SHERBROOKE, Que. – After back-to-back solid outings but no wins to show for it, the Bishop's Gaiters football team looks to spoil the Acadia Axemen's homecoming and put a dent in their playoff hopes on Saturday. The AUS foes will kick off at 3 p.m. Atlantic time in Wolfville, N.S.
Where we stand
Bishop's sits at 0-6 and are eliminated from playoff contention. Acadia meanwhile has lost two straight, is 2-3, and tied with the Mount Allison Mounties for the third and final playoff spot. Those two meet next week in Sackville, N.B.
Last time out
Bishop's was in Halifax last Saturday and lost 18-9 to the No.6 St. Mary's Huskies in what was arguably their best performance this season.
The Axemen lost a heartbreaker 33-30 to the St.FX X-Men who booted through a field goal with just two seconds remaining.
We meet again
Acadia rolled Bishop's 39-9 in their previous meeting this year in Lennoxville on Sept. 8. Axemen quarterback
Hunter Guenard went 17-23 for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Cordell Hastings caught the two TD passes and five total for 133 yards.
Bishop's used three pivots on the day.
Mathieu Demers (Lévis, Que./Cégep LImoilou), Dylan Tucker (Campbell River, B.C./Langley Rams (BCFC)) and
Kyle Sheahan (Ottawa, Ont./Mother Tersea H.S.) all took snaps.
Guillaume Trottier (Lévis, Que./Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon) and
Louve Moussenguet each made eight tackles.
W2W4
Bishop's
For the Gaiters,
Stephen Casey (Boucherville, Que./Champlain College St-Lambert) appears to have taken the reins of the offence after completing 19 of 35 passes for 221 yards last week at St. Mary's. He also rushed five times for 11 yards.
Sergio Kpade (Ottawa, Ont./Cégep de l'Outaouais) and
Aarron Franklin (West Covina, Calif./Citrus College) also made their presence felt last week. The defensive backs each had an interception. It was Franklin's second of the year, and he returned it for a pick-6.
Acadia
Hastings is the AUS's leading receiver at 78.2 yards per game and four touchdowns.
Guenard sits second in the conference in passing at 221.6 yards per game. His seven touchdown connections and 69% completion percentage both lead the league.
Acadia is both the defending champions and boasts the reigning most outstanding player. Running back
Dale Wright is averaging 100 yards per game, good for third in the AUS.
Coach Cherif Nicolas
"Acadia is a good team," said Gaiters' bench boss
Cherif Nicolas. "They are balanced on offence, have a good offensive line and two dangerous players in Hastings and Wright.
"We have to continue to progress. I think we did that after the bye week, we played our best game against Mount Allison. Versus SMU we progressed and fought even more. We want to keep getting better at all three phases and during the last two weeks of the season"
Coverage
Saturday's game is available at
www.austv.ca
You can also follow along with @BishopsGaiters on Twitter and Instagram.
Next up
After Saturday's game, the Gaiters return home for their final tilt of 2018 when they host the St. FX X-Men on Coulter Field on Saturday Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. local time. The contest will also mark the annual competition for the Bigg Bowl.
Social corner
Stay up-to-date with everything Bishop's Gaiters at
www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters or #GaiterNation.
-30-
