(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The defending AUS champion Mount Allison Mounties opened the 2014 season with a 16-8 exhibition victory over the StFX X-Men at MacAulay Field in Sackville.
On a day that saw both teams dress 90 players each (allowable under exhibition rules), it was special teams that made the difference for the Mounties.
Mounties' freshman Idahosa Yorke announced his arrival to the AUS with a 90-yard punt return touchdown with four minutes remaining in the first half. Yorke, from Bowmanville, Ont., scored the game's only major when he turned the corner and sauntered untouched up the sidelines for the longest play of the day.
The Mounties' other points on the day came from three field goals - one from each of the Mounties' kickers who were in the lineup today. StFX's eight points came from two first-quarter field goals and a safety late in the third quarter.
StFX opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game when they turned an interception on the first play of the game into a 21-yard Jeremy Ford field goal.
The X-Men stretched their lead to six points with four minutes remaining in the first quarter when Jeremy Ford split the uprights again, this time from 18 yards. The Mounties responded with a field goal of their own six minutes later, when Kyle McLean connected from 26 yards out.
The score remained 6-3 for StFX until four minutes remaining in the first half when Yorke made his mark with a long field goal return. StFX forced the Mounties to take a safety with one minute remaining in the third quarter against the wind.
With the wind in the fourth quarter, the Mounties used a 30-yard field goal from freshman Ryan Lambert and a 22-yard field goal from the second-year Jordon Camp to ice the game.
StFX finished the game with more total offence than the Mounties, but the Mounties' punter did a great job of pinning the X-Men deep all day long, dropping the ball inside the StFX 20-yard line five times on the day.
The Mounties now get ready for their regular season opener when they host the Acadia Axemen on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. at MacAulay Field.
The last meeting between these two teams was a 19-10 victory for the Mounties in the Subway AUS championship semifinal last year. StFX will open their season on the road against Saint Mary's on Friday, Sept. 5.
Source: Mount Allison Sports Information