Gridiron Axemen have lots of experience to replace in '07

BY JOHN DECOSTE

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Despite returning a good portion of the 2006 starting line-up, the Acadia football Axemen still have a lot of experience to replace in the players who aren’t returning.

That list includes two-time conference MVP Ivan Birungi, all-conference quarterback Chris Judd, all-Canadian defensive lineman Kyle Markin and all-Canadian linebacker Steve Faoro, who between them had more than 200 games of AUFC experience.

“We don’t have as many players to replace as some years, but losing the two top offensive players in the conference last season and the top two defensive players in the conference the past three years leaves a big hole,” says head coach Jeff Cummins.

That’s not to say that the Axemen won’t have plenty of talented players at their disposal.

Acadia returns its entire starting offensive line, highlighted by all-Canadian Adam Rogers, AUFC all-star Steve Patrick and Greg Kinsman, as well as starting fullback Chris DeBenedet and tailback Cale Inglis, the AUFC’s leading rusher in 2006.

In terms of receivers, the Axemen need to replace Birungi, James Price and Kevin Maynard, but still have all-Canadian Matt Carter, Anthony Mayes, Will Tanner, Mike Adams and Tom Flaxman, “an all-purpose guy” who can play slotback or running back.

New receivers in camp include a pair of junior college transfers from California, A.J. Moskus and Doug Fryer; Sir John A. Macdonald grad Nick Lauder; and former Mount Allison Mountie Jeff MacMillan, who might also see action in the backfield and punting.

Veteran James Michener inherits the number one quarterback duties, with Brady Pimlott, Brian Dowd and Keith Lockwood, a transfer from the same California junior college as Chris Judd, in the mix.

“Michener is number one right now,” Cummins said, adding, “we’ll let things play out in camp.”

Michener is also slated to be the punter and placekicker, with Mike Godfrey backing him up. Second-year man Najja Coley will be the main punt and kickoff returner.

On defense…

On defense, the Axemen return the starting ‘front seven’ from last year with the exception of Markin and Faoro.

Sean Knox, Trumaine Thomas and Jamie Johnson return on the defensive line, and will likely be joined by Adrian Satterley and/or Rich Johnson, both back-ups last season.

Acadia is very deep at the linebacker position, with returning starters Garth Melrose and Matt Philbrick, Nick Lozano, Mike Leahy, Kevin Garbuio, Kirsten Carruthers, Pat Gillespie (back after a year off) and recruits Mike Kokins and Andrew Oake.

In the defensive backfield, Matt Allen, Pat McNally and Prince Mwenga have departed, leaving all-Canadian free safety Elliott Richardson, Jesse Ingalls and Coley (who will play more on defense this year) as the only returning players.

New faces include Andrew Roorda, on the roster last season, and recruits Graeme Richardson (Elliott’s brother), Mike Rostance and Hunter Johnson.

“We’ll be looking for some of the newer guys to step up and help fill some of the holes,” Cummins said.

Trench guys will be key

Cummins noted that last year’s recruiting class included some 48 players. This year’s crop numbers between 25-30, a reflection of the number of players brought in last year. At the same time, “we have a lot of game experience to try and replace.”

As for pre-season expectations, Cummins said, “I expect our front seven on defense to control games, and I’d expect the same from our front seven on offense.” Offensively, the key to victory will be “running the ball, controlling the clock and running to set up the pass. Defensively, we need to stop the run and put pressure on the opposing quarterback.”

Overall, Cummins said, “we feel pretty good, though there are certainly some questions to be answered in camp. A year ago, a lot of our experience was at the so-called ‘skill positions’. Now our experience has shifted a bit to the ‘front seven’ on both offense and defense.” In terms of university football, “that’s the way the game goes.”

The Axemen are scheduled to host Mount Allison in the season opener Sept. 8. As of the start of last week, the new FieldTurf artificial playing surface had not been installed on Raymond Field, though the field was ready for that to happen.

Cummins said, “we really don’t know when it’s going to be ready, but we’re hoping to be able to practice on it at least once prior to our first game.”