Photo: Mona Ghiz
For the first time since 2010, the Saint Mary’s Huskies are Loney Bowl champions after recording a 46-11 win over the St. FX X-Men on Saturday afternoon at Huskies Stadium.
After the Huskies had a two-and-out punt to begin the game, the Saint Mary’s defence was able to quickly take the ball back, with defensive lineman Westley Johnsen-MacDuff leaping at the line of scrimmage and intercepting the pass from X-Men quarterback Silas Fagnan, giving the Huskies at the St. FX one-yard line.
The Huskies handed it off to running back Malik Williams who plunged in for a one-yard score — his 14th of the regular-season and playoffs combined — with kicker Adam Johnston nailing the convert to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 12:24 remaining in the first.
The X-Men took over but wasn’t able to generate a first down, and punter Malcolm Cameron booted it away to the St. FX 53-yard line. Saint Mary’s running back Liam Legge took five carries for 22 yards, and quarterback Justin Shibley connected with receivers Joshua Jack and Chandler Zinck-Marier to quickly move the ball inside the X-Men five-yard line, where Malik Williams made his second house call of the afternoon, extending the lead to 14-0 with 6:43 remaining.
The X-Men were able to move the ball into Huskies territory, thanks in part to Fagnan connecting twice with receiver Sam Taylor but Saint Mary’s defence stood tall and forced another punt.
Shibley and the Huskies offence took over from their own seven-yard line, but a quick slant to Joshua Jack resulted in an 82-yard catch and run, pushing the ball deep into X-Men territory. Running back Liam Legge was able to score the Huskies third rushing touchdown of the first quarter, from six yards out, and Johnston added the extra point, then a rouge off the kickoff to give the Huskies a 22-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes of play.
The Huskies’ defence kept on making big plays, with defensive back Keyshawn Beswick picking off Fagnan, which led to a 37-yard Adam Johnston field goal, extending the lead to 25-0 with 13:43 remaining in the first half.
St. FX finally got a big play to go their way, as Fagnan found receiver Zachary Houde for a 34-yard gain, bringing the visitors into SMU territory. After a couple runs, X-Men kicker Tyson Heather booted a 27-yard field goal to get St. FX on the scoreboard at 25-3.
Saint Mary’s offence responded as Justin Shibley led them on a 15-play, 75-yard drive, including a fake punt rush for a first down from punter Cameron Brown. Malik Williams finished off the drive with his third touchdown of the day and 16th of the regular season and playoffs combined, with Johnston’s convert extending the Huskies lead to 32-3, with 3:59 remaining in the first half.
The X-Men forced a fumble on special teams and added another Tyson Heather field goal to their tally, but it was the Huskies who took a commanding 32-6 lead into halftime.
Early in the second quarter, a Malcolm Cameron punt pinned the Huskies deep in their own zone, and they conceded a safety to bring the score to 32-8.
X-Men defensive lineman Ryan Ford stripped Legge and St. FX recovered the fumble, giving possession back to Fagnan, where he was able to connect with three different receivers to reach the red zone. The Huskies defence stood strong, however, with back-to-back tackles from captain Isaiah Okoli and a pass breakup from Beswick, forcing the X-Men to settle for Heather’s third field goal of the day, bringing the score to 32-11 late in the third.
The Huskies’ top-ranked defence continued to flex their muscles in the fourth quarter, with linebacker Marckus Jean-Loescher picking off Fagnan for the third time on the day.
Saint Mary’s went to backup quarterback Allan Young to close out the game, and he delivered with a pair of passing touchdowns, finding Kade Smith for a 17-yard score and Trydell Mintis for an 18-yard major to put the finishing touches on the win.
Keyshawn Beswick was named Player of the Game with 3.5 tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups.
The Huskies’ defence also received key contributions from linebackers Isaiah Okoli (7.5 tackles, one interception, one breakup), Marckus Jean-Loescher (5.0 tackles, one interception), and Westley Johnsen-MacDuff (0.5 tackles, one interception).
Justin Shibley completed 13-of-19 passes for 237 yards, while Allan Young completed both his attempts for 35 yards and two touchdowns in relief. The rushing attack was led by Liam Legge with 13 carries for 58 yards and one touchdown, while Malik Williams took 12 carries for 22 yards and three touchdowns.
Joshua Jack paced the receiver corps with four caches for 130 yards, while Chandler Zinck-Marier hauled in five catches for 61 yards, and Trydell Mintis (two catches for 39 yards) and Kade Smith (three catches for 31 yards) each scored a touchdown.
The X-Men offence was led by Silas Fagnan who completed 21-of-39 attempts for 260 yards and four interceptions, and ran for six carries for 24 yards. Zachary Houde led the air attack with four catches for 70 yards, while Sam Taylor hauled in six receptions for 56 yards.
St. FX’s defence was led by 6.5 tackles from Nathan Cayouette, 5.5 tackles from Isaiah Ward, and four tackles and a forced fumble from Ryan Ford.
The Huskies will now advance to the Uteck Bowl for the first time since 2010, where they will host the Montréal Carabins on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m. EST at Huskies Stadium.
Editor’s note: this article was written by Allan April of Saint Mary’s Huskies Athletics and published here with permission. It was lightly edited.
