Mounties defeat Saint Mary's 29-15 under the lights at MacAulay Field

(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Mount Allison Mounties defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 29-15 in AUS football action on Friday night at MacAulay Field.  The Mounties used a quick start to get the upper hand and never surrendered the lead, as they ran their winning streak to three straight games against Saint Mary's at MacAulay Field.

On Mount Allison's second possession of the game, the Mounties drove from midfield starting with a 27-yard completion from Brandon Leyh to Rodreke Joseph.  Leyh was back in the lineup this week after missing last week with a knee injury.  Three plays later, Leyh found Matt Rose from 15 yards out to put the home side up 7-0.

The Mounties used a blocked punt by Troy Trentham on the Huskies' next possession to get the ball back at the Saint Mary's 20-yard line.  After two incomplete passes, Renaud Labrecque connected from 28 yards out, giving the Mounties a 10-0 lead.  The score stayed that way until 10 minutes into the second quarter when Donovan Saunders, also back in the lineup after missing last week with a knee injury, intercepted a Jack Creighton pass and returned it 29 yards to the Saint Mary's 36-yard line.  That led to a 29-yard field goal attempt by Labrecque that sailed wide left but still earned a rouge for the Mounties, making the score 11-0.

Saint Mary's got on the board shortly after when Creighton found Matthew Magee in the end zone for a one-yard score.  The Mounties responded before the end of the half, marching 50 yards with a drive capped off by Jordan Botel's five-yard touchdown.  This left the score 18-7 for Mount Allison at the end of the first half.

Saint Mary's benefitted from a fumbled punt return to get some good field position early in the third quarter, but the Mounties defence was able to hold the Huskies to a field goal from 27 yards by Chase Kodejs.  After failing to move the ball on their next possession, the Mounties defence went back to work.  Rookie Devonte Sampson scooped up a tipped Jack Creighton pass and scampered 60 yards for the major, pushing the Mounties' lead to 25-10.  Saint Mary's picked up points by forcing a safety and connecting on another field goal from 18 yards by Kodejs, but then surrendered two safeties of their own to round out the scoring at 29-12.

The Mounties defence was the story of the night, registering seven quarterback sacks with three coming from Jordan Redding, three from Dylan Cossar and one from Kwame Adjei.  The Mounties defence also had three interceptions, including Sampson's 60-yard return for a touchdown.  On offence, Brandon Leyh was 13 of 27 for 195 yards and one touchdown.  First-year Mountie Rodreke Joseph had five catches for 72 yards.  For the Huskies, Ben Rossong was 3-9 for 56 yards before giving way to Jack Creighton.  For his part, Creighton was 12 of 23 for 151 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

With the win, the Mounties move into a tie for second place with Saint Mary's and Acadia, all at 1-2.  StFX leads the conference with a 2-1 record but lost 40-11 at home to Acadia earlier tonight. The Mounties now travel to Acadia next Saturday for a 7 p.m. start.  That game can be seen live on Eastlink TV or via webcast at www.austv.ca.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Information