THIS WEEK: The Bishop's Gaiters (0-1) open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday against the Saint Mary's Huskies (1-0) at Coulter Field. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
THE RECORDS: The Gaiters are 0-1, after dropping their opening game at Acadia, 27-10, last week. The Huskies are 1-0 after defeating StFX 38-23 on Aug. 25 and a bye last week.
NOTHING BUT NET: Saturday's game will be webcast at
www.gaiters.ca/webcast, with live stats available at
http://atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/fball/2017-18/boxscores/20170909_95sq.xml. Score updates will also be available on Twitter, by following @BishopsGaiters.
LAST TIME OUT: The Gaiters had a difficult introduction into Atlantic University Sport, as they fell 27-10 to the Acadia Axemen last Saturday in Wolfville. The Gaiters trailed 18-0 at halftime, pulled to within 15 points at 25-10 after three quarters, but were unable to draw closer in the final frame. Acadia quarterback Cody Cluett led the Axemen as he went 36-for-44 for 302 yards and threw two touchdown passes. For the Gaiters,
Dylan Tucker (Campbell River, B.C./Timberline S.S.) went 18-for-32 for 132 yards and a TD pass. Trevon Wilson-Millings led the ground attack with 74 yards on 14 carries. He also caught three passes for 34 yards, including a touchdown. Defensively,
Arnaud Dandin (Paris, France/Cégep de Thetford) made 10.5 tackles, while
Adam Plamondon (Quebec City, Que./Cégep Limoilou) had 1.5 sacks.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Zach Graveson (Sherbrooke, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville)'s catch with 31 seconds left in the game gave the Gaiters a 30-29 win over SMU on Sept. 30, 2016 at Coulter Field. Graveson had a pair of touchdown catches, and finished with 10 catches for 168 yards.
Jaeden Marwick (Regina, Sask./Winston Knoll Collegiate) had the first 300-yard passing game of his career, as he went 24-for-41 for 319 yards. Defensively, Mikael Badra led the Gaiters with five sacks. The Gaiters trailed 20-4 in the second quarter, and didn't take the lead until their 11-play game-winning scoring drive.
THE SERIES: The Huskies lead the all-time series 3-2. The first meeting was the 1988 Atlantic Bowl, where AUAA winners Saint Mary's notched a 44-10 win over the OQIFC champion Gaiters at Huskies Stadium in Halifax. This will be the Huskies' fourth trip to Coulter Field, with Saint Mary's winning in 2003 and 2008 before last year's Gaiter victory.
A NEW CHERIF: This is the first year in charge for Gaiters head coach
Cherif Nicolas. The Montreal native, amassed a 56-26 record at the collegiate level in seven seasons with the CEGEP de Vieux-Montréal Spartiates, including winning the 2014 Bol d'Or.
TUCKER RIGHT IN: Last Saturday's game was the first career start for redshirt freshman quarterback
Dylan Tucker (Campbell River, B.C./Timberline S.S.). The Campbell River, B.C., native, threw his first career touchdown pass on Saturday, a 25-yard strike to
Trey Millings (Laval, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville) in the third quarter. Tucker spent 2014 and 2015 in junior football with Langley of the British Columbia Football Conference. In 15 games with the Rams, he completed 59.2 per cent of his passes (158-for-267) and threw for 2,849 yards and 30 touchdowns.
UP NEXT: The Gaiters head back down east next week, as they visit the Mount Allison Mounties on Friday, Sept. 15. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Atlantic time (6:30 p.m. Eastern).
SOCIAL CORNER:
Stay up to date with everything Gaiters athletics at the new
gaiters.ca or follow on social media using @BishopsGaiters and #GaiterNation.
