The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WIDE receivers coach Eugene McMinns and his Dalhousie Tigers won their second consecutive Moosehead Cup while offensive lineman Stephen Sears Jr and his St Francis Xavier X-Men head into the Atlantic university football playoffs.

The Tigers claimed their second consecutive Atlantic Football League titles with a 27-26 come-from-behind win over the UNB Fredericton Red Bombers in the championship game, Saturday at the BMO Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Tigers finished the season 7-1 and won their fourth Moosehead Cup in the last six seasons. They have now moved into a tie with Holland College and UNB Fredericton as the teams with the most Moosehead Cup’s in AFL history.

McMinns returned to the Tigers’ sidelines for second season as a wide receivers coach for the vaunted conference powerhouse football programme.

It was the fourth AFL championship of McMinns’ career, twice as a player with the Holland College Hurricanes and now two as a member of the coaching staff with the Tigers.

“It has been an honour to be these young men’s wide receivers’ coach. This year’s wide receivers squad was the best in the league. I’m so proud of these guys,” McMinns said.

“Honestly, it was even a bigger blessing to win the AFL Championship [and to have] a chance to mentor the future ballers of the next generation for the University of Dalhousie.”

Sears and the St Francis X-Men concluded the Atlantic University Sport regular season with an unblemished 8-0 record.

As the first place finishers in the league, the X-Men have earned the right to host the Subway AUS Loney Bowl Championship.

The Loney Bowl championship game is slated for 2pm on November 12 at STFX Stadium.

The winner of the Loney Bowl will host the U SPORTS Uteck Bowl national semifinal game on November 19th against the winner of the Canada West conference.

The X-Men are currently ranked no.5 in Canada’s U Sports standings.

Sears, in his debut season with the programme, anchored an offensive line that gained 434 total yards in his first start at left tackle earlier this season.

Sears is the latest collegiate football prospect to follow the pipeline from The Bahamas to playing the game at the highest level in Canada. He committed to the X-Men of the Atlantic University Sport Conference following his standout tenure with the Holland College Hurricanes. He was named the Hurricanes’ 2021 Offensive Lineman of the Year when the team announced its annual athletic awards in the postseason.

He said the transition to competing at a higher level has been a welcome challenge thus far. The X-Men are the reigning 2021 AUS football champions and advanced to the national semifinal.

“It’s been great, a bit more fast-paced, a tough schedule football wise with more meetings and practices and as always learning a new system is a bit challenging. But I’m used to everything now and I love it,” he said. “A lot of talented athletes on one team going at it in practice and games.”