LENNOXVILLE, Que. – There is always something special with Friday Night Lights football games. The Bishop's Gaiters and St. Francis Xavier X-Men have a number of reasons to make this Friday's game in Antigonish, N.S. special. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Atlantic time at StFX Stadium.
First, the Bigg Bowl is on the line. Bishop's has not won the trophy since 2008. Second, it is the X-Men's homecoming. Third, there is massive potential playoff implications in the Atlantic University Sport standings are on the line.
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. 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 4-1 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
2018 – StFX 12, BU 11
Homecoming Rematch
Homecoming is always a busy time, the Gaiters-X-Men Football game headlines the Antigonish weekend activities.
The stakes are higher after Bishop's controlled the first meeting between the squads en route to a 32-19 victory. The game was Gaiters' quarterback
Charles Aubry's (Laval, Que./College Lionel-Groulx) coming out party as he earned AUS Player of the Week honours for his performance. Aubry was 27-37 for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the Gaiters' home opener. He added a major with his legs.
Last week
Both squads are coming off losses. Bishop's dropped their homecoming game to No.7 Acadia 24-12 while the X-Men lost 36-11 to Mt. Allison in Sackville, N.B.
Where we stand
| TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
PCT |
Streak |
PF |
PA |
Pts |
| x-Acadia |
5 |
5 |
0 |
1.000 |
Won 5 |
204 |
91 |
10 |
| Saint Mary's |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0.750 |
Won 1 |
110 |
102 |
6 |
| Bishop's |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0.400 |
Lost 1 |
97 |
149 |
4 |
| Mount Allison |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0.200 |
Won 1 |
105 |
103 |
2 |
| StFX |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0.200 |
Lost 4 |
78 |
149 |
2 |
x-clinched playoffs
A Gaiters win and they will finish 2019 ahead of the X-Men in the standings. The wild race for positioning continues as St. Mary's hosts Mount Allison also on Friday night.
Top three teams qualify for the playoffs.
Statistically Speaking
Nathan Walker (Brampton, Ont./St. Roch C.S.S.) leads the conference with 873 all-purpose yards this year. He was named AUS and U Sports Special Team's Player of the Week three weeks ago.
StFX linebacker Gordon Whyte is the conference top tackler with 38 through five games.
All-Time
Bishop's is now 1-4 against StFX since joining the AUS in 2017. Prior to that, the Gaiters were 1-2 against the X-Men in RSEQ-AUS crossover play.
Watch live
Friday night's game can be seen at
www.austv.ca.
You can also follow live on social media:
www.twitter.com/BishopsGaiters
www.instagram.com/BishopsGaiters
www.facebook.com/Bishops.Gaiters.1
Next Up
After Friday's game, Bishop's will host the St. Mary's Huskies on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. on Coulter Field.
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