ANTIGONISH, N.S. – A 64-yard pass and catch from
Stephen Casey (Boucherville, Que./Champlain College St-Lambert) to
Cecil Belanger (Langley, B.C./Langley Secondary) midway through the third quarter seemingly swayed the momentum in the favour of the Bishop's Gaiters. However, they were unable to capitalize and the St. Francis Xavier X-Men answered back en route to a 27-14 victory in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Football on Saturday in Antigonish, N.S.
A slow first half left St.FX up 11-0 thanks to a pair of safeties conceded by Bishop's, two made field goals and a single.
After the break with Bishop's in the shadows of their end zone and facing second and long Casey hooked up with Belanger for the long pass and run. That eventually led to a
Trey Millings (Laval, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville) touchdown to cap off a 103-yard drive and gave the Gaiters momentum.
The next possession it was the X-Men's turn to march the length of the field, regain momentum and the 11-point advantage. It was the only touchdown the X-Men scored all day.
Bishop's stayed within striking distance, forcing X-Men field goals after a pair of Bishop's turnovers.
The Gaiters offence again moved the ball in the fourth quarter and
Eric Gagnon (Sherbrooke, Que./Cégep de Sherbrooke) scored on and 12-yard end around to give Bishop's life. That made the score 24-14 but was as close as Bishop's could get. The X-Men tacked on another field goal and eventually ran out the clock to close out the game and Bishop's inaugural season in the AUS by a final of 27-14.
With the victory, the X-Men qualify for the playoffs and earn the Bigg Bowl for the first time since 2009. They will face St. Mary's in Halifax next week.
Casey led the Bishop's air attack after taking over for
Dylan Tucker (Campbell River, B.C./Timberline S.S.) to start the second half. He finished 6-15 for 143 yards and three interceptions.
Belanger had a pair of receptions for 72 yards to lead the way for Bishop's.
Ryan David (Montreal, Que./John Abbott College) chipped in with three catches for 25 yards.
On the ground Millings racked up 74 yards on 14 carries and the major.
Head Coach Cherif Nicolas:
Bishop's Player of the Game:
Maxx Toutant (Winnipeg, Man./St. Paul's H.S.), 8.5 tackles, 1 sack
Next Up: Bishop's ends the 2017 AUS regular season with a 1-7 record and finish in fifth place in the conference.
About the Bigg Bowl: The Bigg Bowl was donated in 2002 by the family of H. R. Bigg and is awarded after competition between the StFX X-Men and Bishop's Gaiters in university football competition.
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