The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Stephen Sears Jr is the latest collegiate football prospect to follow the pipeline from The Bahamas to playing the game at the highest level in Canada.

Sears committed to the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men of the Atlantic University Sport for the upcoming season following his standout tenure with the Holland College Hurricanes.

Sears was named the Hurricanes’ 2021 Offensive Lineman of the Year when the team announced its annual athletic awards in the postseason.

The business administration major was also named an Atlantic Football League All-Star offensive lineman after his second season with the programme.

Holland, four-time Atlantic Football League champions (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015), finished last season at 3-3 and AFL runners-up. The X-Men are the reigning 2021 AUS football champions following a 25-17 victory over the Bishop’s Gaiters in the Subway Loney Bowl championship game. They were eliminated in the national semifinal after a 61-6 loss to the OUA champion Western Mustangs in the U SPORTS Mitchell Bowl.

The game marked the fourth appearance for STFX in a U SPORTS national semifinal bowl game in the past six seasons. The X-Men, led by head coach Gary Waterman, will return a young team with a highly anticipated recruiting class.

Demetrius Ferguson was also a standout defensive back for both the Hurricanes (2010-11) and X-Men (2012-15).

At Holland, he led the Hurricanes to an AFL championship and won the Hilton Trophy as the team’s MVP after finishing with 10 touchdowns, including seven on kick returns, two on interceptions and one rushing.

In his debut with the X-Men, Ferguson intercepted a pass midway through the third quarter, which he returned for a 78-yard touchdown. He went on to win several Defensive and Special Team honours.