LENNXOVILLE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters sophomore football season in the AUS has not garnered the results desired.  Bishop's has one last chance to get into the win column on Saturday when they host the St. Francis Xavier X-Men at 2 p.m. on Coulter Field. The Bigg Bowl will also be on the line.
 
Where we stand
At 0-7, Bishop's is eliminated from playoff contention. Meanwhile StFX boasts a 4-2 record and currently sits in second place in the AUS standings.
 
Last time out
Bishop's dropped a 31-9 decision to the Acadia Axemen in Wolfville, N.S. last Saturday, while the StFX X-Men enjoyed their second bye week of the season. Two weeks ago, they beat Acadia 33-30 in Wolfville, N.S.
 
We meet again
The X-Men rolled a banged up Gaiters' squad in week four of AUS action.  They parlayed a 20-2 halftime advantage into a 42-2 win in Antigonish, N.S. X-Men Quarterback Bailey Wasdal was 17-28 for 256 yards and two touchdowns.  Receives Isaac Fagnan and Kaion Julien-Grant each caught seven passes for 125 and 113 yards respectively.
 
Bishop's pivot Stephen Casey (Boucherville, Que./Champlain College St-Lambert) went 15-28 for 133 yards through the air and Safety Aarron Franklin (West Covina, Calif./Citrus College) recorded his first interception in U SPORTS.
 
Coach's Corner
"Jordan Socholotiuk and Kaion Julien-Grant give StFX a great 1-2 punch on offence," said Gaiters' head coach Cherif Nicolas. "Tristan Bell, Gordon Whyte and Jimmie Cunningham are veterans on defence and have to be accounted for.
 
"We have to play each play for 60 minutes and avoid costly mistakes like giving up big plays on defence and turning the ball over on offence.  We will fight every play and have to trust the process as we go out and try to get a win."
 
W2W4
StFX
Running Back Jordan Socholotiuk leads U SPORTS in rushing at 129.5 yards per game. He is on pace for 1000-yard season with two games remaining.
 
All-Canadian Kaion Julien-Grant is again having another solid year.  He is second in the AUS in receptions (34), yards per game (71.8) and touchdowns (3).
 
Kicker Keiran Burnham is the most accurate in the conference. He has connected on 14 of 17 field goals (82%) and has a long of 47 yards.
 
Bishop's
Prior to the game Bishop's will honour its graduating seniors: Sergio Kpade (Ottawa, Ont./Cégep de l'Outaouais), Jordan Ngantsi (Ottawa, Ont./Lester B. Pearson C.H.S.), Arnaud Dandin (Paris, France/Cégep de Thetford), Adam Plamondon (Quebec City, Que./Cégep Limoilou), Jonathan Plante (Quebec City, Que./Cégep Limoilou), Lukas Schuster (Regina, Sask./Vancouver Island Raiders (BCFC)), Matthew Ouellet De Carlo (Pierrefonds, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville), Mathieu Demers (Lévis, Que./Cégep LImoilou), Dylan Tucker (Campbell River, B.C./Langley Rams (BCFC)), Stephen Casey (Boucherville, Que./Champlain College St-Lambert), Dashaun Smellie (Mississauga, Ont./Champlain-Lennoxville), Keith Normandin (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que./Collège de Valleyfield) and Elijah Williams (Pickering, Ont./Pickering H.S.).
 
Bigg Bowl History
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. With the Gaiters' move to the AUS, one of the annual matchups between the team is designated as the Bigg Bowl game.
 
All time StFX holds a 3-1 mark over the Gaiters when the Bigg Bowl is on the line.
2002 – StFX 22, BU 7
2004 – StFX 50, BU 17
2009 – BU 33, StFX 12
2017 – StFX 27, BU 14
 
Bishop's is 1-6 against StFX all-time.
 
Social Corner
Follow the Bishop's Gaiters anytime at www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters and #GaiterNation.  
 
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