Huskies defence delivers 46-11 win over X-Men in Bell AUS Loney Bowl championship

(HALIFAX, N.S.) For the first time since 2010, the Saint Mary's Huskies are Loney Bowl champions, winning the 2025 Bell AUS Loney Bowl football championship with a 46-11 victory over the STFX X-Men on Saturday afternoon at Huskies Stadium.

After the Huskies went two-and-out to start the game, the Saint Mary's defence quickly took the ball back. Defensive lineman Westley Johnsen-MacDuff (Edmonton, Alta.) leapt at the line of scrimmage to intercept a pass from X-Men quarterback Silas Fagnan (Bonnyville, Alta.), giving the Huskies possession at the STFX one-yard line.

Saint Mary's handed it off to running back Malik Williams (Ajax, Ont.), who plunged in for a one-yard score—his 14th touchdown of the regular season and playoffs combined—with kicker Adam Johnston (Rothesay, N.B.) adding the convert to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 12:24 remaining in the first quarter.

STFX was unable to generate a first down on its next drive, and punter Malcolm Cameron (Coquitlam, B.C.) booted it away to the STFX 53-yard line. Saint Mary's running back Liam Legge (Stewiacke, N.S.) took five carries for 22 yards, while quarterback Justin Shibley (Ottawa, Ont.) connected with receivers Joshua Jack (Brampton, Ont.) and Chandler Zinck-Marier (Pleasantville, N.S.) to move the ball inside the X-Men five-yard line. Williams made his second trip to the end zone, extending the lead to 14-0 with 6:43 left in the opening quarter.

The X-Men advanced into Huskies territory with a pair of completions from Fagnan to Sam Taylor (Milton, Ont.), but Saint Mary's defence stood tall and forced another punt.

Shibley and the Huskies offence took over from their own seven-yard line, and a quick slant to Jack resulted in an 82-yard catch-and-run that pushed the ball deep into X-Men territory. Legge scored the Huskies' third rushing touchdown of the first quarter from six yards out, and Johnston added the convert, followed by a rouge on the ensuing kickoff, to give Saint Mary's a 22-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes.

The Huskies defence continued to make big plays, as defensive back Keyshawn Beswick (Surrey, B.C.) intercepted Fagnan, setting up a 37-yard Johnston field goal that extended the lead to 25-0 with 13:43 left in the first half.

STFX responded with a big play of its own as Fagnan found Zachary Houde (Falardeau, Que.) for a 34-yard gain into Huskies territory. After a short drive, kicker Tyson Heather (Airdrie, Alta.) hit a 27-yard field goal to get the X-Men on the board at 25-3.

Saint Mary's offence answered with a 15-play, 75-yard drive, including a fake punt run for a first down by punter Cameron Brown (Hammonds Plains, N.S.). Williams capped the drive with his third touchdown of the day—and 16th of the regular season and playoffs combined—as Johnston's convert extended the lead to 32-3 with 3:59 remaining in the half.

The X-Men forced a fumble on special teams and added another Heather field goal, but the Huskies took a commanding 32-6 lead into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, a Cameron punt pinned the Huskies deep, and they conceded a safety to make it 32-8.

Later in the quarter, STFX defensive lineman Ryan Ford (Regina, Sask.) stripped Legge, giving the X-Men the ball back. Fagnan connected with three receivers to reach the red zone, but the Huskies defence held firm with back-to-back tackles by captain Isaiah Okoli (Surrey, B.C.) and a pass breakup from Beswick. STFX settled for Heather's third field goal of the day to cut the deficit to 32-11 at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter.

Saint Mary's top-ranked defence continued to dominate in the fourth, as linebacker Marckus Jean-Loescher (Toronto, Ont.) picked off Fagnan for the Huskies' third interception of the game.

Backup quarterback Allan Young (Halifax, N.S.) entered to close out the game, throwing a pair of touchdown passes—a 17-yard strike to Kade Smith (Halifax, N.S.) and an 18-yarder to Trydell Mintis (Halifax, N.S.)—sealing a 46-11 Loney Bowl victory for the Huskies.

Keyshawn Beswick was named player of the game after recording 3.5 tackles, one interception and two pass breakups to lead the Huskies' dominant defensive effort.

Saint Mary's defence also received key contributions from Okoli (7.5 tackles, one interception, one breakup), Jean-Loescher (five tackles, one interception) and Johnsen-MacDuff (0.5 tackles, one interception).

Shibley completed 13 of 19 passes for 237 yards, while Young went 2-for-2 for 35 yards and two touchdowns in relief. On the ground, Legge carried 13 times for 58 yards and one touchdown, while Williams finished with 12 carries for 22 yards and three touchdowns. Jack led all receivers with four catches for 130 yards, Zinck-Marier hauled in five for 61 yards, and Mintis (two catches for 39 yards) and Smith (three for 31 yards) each had a touchdown.

For STFX, Fagnan completed 21 of 39 passes for 260 yards with four interceptions, adding six carries for 24 yards. Houde led the X-Men air attack with four catches for 70 yards, while Taylor had six receptions for 56 yards.

The X-Men defence was led by Nathan Cayouette with 6.5 tackles, Isaiah Ward with 5.5 tackles and Ryan Ford with four tackles and a forced fumble.

The U SPORTS No. 5-ranked Huskies now advance to the Uteck Bowl national semifinal for the first time since 2010, where they will host the No. 4-ranked Montréal Carabins on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at Huskies Stadium.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz and Eduardo Ibarra / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics