(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the hometown Mount Allison Mounties 27-26 at Homecoming on Saturday in front of a raucous Mounties crown of over 2,300 fans.
It was the second straight week that a game was decided with less than a minute to play at Alumni Field.
Saint Mary's was the first to hit the scoreboard, capitalizing on good field position on their opening drive to score the game's first touchdown just three minutes into the game. The Huskies drove 57 yards on the first drive of the game, capped by a one-yard run by Liam O'Brien. The Huskies missed on their two-point convert attempt, leaving the score at 6-0.
The score remained 6-0 for the Huskies until the secnd quarter. With the Huskies threatening Nate Rostek picked up an interception in the Mounties end zone after a thunderous hit from Devante Sampson. The Mounties drove to Saint Mary's territory but then turned the ball over on a missed field goal.
The Mounties went back to work, forcing a fumble by Huskies' quarterback Kaleb Scott.
Five plays later Mounties QB Jakob Loucks called his own number and scored from one-yard out to give the Mounties a 7-6 lead.
Saint Mary's answered with two and half minutes remaining in the first half, when Scott hooked up with Johnny King for a 50-yard touchdown. This gave the Huskies a 13-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Mounties took their first lead of the game at the end of the third quarter. They started with an 89-yard drive that stalled on the SMU three-yard line. The Mounties defence then held and forced the Huskies to concede a safety to make the score 13-9.
On the ensuing possession the Mounties drove 75 yards, capped off by a two-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hicks from senior Troy Downton. This gave the Mounties a 16-13 advantage.
The most electrifying play of the game came four minutes into the fourth quarter when Saint Mary's kicker Brian Hope missed a field goal and returner Idahosa Yorke returned it 119 yards for a touchdown. With the Homecoming crowd going wild, the Mounties took a 23-13 lead.
Saint Mary's got a rouge from Hope on the next possession as the score moved to 23-14.
Brian Hope hit a 31-yard field goal with just under seven minutes remaining as the Huskies pulled to within six. After Idahosa Yorke returned Hope's punt 51 yards, the Mounties were able to add a Ryan Lambert field goal with 2:42 remaining.
With the score now 26-17, the Huskies moved the ball quickly highlighted by a 57-yard hook up from Scott to Rick Lemoignan to bring the ball to MTA 18-yard line. Hope would kick a 21-yard field goal to run the score to 26-20.
After the Mounties failed to hold on to the ball, the Huskies found themselves starting on the MTA 49-yard line with one minute and 10 seconds remaining. The Huskies scored with 24 seconds left when Liam O'Brien scored from one yard out to give the Huskies a 27-26 lead.
The Mounties would drive 47 yards into field goal range on their final possession, but the clock expired before they could attempt a game-winning field goal.
Jakob Loucks was seven of 13 for 114 yards before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury. Troy Downton was 10 of 14 for 168 yard and one touchdown in relief. For the Huskies, Caleb Scott was 21 of 40 for 356 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Mounties now travel to Acadia to play the Axemen on Saturday, Sept. 30. Saint Mary's will travel to StFX to play the X-Men.
Source: Mount Allison Athletics Communications