WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Mount Allison Mounties hold onto top spot in the AUS Football standings with a 38-21 win over host Acadia Axemen in a battle for first place. Both teams entered the game with 3-2 records but only one improved to 4-2 with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Mounties, led by senior pivot Brandon Lehy (New Westminster, B.C.), posted 418 yards total offense including 289 net yards in passing and Subway Player of the Game Kiel Ambursley (Toronto, Ont.) punctured holes in Acadia's defense compiling 131 yards in rushing.
A first quarter 4-0 Mountie lead on a rouge and a Ryan Lambert (Grimsby, Ont.) 32 yard field goal created Mountie momentum. As the Axemen battled for good field position, Mount Allison added their first of three majors. Ambursely capped a five play, 56 yard drive for his first of two touchdowns.
The Axemen defense stood tall for the most part of the second quarter allowing the Mounties one team safety and three Lambert field goals from 16, 40 and 34 yards to give Mount Allison a 22-0 halftime lead.
The Mounties opened up the second half with their second team safety followed later by an Idahosa Yorke return of a Jeffrey Beattie (Hamilton, Ont.) punt for an 80 yard touchdown. Yorke finished the day with 18.2 yard return average in punt returns.
With a 31-0 lead after nearly three quarters of play, the Axemen finally "cracked the code" with a 55 yard pass to Eli Prochnau (Cochrane, Alta.) from Cody Cluett (Cole Harbour, N.S.), who replaced a starting Nick Bynkoski (Duncan, B.C.) at the quarterback position. Cluett would finish the game with 216 yards in the air, completing 13 of 26 passes for three touchdowns.
At the 10 minute mark of the fourth quarter, Cluett connected with Prochnau again for a 4 yard touchdown pass that concluded a nine play, 57 yard drive but the convert was not made.
With the Mounties on their own 37 yard line, a Kyle McLean (Nepean, Ont.) punt that traveled 5 yards after being partially blocked gave the Axemen a spark that allowed Cluett to connect with Brian Jones (Bedford, N.S.) for a 32 yard touchdown reception, narrowing the Mountie lead to 31-21 following a two point conversion pass caught by Sabastian Robinson (Saskatoon, Sask.).
Ambursley posted a nine yard touchdown run that capped a 73 yard, 4 play drive spearheaded by a 38 yard Kyle McLean reception and a 25 yard Dakota Brush (Brantford, N.S.) reception in the dying minutes of the final quarter to give Mount Allison a 38-21 lead and eventual win.
Receiving for the Mounties was led by Brush who posted a game high 134 yards on eight receptions, while teammates MacLean and Quinn LeBlanc pulled in 104 and 43 yards. Axemen Brian Jones and Eli Prochnau each caught 99 and 98 yards in receiving respectively.
The Axemen (3-3) will travel to StFX (3-3) to keep their semi-final hosting rights alive, while the Mounties host the winless Saint Mary's Huskies in Sackville, N.B.