The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WITH a win in dramatic fashion, Demetrius Ferguson and his St Francis Xavier X-Men advanced to a bowl game - his first in his career with team - and look to end their season with an upset win.

A last-second field goal by Jeremy Ford keyed the X-Men’s dramatic 18-17 come-from-behind win over the Acadia Axemen in the Subway Atlantic University Sport football semi-final Saturday afternoon at Oland Stadium.

With the win they will face the first place Mount Allison Mounties for the Subway AUS Coupe Loney Bowl 2pm November 8 in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Ferguson finished with 5.5 tackles and returned two kickoffs for 12 yards.

Facing a 12-6 deficit headed into the fourth, the X-Men rallied with 12 points in the final quarter. They finished 3-1 against the Axemen for the season, including a 38-29 win in September, a 37-20 win at Homecoming in early October and a 26-4 loss just a week later.

St FX will hope to turn things around against a Mount Allison Mounties team after three losses this season. The Mounties won 16-8 in the only preseason matchup, followed by a 27-25 loss in September and an 18-10 loss to end the regular season.

St FX currently stands at 5-4, while the Mounties made school history with their 8-0 undefeated season.

“It’s an awesome feeling to finally make it to the big game. It’s been an amazing and exciting journey thus far, and we got one more to go. It was a great team win, we finished every play to the whistle, and played hard X-Men football for 60 minutes,” Ferguson said. “We know what we need to do to get a win against Mount Allison, we just need to stay focused, execute, finish, stay poised, and complete every down like it’s our last. Once we stay consistent on both sides of the ball we’ll be alright. One huge factor that’s going to play a big role will be our play on special teams. If we can beat Mt Allison on special teams and limit our mistakes, that will change the outcome of the game.”

Ferguson has been particularly effective against the Mounties and was named “Defensive Athlete of the Week” for his performance in the regular season finale.

The senior defensive back led all StFX defenders in tackles in the loss with seven solo tackles and four assisted tackles in the game. He also had one interception and a breakup for the X-Men.

Ferguson finished the AUS season third in tackling with 46 and also added two interceptions. It was his third “Athlete of the Week” honour for the season.

In week six he was named the Defensive Athlete of the Week for his performance in the X-Men’s 36-6 win over St Mary’s University. He led all StFX defenders in tackles with eight solo tackles and one assisted tackle in the game.

In week four, Ferguson was named the X-Men Football Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in his team’s September 27 loss to the Montreal Carabins. He had a then season high 8.5 tackles in the game, including eight solo tackles, and also had two punt returns for 26 yards and a kick-off return for 18 yards.

Defensively, he added one tackle for a loss.