(Lennoxville, Que.) – A fourth-quarter push from the Bishop's Gaiters in their home opener came up just short as the No. 7 StFX X-Men escaped Lennoxville with a 21-16 win.
The loss drops Bishop's to 1-2 while StFX remains undefeated at 3-0.
X-Men kicker Ben Hadley went 4-for-4 in field goals, including a long of 47 to pace StFX in the first half. He also booted balls from 17, 38 and 39 yards as the X-Men jumped out to a 19-1 lead at halftime.
Devaughn Blackwood added the only major for the visitors on a 39-yard pass from Silas Fagnan at the start of the second stanza.
Bishop's conceded a rouge to start the third before momentum started to swing.
However, it wasn't until the 8:38 mark of the fourth quarter when Bishop's found pay dirt. Cedric Maurice scored on a 1-yard end-around run.
The Gaiters dominated field position in the frame and made for a frantic finish when quarterback Mason McGriskin found Oliver Burnett for a 7-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-14.
StFX conceded a safety in what was setting up to be a mirror image of when the two teams met in Antigonish, N.S. a year ago, with the script flipped. However, two major penalties on the return forced Bishop's deep in their end, a key sack by Zechariah Willems (Tiny, ON), and the X-Men defense held on and kept their perfect record intact.
Hadley received Subway player of the game honours for the X-Men.
Next up on the AUS schedule sees the Gaiters (1-2) travel to Halifax to play the Saint Mary's Huskies (1-2) on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. local.
The X-Men (3-0) are in Sackville, N.B. to face the Mount Allison Mounties (3-0) at 2 p.m. in a clash of undefeated teams.
-30-
Recap courtesy of Bishop's Sports Information