BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Acadia will meet SMU on the football field Nov. 13 in the conference final after the Axemen’s victory over Mount A last weekend.
Should Kyle Graves end up playing five years of football at Acadia, Nov. 6 may still stand as his finest hour as an Axeman.In the rain and truly terrible field conditions, the second-year quarterback hoisted the Axemen on his shoulders and led them to a 22-14, quadruple-overtime win over the Mount Allison Mounties in Sackville.
On paper, Graves’s stats (22-44 passing for 229 yards, one interception – and three huge touchdowns) weren’t that impressive, but the game definitely wasn’t played on paper.
It was played on a grass field – the only one remaining in the AUFC – that started off bad and got progressively worse.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Mounties got on the board first when Jake Hotchkiss hit Adam Molnar with a 25-yard touchdown pass. Jon Szilagyi’s convert gave Mount Allison a 7-0 lead.
Acadia, meanwhile, was having trouble doing anything on offense but, late in the second quarter, Graves found his footing, marched the Axemen down the field and found A.J. Durling with a 12-yard touchdown pass.
The drive was saved when receiver Scott Kelly – more about him later – recovered his own fumble, allowing the Axemen to retain possession. Mike Rostance was good on the convert, and the score was tied 7-7 at the half.
After the intermission, Hotchkiss moved the Mounties down the field, but the Acadia defense forced Mount A to settle for a Szilagyi field goal.
Mount A then used Szilagyi’s punting to pin the Axemen deep in their own territory, forcing Acadia punter Mike Squires to concede a pair of safety touches that increased the Mount A lead to 14-7.
In the fourth, Acadia’s Cameron Wade blocked a Szilagyi punt, but the ball was returned to the Mounties on an interference penalty – albeit on their own five-yard line. When the Mounties were ultimately forced to punt, Acadia took over on the Mount A 23.
With an almost certain end to their season looming, Graves – by now having much better luck than Hotchkiss holding on to the ball – dug deep again, and, on a third down play from the 18, found Durling in the end zone. Matt Archibald’s kick tied the score with 3:51 to play.
Neither team was able to score in the remaining regulation time, so the contest went to an overtime shootout.
Each team in succession got the ball on the 35-yard line, and retained possession until it either scored points or turned the ball over. The first three “mini-games” were scoreless.
Acadia had the ball first in the fourth overtime, and on third down, on a fake field goal, Graves connected with kicker Rostance for a key first-down.
After a nine-yard rush by Brett Haenni, Graves rolled out to escape pressure and found Scott Kelly with a 12-yard touchdown pass, then was complete to Kelly again for a two-point conversion and a 22-14 lead.
The Mounties then had their chance to respond, but Hotchkiss’s third-down pass fell incomplete, allowing Acadia to leave the field – exhausted, soggy and muddy - but winners nonetheless.
Kelly, who finished with 112 yards on 10 receptions, shared the hero’s role on offense with Graves and Durling (four catches, 62 yards, two TDs).
Defensively, Graeme Richardson had three interceptions, and Tom Labenski finished the game with 12 tackles, 11 of them solo efforts.
Mount Allison didn’t play badly – and maybe deserved better than the final result in their first home playoff game in 12 years – but had far less success getting their offense going in worsening conditions.
The teams combined for a net 76 yards rushing on 59 carries, and Acadia finished with a 234-143 edge in passing that as the difference in the game.
With the win, the Axemen advance to the conference final against the Saint Mary’s Huskies Saturday 12:30 p.m. in Halifax. In their three previous meetings this season, SMU won twice and Acadia once.
jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca
