HALIFAX, NS (Nov. 7, 2024) - The Bishop’s University Gaiters are back again to try their hand at making history. The Saint Mary’s University Huskies are looking to further delay that plan.
Playing in their fourth Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Loney Bowl Championship, presented by Bell, in the last five years, the host Gaiters have their sights set on winning the program’s first AUS football title since joining the conference in 2017. Standing in their way are the Huskies, who are seeking their league-best 24th AUS crown, and first since 2010, when the teams clash on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Lennoxville, Que.
“I think it would be important and mean a lot for the program, the community and our alumni,” said Bishop’s head coach Cherif Nicolas, who was named the 2024 AUS Football Coach of the Year last week, when asked about winning the title after fallling short in the 2023, 2021 and 2019 championship finals.
The Nicolas-led Gaiters go into the game as the favourites after recording a perfect 8-0 record during the regular season. He also had 10 players named to the AUS All-Star Team, including the league’s Most Outstanding Player in quarterback Justin Quirion, Most Outstanding Defensive Player in defensive back Alex MacDonald and the Most Outstanding Lineman in defensive lineman Brandon-James Poulin-Marques.
As a team, the Gaiters led the conference in nearly every offensive and defensive category, and their attention to detail on both was prevalent this past weekend when they shutout the Acadia Axemen 59-0 in their semifinal matchup. The 59-point margin of victory was the largest in an AUS football playoff game since Acadia defeated STFX 69-6 to win the 2005 title.
With all that said, Nicolas wants his team to focus not on what they have accomplished so far but rather what they have yet to accomplish.
“Be where your two feet are,” Nicolas said of his message to his team entering the final. “Last year was last year, past games are past games.”
Saint Mary’s 21-17 semifinal road win over three-time defending champion STFX X-Men earned the Huskies their first trip to the Loney Bowl since 2018.
“Anytime you have a chance to play for a trophy is a big day,” said Huskies head coach, Steve Sumarah. “Being able to get SMU back on the national scene has been my goal since I returned. To win on the road, and especially this trip, is very difficult. And to do it against Bishop’s will be even tougher. We will see what happens on Saturday.”
He went on to compliment his coaching staff and players for their commitment and hard work the past few years, saying it’s starting to pay off.
“For us, it’s validation for what we are doing. It is very difficult to change culture in a program and this has been a two-year process of recruiting and three seasons of playing for us to turn this around,” Sumarah said. “The players and coaches can start to see the sacrifices of what they did being able to finally beat STFX.”
His Huskies finished third in the league this season with a 4-4 record and sported one of the conference’s best defenses.
SMU ranked second in the AUS in points allowed (150) and points per game allowed with 18.8. They led the AUS in interceptions with 13.
Of their four AUS All-Stars, three of them were on the defensive side of the ball – linebacker Zach Chiarotto and defensive backs Max Van Nieuwkoop and Logan Mendes. Receiver Trydell Mintis earned their lone offensive all-star nod.
In their two head-to-head matchups, the Huskies played the Gaiters tough in a pair of losses – 18-11 on Aug. 24 and 19-14 on Sept. 28 - the only two times during the regular season Bishop’s was held to less than 20 points.
“Bishop’s has tons of talent in all three phases of the game. We have been a little lucky at times those games were close,” Sumarah conceded. “They are no question the favourites. We have to execute, which isn’t easy against this team.”
The 2024 Loney Bowl will kickoff at 2 p.m. EST and can be watched on AUStv.ca.
Saturday’s winner will then move on to host the 2024 Uteck Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 16 against the Ontario conference champion to see who will advance to the Vanier Cup.