Saturday, October 15, 2005

SMU slams X

By Chris Kallan / The Daily News

MUSH: Saint Mary’s Huskies running back Jacques-Oliver Lumbala is pursued by a pair of St. F.X. X-Men last night. (Photo: DARRELL OAKE)

Huskies keep first-place hopes intact

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Then it was the best of times again.

The hometown Saint Mary’s Huskies sent a homecoming gathering of 3,875 home happy with a sound 52-26 victory over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Atlantic Universities Football Conference action last night at Huskies Stadium.

Saint Mary’s quarterback Billy Robinson threw for six touchdown passes — one shy of the conference record set by his father, Billy Sr. —and totalled 335 yards as the Huskies won their second straight to improve to 3-3 and maintain a shot at finishing first. Saint Mary’s holds the tiebreaker should the teams finish with identical records.

“That’s a pile of points to put up, but we knew we could dominate them if everything was clicking,” said Robinson, who completed 16 of 27 attempts.

“With the name Saint Mary’s, you always think you have a chance to compete for a national championship. We all knew the talent was here to do what we did.”

The Huskies were up by three touchdowns by the end of one quarter and by 24 points early in the second quarter. But the X-Men rallied for 23 unanswered points to go into the half down by just one.

“We had a real lapse there and we were as down as you can be, but it’s a game of momentum,” said Robinson, who led the Huskies to 524 yards of net offence.

“There’s highs and lows, but I thought our defence was outstanding in the second half and allowed us to get a big lead again.”

Les Mullings, David Swasey and Ron Kelly scored a pair of touchdowns apiece for the Huskies. Ryean Warburton had the other Saint Mary’s major.

Jacques-Oliver Lumbala rushed seven times for a game-high 82 yards. Mullings had five catches for 161 yards. Kelly also caught five balls.

Nick Chessa, Bryan Pozzobon and Jeremy Marchand scored touchdowns for the X-Men.

St. F.X. quarterback Nick Chessa was 17-of-33 for 207 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns.

Marvin McCooty, the league’s top rusher, carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards. The X-Men (4-2) were held to just 75 net rushing yards.

“We were down for awhile, but we knew it’s a 60-minute game,” said Huskies’ offensive lineman Eric Ince.

“This gets the ball rolling for us, but we have to keep taking care of business.”

Saint Mary’s travels to Montreal to face the fourth-ranked Carabins (4-1) a week from today.

Montreal opened the season with a 12-point loss to top-ranked and two-time defending Vanier Cup champion Laval, but has since reeled off four straight wins by an average of 25 points.

The Huskies finish the regular season at home to Mount Allison in two weeks.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

Atlantic Universities Football Conference at Huskies Stadium, Halifax

• SCORE: Saint Mary’s 52 St. Francis Xavier 26.
• SCORING: Huskies — touchdowns: Ron Kelly 2, David Swasey 2, Les Mullings 2, Ryean Warburton; field goal: Rodrigo Davalos, 39 yards; converts: Davalos 7; X-Men — touchdowns: Bryan Pozzobon, Jeremy Mar-chand, Nick Chessa; field goal: Charles Gervais, 23 yards; converts: Ted Turnbull 3; team safety
• WHAT IT MEANS: The 3-3 Huskies grab the tiebreaker with the 4-2 X-Men and maintain a shot at finishing first during the regular season.
• GAME BALL: Billy Robinson, Saint Mary’s (335 yards, six touchdown passes; nine punts, 34.3-yard average).
• OF NOTE: The Huskies have defeated the X-Men 10 straight times at Huskies Stadium. Saint Mary’s hasn’t lost at home to St. F.X. since a 35-22 setback on Nov. 7, 1998.
• ATTENDANCE: 3,875.