Eugene McMinns and the Acadia Axeman look to extend their win streak today when they take on Saint Mary's University on the road.
The Axemen looked impressive in their last two games, winning both convincingly to remain undefeated with a 2-0 win/loss record on the season. Against St. Francis Xavier University on Saturday, the Axemen mustered up a late surge to pull away late in the game and score a 38-24 win. McMinns came up big down the stretch in the game. With Acadia up 24-17 after three quarters, McMinns added another touchdown to the list with a 94-yard punt return for a score.
Trailing 31-17, the St. Francis Xavier X-Men fought their way back into the game as Dylan Fisher scored a one-yard rushing touchdown with 6:19 left. However, the Axemen responded quickly, getting a scoring play of their own. Then, Cordell Hastings broke a tackle and sprinted to the goal, putting Acadia ahead 38-24 to score the final points of the game. McMinns also had three catches in the game for 29 yards and added 189 punt return yards and 49 yards on kickoff returns. For his efforts, he was named the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) special teams player of the week.
McMinns, who spent the past two seasons with the Axemen, said he vowed he would become a smarter, more efficient player this season. Through three regular season games so far, it's showing.
"As a player I would say physically nothing has changed. I am still an athletic and explosive wide receiver," he said. "Mentally as a player, I understand the game of football more, and I can say I am more of a student of the game by watching film with a closer attention to detail in order to have a better edge on my opponent. Also, I'm understanding my role on every play and performing it to the coaches' design."
McMinns and the Axemen will have to be at their best to come up with wins in their next two games. They suffered a 20-17 loss to Saint Mary's in the preseason and fell 64-23 to Mount Allison in their season opener on August 26. The Axemen will take on Saint Mary's, again, on September 30 at home.
McMinns had two catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns against Saint Mary's in the preseason last month. He added 84 yards on kickoff returns.
Against Mount Allison, McMinns had five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. He added 114 kickoff return yards and 68 punt return yards.

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