WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Acadia Axemen football team hosted the visiting Saint Mary's Huskies in the second of two exhibition games this weekend in AUS football. The Huskies against the Axemen game followed a 29-14 by the StFX X-Men over the reining AUS champion Mount Allison in last night's first game of the exhibition weekend.
Not until the end of the third quarter did the scoreboard change from a 0-0 tie, as the Huskies scored the first of two second half touchdowns. Fourth year running back Jacob Gesse gave Saint Mary's a 7-0 lead with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. Gesse ended a 6 play, 65 yrd drive that took two and a half minutes off the clock with a four yard dive into the end zone.
Saint Mary's took a 14-0 lead when fifth year running back Ryan Zawacki punched into the end zone on a one yard dive capping off a drive of 10 plays that included 70 yards of rushing by Zawacki.
The Axemen added points from a two point safety conceded by the Huskies and on a missed field goal by Axemen rookie kicker David Langley 43 yards out.
The Axemen outgained the Huskies in the air 218-137 yards but Saint Mary's accumulated 252 yards on the ground, 204 of which came in the second half. Nearly even with first downs, the Huskies held the edge with 17 over Acadia's 16. Acadia had a net of 57 yards on the ground.
With both teams with exhibition roster numbers reaching over 77, shining moments came from several veteran players. Huskie Ryan Zawacki rushed for 89 net yards on 12 carries, while teammate Jacob Gesse had nine carries for 78 yards. Trevor Erdmann threw for 89 yards on 9 completions from 13 attempts for the Huskies. Leading the receiving corp was D'shawn Miller who had 62 yards on three receptions.
Acadia's Thompson Richards, who finished last season as the starting quarterback was three for seven for 65 yards, while five additional quarterbacks got playing time for the Axemen. In receiving, newcomer Eugene MacMinnis pulled down four receptions for 66 yards. Brian Jones, last year's AUS MVP, had one reception for five yards. Senior Sabastian Robinson grabbed two catches for 43 yards.
The Axemen open the regular season next Saturday afternoon on Acadia's Raymond Field against the StFX X-Men. The last time both teams met was in the AUS Semi-Finals where the X-Men grabbed a win off of 10 unanswered points in the closing 2 minutes of the game to grab a 18-17 win. The incumbent champions, Mount Allison Mounties, travel to Halifax to meet the Saint Mary's Huskies on Friday night in the opening weekend of the AUS regular season.