(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The exhibition season began with a bang for the Acadia Axemen as they handed the Saint Mary's Huskies at 34-5 loss in Wolfville. Two special teams fumbles by the Huskies led to two majors as the Axemen defence held off any major threats for forty minutes.
After a missed field goal by Acadia's Ryan Begin, the Huskies' Jesse Lacle recovered the ball and returned it 10 yards to his own four-yard line. A forced fumble by the Axemen's Troy Harrison then allowed Acadia's all-star running back Thomas Troop to score the first of Acadia's four touchdowns on the day.
Less than five minutes later, third-year receiver Brian Jones pulled in a long pass from freshman transfer quarterback Jon Shaw for a 73-yard touchdown. Ryan Begin added a 33-yard field goal in the closing minutes of the opening quarter to give Acadia a commanding 17-0 lead.
Begin added a second field goal at 13:31 of the second quarter following a Huskies safety. At the half, the Axemen held a 20-2 lead.
Saint Mary's picked up five points on the day, all of which came from the defence or special teams. Two conceded safeties in the second and third quarters along with a rouge late in final frame were all the points the Huskies were able to manage.
First-year Horton High School product Cameron Davidson added a third Acadia touchdown after the Axemen's Alex Dodier recovered a fumbled punt.
After the second of two Huskies safeties, Acadia scored their last major on a 19-yard reception by Andrew Adams from Jon Shaw.
The Axemen outgained the Huskies on the ground and in the air, accumulating 361 net yards while Saint Mary's pulled together 252 yards under the guidance of three pivots - Scott Borden, Drew Jacobson and Ben Rossong. Borden was the most successful with 101 yards passing.
Shaw passed for 177 yards and was nine for 13 in the air while second-year quarterback Darcy Lavoie was 5-for-12 for 58 yards. Cameron Davidson offered 54 yards rushing on nine carries while third-year veteran tailback Thomas Troop added 45 yards on seven carries. Jacob Gesse had a Huskies high 80 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
The stingy defence was led by William Wojcik who had six solo tackles and two assisted along with one interception.
Subway players of the game were Jon Shaw from Acadia and Jacob Gesse from Saint Mary's.
Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins was pleased with the performances from his younger players. "They have worked real hard over the last 10 days and they had a chance to get out and play and do what they can to be successful," he said. "It was fun to watch them play with a very basic vanilla offence."
Cummins added that he did not believe the score was not indicative of the game. "Some turnovers led to points for us and I think the game was a bit out of touch with what we will expect from Saint Mary's in two weeks time when we meet them at home again."
The Axemen will open up the regular season on the road next Saturday at 2 p.m. in Sackville, N.B. as they take on the 2013 AUS champion Mount Allison Mounties who handed StFX a 16-8 loss in the second of two exhibition games today. Saint Mary's will host the StFX X-Men next Friday night in Halifax.
Source: Acadia Sports Information