SMU wins squeaker in Loney Bowl

Even without Hec Crighton Trophy-winning quarterback Erik Glavic, the Saint Mary’s Huskies are kicking at the door of another visit to the Vanier Cup.

Rookie pivot Jack Creighton threw a pair of touchdown passes and the CIS No. 5 Huskies overcame a furious second-half rally from the St. Francis Xavier X-Men to win Saturday’s Loney Bowl AUFC championship game 29-27 before more than 4,100 fans at Huskies Stadium.

The X-Men trailed 26-5 at the half, but carved SMU’s lead to three in the final minutes. St. F.X. kicker Kyle Chisholm missed a 42-yard field goal to force overtime with three seconds left.

It is the second straight conference title and eighth in the last 10 years for the 22-time champion Huskies, now 8-1 on the season. SMU has beaten St. F.X. in 16 straight games in Halifax since 1998.

"You’re playing a team that knows you well and we knew them," said Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah. "It’s emotional, it’s intense and it truly is the hardest game of the year to win."

"It wasn’t a great second half, but we got the job done," said Creighton, who pockets $1,000 as the game MVP.

"Every game is a huge step," Creighton (12-17-198) said of his continuing development. "It’s just getting easier and everybody here is stepping up and making plays."

X-Men quarterback Steve Snyder was tenacious in the comeback and finished 22-of-35 for 379 yards.

The Huskies travel to London, Ont., to visit the Western Ontario Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl national semifinal next Sunday (4 p.m. AT, The Score). Western beat Ottawa 31-17 for the OUA championship Saturday.

Saint Mary’s and Western haven’t clashed since they split back-to-back Atlantic Bowls in 1989-90.

St. F.X. went home a hard-luck loser for a second straight year. The X-Men lost 25-24 to the Huskies in the title game last year.

Creighton threw touchdown passes to Ryean Warburton (5-92) and Carl Hardwick (4-64) as part of 23 unanswered points in the second quarter.

"In the huddle you could see the confidence in his eyes," senior offensive lineman Derek Weber said of Creighton. "He took control."

"During the season we didn’t know who was going to be our quarterback going into the playoffs, but we found our guy," said Hardwick, who played his first game since late September after a high-ankle sprain.

St. F.X. came back on two touchdown catches by Mark Metulynsky and one from Akeem Foster. The X-Men had 492 offensive yards to 343 for the Huskies.

The X-Men were inconsolable in defeat. There were no moral victories in coming back to make it close.

"You can’t play football the way we did in the first half and expect to win," said X-Men head coach John Bloomfield. "We gave ourselves a chance, but we had too much of a hole to climb out of again."

St. F.X. led 5-0 until Creighton’s deep ball to Hardwick led to a Justin Palardy field goal on the final play of the first quarter. A successful onside kick on the next play led to a safety and tie game.

The momentum turned on Joel Lipinski’s 71-yard kickoff return after the safety. Creighton turned it into a 10-yard touchdown throw and a 12-5 lead at 4:27 of the second quarter.

Fullback Tyler Schussler capped a 56-yard drive with a one-yard plunge four minutes later. A 53-yard punt return by Jahmeek Murray led to Creighton’s nine-yard toss into the end zone to Hardwick for a 26-5 lead at 12:10.

But the X-Men never quit.

Metulynsky had a 25-yard touchdown catch for the lone score in the third quarter and Foster’s 75-yard catch at 7:07 of the fourth quarter took the breath out of the SMU faithful. Palardy’s 25-yard field goal at 12:08 appeared to be decisive, but Metulynsky broke loose for his 69-yard romp at 12:25.

The Huskies will hit the road with confidence. They’ve been motivated all year to return to the Vanier Cup and erase the memory of last year’s loss to Manitoba.

"We feel we are the elite conference," said Hardwick. "We think we can beat Ontario. I’ve never played an Ontario team, but watching them on TV and seeing their personnel we really think we match up well against them.

"We remember what happened last year in Toronto and we’re not going to let that happen again. That was the worst feeling of our lives and it’s just not going to happen."

Courtesy the Chronicle Herlad, Monty Mosher