Mounties drop homecoming game to Sherbrooke 31-7 as Alumni Field is officially opened

(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Sherbrooke Vert et Or defeated the Mount Allison Mounties 31-7 before a boisterous Homecoming crowd in Sackville Saturday afternoon. 

The hometown Mounties officially opened their brand new state-of-the-art Alumni Field with a halftime ceremony to honour the donors who made the field possible.

The visiting Vert et Or, at Mount Allison as part of the AUS and RSEQ interlock week, built up a 17-0 lead by halftime. 

The first points came when quarterback Jeremy Roch found Jean-Raphael Moisan from 17 yards out for a 7-0 lead.  

The Mounties defence worked hard to contain the explosive Sherbrooke offence but kicker Mathieu Hebert was able to put points on the board, first earning a rouge point, and then with field goals from 30, 35 and 21 yards.

Sherbrooke struck quickly in the second half, scoring two touchdowns in the opening eight minutes of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 31-0. Roch connected with Moisan from 30 yards and then again with Maxime Gauthier from seven yards. 

The Mounties got the home crowd on their feet with their first touchdown of the day when Brandon Leyh hit Quinn LeBlanc for a 35-yard score. The major was LeBlanc's first career touchdown.

Leyh was 13 of 28 for the Mounties for 212 yards with one touchdown and an interception. 

Quinn LeBlanc had six receptions for 90 yards while sophomore running back Kiel Ambursley had 12 carries for 43 yards and four catches for 58 yards.

On defence, the Mounties were led by sophomore defensive back Nate Rostek with 10.5 tackles. 

Devante Sampson had his first interception of the year along with five tackles, while Andrew Klain had a fumble recovery for the Mounties.

The Mounties now hit the road for three consecutive weeks, first travelling to Acadia to play the Axemen next Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Bell Aliant's TV1 and webcast at AUStv.ca. 

The two-time defending champion Mounties currently sit in a tie for second place with the StFX at 1-2.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Communications