X-Men run away with 46-11 victory over Axemen

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – Conference-leading rusher Malcolm Bussey and veteran fullback Connor Ross each scored two touchdowns to help lead the undefeated STFX X-Men to a 46-11 win over the host Acadia Axemen in front of a Homecoming crowd of over 2800 fans.

Bussey, a second-year running back from Hammonds Plains, NS had 191 yards on 11 carries and received Subway player of the game honours as the X-Men posted 24 unanswered points in the opening quarter to move into a commanding lead that would not be relinquished.

A Connor Ross (Coldbrook, N.S.) reception for the first major of the day capped off a 50-yard drive.

Bussey had a 42-yard sprint to the end zone with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter to give the X-Men a 14-0 lead.

A Ben Hadley (Halifax, N.S.) rouge and Ross' second TD of the afternoon on a 14-yard pass reception, plus a team safety at the end of the quarter pushed the STFX lead to 24-0.

Acadia finally answered the 24-point X-Men lead on a 35-yard Ben George (Moncton, N.B.) field goal.

Bussey, who averaged 17.4 yards per carry, added his second major of the afternoon on a 44-yard run that ended the first-half scoring.

Acadia Player of the Game, Ethan Phinney (Porter's Lake, N.S.) scored Acadia's only touchdown of the game on a nine-yard pass reception from Dante Tabacu. Phinney recorded 33 yards in rushing and 32 yards in receptions.

Acadia's last points would come from a Ben George rouge on the kickoff that followed the Acadia touchdown.

Zakariya Karim (Ottawa, Ont.) pulled in a two-yard reception to cap off a 66-yard drive followed by a Hadley rouge on the ensuing kick-off, pushing the X-Men lead to 39-11 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the four quarter.

Ben Harrington's (Dartmouth, N.S.) 60-yard touchdown reception from QB Silas Fagnan (Bonnyville, Alta.) capped off the X-Men's 46-11 win.

Fagnan passed for 242 yards and posted 17 of 31 passes completed. Acadia's Dante Tabacu (Lloydminster, Alta.) was 19 for 35 passes for 129 yards.

The X-Men had 492 yards total offense that included 242 net yards passing and 250 net yards on the ground.

Ben George had a whomping 52.5 yards average punting for the losing cause, while Hadley posted 59 yards all due to a stiff breeze during the game.

Brandyn Martin (Melfort, Sask.), Liam Wilde (Clagary, Alta.) and Alex Fedchun (Calgary, Alta.) led the X-Men on defense with six solo tackles, each and Fedchun had a sack. Jack Malo (Caledon, Ont.) had seven solos for the Axemen.

Acadia will be searching for their only win of the season next Saturday as they end the 2022 campaign at Bishop's next Saturday afternoon.

The X-Men travel to Saint Mary's next Saturday, Oct. 15^th before finishing the regular season at home against Mount Allison on Saturday, Oct. 29^th.

-30-

Recap courtesy Eric Cederburg, Acadia Communications