It was payback time Oct. 11 on Raymond Field in Wolfville as the Acadia football Axemen scored a 26-4 win over the St. F. X. X-men.
Acadia led the entire contest, taking a 6-0 lead after one quarter on a pair of Ryan Begin field goals, the first from 38 yards and the second from 31.
Rookie quarterback Thompson Richards then hit Brian Jones with a 46-yard scoring pass. Begin’s convert made it 13-0. Begin then hit two more field goals, from 32 and 37 yards, as Acadia took a 19-0 lead to the dressing room at halftime.
St. F.X. finally got on the board early in the third quarter when Acadia, trapped deep in their own end, conceded a safety to make it 19-2. Five minutes later, the Axemen got those points back when they forced the X-men to concede a safety. Acadia then added three more points on Begin’s fifth field goal of the afternoon, from 33 yards.
The teams swapped safeties, the only points put on the board in the fourth quarter, to round out the scoring.
Thanks in large part to Begin’s foot, which accounted for 16 of the Axemen points, Acadia got just enough offence to secure the win, and the defence and special teams did the rest.
Defensively, Acadia had three interceptions and forced three fumbles. The Axemen special teams unit, led by Sean Stoqua, blocked two punts (both by Stoqua), on consecutive possessions by the X-men.
Drew Morris again led an inspired performance on defence with six solo and four assisted tackles, one tackle for a loss and one of Acadia’s three interceptions.
Adam Melanson and Sulieman Semalulu had five solo tackles each. Melanson had a tackle for a loss, and Semalulu also had an interception, as did Brett Backman. Jesse St. James had three tackles for a loss and a pair of quarterback sacks.
Offensively, Richards went 8-19 passing for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Acadia (for the first time in three meetings with St. F.X. this season, the Axemen did not allow a touchdown on an interception).
Zack Clarke was Acadia's leading rusher with 48 net yards on 15 carries. Eli Prochnau, who also spent time at quarterback and at receiver on specific plays as well as returning kicks, rushed for 39 yards on six carries. Jones had 66 yards on four receptions and the lone Axemen touchdown.
Acadia, which improved to 2-4 on the season with the victory, salvaged one win from their three meetings with the X-men during the regular season.
Mount Allison defeated Saint Mary’s 33-1 in Sackville in the other conference game. The updated standings have the Mounties at 6-0, the X-men at 3-3, the Axemen at 2-4 and the Huskies at 0-6.
Acadia hosts Mount Allison Oct. 18 as part of Acadia’s Homecoming weekend.
