Axemen drop to 0-4 with 28-23 loss to SMU

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

Jeff Cummins acknowledges “lots of positives” from the performance of the football Axemen in Saturday evening’s meeting with Saint Mary’s “under the lights” on Raymond Field.

Unfortunately, the final score wasn’t one of them.

The Huskies scored 21 straight points in the third and fourth quarters to edge the Axemen 28-23. SMU improved to 4-0 on the season; Acadia remains winless at 0-4.

“It’s disappointing,” Cummins said Monday. “I don’t believe we’re an 0-4 team.”

In fact, three of Acadia’s four losses this season have been by a total of 14 points.

The Axemen probably deserved a better fate on a night when they had 498 yards in total offense (to the Huskies’ 432), had a 349-235 edge in passing yardage and 27 first downs to 26 for SMU.

In the end, though, it was the Huskies who prevailed, thanks in large part to 269 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns from tailback Devon Jones, who got his chance to shine when Alistair Blair went out with an injury.

Acadia led 6-0 early on a pair of Mike Godfrey field goals, and could have had more points had Godfrey not hit the upright on a nine-yard field goal attempt following an impressive second-quarter drive.

After Jones rushed for his first touchdown to make it 7-6 SMU, quarterback Keith Lockwood (23-28, 349 yards, two touchdowns) marched Acadia the length of the field in the final minute of the first half. Godfrey’s field goal made it 9-7 Acadia at halftime.

After the intermission, Lockwood connected with Will Tanner on a 37-yard scoring pass to make it 16-7 Acadia.

After a Jacques Palardy field goal, Jones then went back to work, capping another impressive drive with a 16-yard run to give the Huskies back the lead 17-16. A punt single made it 18-16 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Ryean Warburton caught a 28-yard pass from Nathan Beeler-Marsman (10-16, 135 yards, one interception) to increase the Huskies’ lead to 25-16. Palardy added a 38-yard field goal to make it 28-16. Lockwood then capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 20-yard scoring pass to Kevin Avery in the final minute to round out the scoring.

“They were able to run the ball extremely well in the second half, and we didn’t do a good job stopping them,” Cummins said. “We missed some opportunities in the early going. We have to make sure we do things right all the time and, when we get some momentum, keep it.”

Cummins was disappointed the Axemen “could only score 23 points from almost 500 yards of offense,” but Acadia also “took over 100 yards in penalties, especially on punt returns,” often leading to poor field position.

“We could have done some things defensively to help ourselves, and we didn’t.”

SMU had good success running the ball, particularly in the second half and, while the Huskies “are a good team already, we made them look better than they are.”

Acadia now prepares to host the 1-3 Mount Allison Mounties Saturday in Wolfville.

“Most importantly,” Cummins said, “we need to find a way to win a game. The bottom line is, we’re 0-4. There’s no way to make that any prettier than it is.”