard reception from QB Kyle Graves at 8:22 of the 2nd quarter.

Acadia added to their lead six minutes later when Graves once again found Squires, this time from four yards out. The Mounties responded with an Alec Curtis field goal from 37 yards with 1:39 remaining in the half, but the visitors would score again on the last play before halftime, with the familiar duo of Graves and Squires hooking up for a five-yard touchdown.

Acadia stretched their lead to 32-10 in the third quarter with a Ryan Begin field goal and Squires' fourth TD catch of the afternoon.

The Mounties closed the gap after driving 70 yards before Botel punched it in from one yard out for his second touchdown of the day.

With the score 32-17, Begin added two more field goals for Acadia and Daryl Bien Aime scored on a six-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 45-17. The Mounties recorded their third major of the day when backup quarterback Alex Field hit Morgan McIsaac for a 47-yard touchdown play with 44 seconds remaining.

Defensively the Mounties were led by second-year defensive back Matt Montgomery who had 8 tackles. Donovan Saunders had 6.5 tackles and fifth-year Mountie Justin Richard, who was playing his final home regular-season game, finished with 6 tackles. Richard had his third straight game with an interception for the Mounties.

At halftime, a group of former Mounties from the Quebec and Ottawa region presented Mounties Football with a cheque for $31,800, representing pledges that have been made to fund the Lower Canadian Connection Fund. This new fund will be used to help provide scholarship funding to attract players from the Quebec/ Ottawa region for the Mounties.

The Mounties now travel to Saint Mary's on Saturday, November 3rd for the Subway AUS semifinal game against the second place Huskies. The game will be broadcast live at 1:00pm on Eastlink TV and webcast online at www.AUStv.ca.

Saint Mary's earned the right to host the semifinal by handing the StFX X-Men a 49-3 loss. Acadia will host the winner in the Subway AUS Loney Bowl on Saturday, November 10th

Source: Mount Allison Sports Information