Acadia beats SMU 45-38 in offensive Loney Bowl

Days after their spot in the U Sports football final four was lost in a court case, the Acadia Axemen are once again heading to the Uteck Bowl.

Garvin Cius picked off a Kaleb Scott pass in the end zone on the final play of the game and the Axemen defeated the Saint Mary’s Huskies 45-38 in overtime in a thrilling Loney Bowl on Tuesday. Axemen quarterback Cody Cluett had rushed for a one-yard touchdown minutes earlier to give Acadia the lead.

Acadia now has the daunting task of hosting the Ontario champion Western Mustangs on short rest in the Uteck Bowl on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Vanier Cup championship game Nov. 25 in Hamilton.

Tuesday’s game was almost as wild as the legal mess that led to the Loney Bowl being played three days after it was originally scheduled.

Atlantic University Sport (AUS), the governing body for university athletics in Atlantic Canada, cancelled the game last week and awarded the championship to Acadia. But after a whirlwind hearing over the weekend, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Deborah Smith ruled on Sunday that the game should go ahead. AUS had initially disqualified Saint Mary’s after determining that Archelaus Jack, a wide receiver with the Huskies, was ineligible to compete in a university football league because he was previously on the practice roster of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.